FBI Questions Democrat Dianne Feinstein in Potential Insider Trading Probe

A spokesperson for Dianne Feinstein has denied any wrongdoing.

They also attempted to minimize the FBI interview as nothing more than "basic questions."

According to Fox News:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has been questioned by law enforcement over her husband’s stock sales during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, Fox News has confirmed.

“Senator Feinstein was asked some basic questions by law enforcement about her husband’s stock transactions, as I think all offices in the initial story were,” a spokesman for the California Democrat told Fox News on Thursday.

“She was happy to voluntarily answer those questions to set the record straight and provided additional documents to show she had no involvement in her husband’s transactions,” the spokesman said. “There have been no follow up actions on this issue.”

Earlier this year, reports had said Feinstein, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and her husband sold between $1.5 million and $6 million in stock in California biotech company Allogene Therapeutics, between Jan. 31 and Feb. 18.

But a spokesman for Feinstein at the time denied any wrongdoing and indicated the sales involved the senator's husband, saying that “all of Senator Feinstein’s assets are in a blind trust” and “she has no involvement in her husband’s financial decisions.”

The New York Times was the first to confirm that the FBI reached out to Democrat Dianne Feinstein, but of course, their headline was all about Republican Richard Burr.

Feinstein's name was only mentioned once in the middle of the piece, sandwiched between other names:

Federal investigators have also scrutinized stock trades by other senators around the same time, including Senators James M. Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma; Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia; and Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, according to a person briefed on those cases. All three have said they did nothing wrong.

If it wasn't clear before that the press gives deferential treatment to Democrats and not to Republicans, that should be crystal clear now.

Reports indicate that Feinstein sold anywhere from half a million to $1 million worth of stock before the markets crashed.

While the stock market has been steadily recovering, they plunged as fear over COVID-19 swept the nation.

The New York Post confirms that Feinstein's office confirms that the FBI questioned her:

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office says she was contacted by the FBI about stock sales her husband made early in the coronavirus pandemic.

The California Democrat is one of four senators facing scrutiny for stock sales early in the crisis. The FBI served a warrant Wednesday on Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and seized his cellphone.

Feinstein spokesman Tom Mentzer told The Post that she was contacted last month. Feinstein provided the FBI written answers, he said.

[...]

Feinstein sold $500,001 to $1 million worth of stock in a company called Allogene Therapeutics on Jan. 31, less than a month before panic about the virus caused markets to plunge, Senate records show. Her husband sold $1,000,001 to $5 million worth of Allogene shares on Feb. 18, according to financial disclosures.

[...]

Feinstein and Inhofe said their stock sales were unrelated to non-public information and their reps said they did not attend the private briefing for senators.

Whether or not the FBI finds that insider trading was in play, the reality is that this proves the media has a double standard with how it covers Republicans vs. Democrats.

Feinstein is the largest name of any politician who made a questionable stock sale before the markets crashed.

Yet... the media chose to report on Republicans that hardly anyone is familiar with.

When they did mention Feinstein's name, it was buried in the middle of articles and only mentioned once (i.e. the Times' article above).

Fake news isn't just lies by the media...

It's also when they choose to cover negative stories about Republicans but don't hold Democrats to that same standard.

SAD!