Ex-Sen. Burr: SEC probe into trading over with 'no action'

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has concluded its investigation of former North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr related to investment sales early in the coronavirus pandemic without taking any action, Burr said on Friday.

Burr, a Republican who didn’t seek reelection in November after three Senate terms, and Gerald Fauth, the brother of Burr’s wife, had been scrutinized for potential insider trading by the SEC. Fauth's attorney said separately Friday that the SEC probe of his client is also over with no such trading found.

Burr and other members of Congress had been the focus of public criticism for aggressive trading in early 2020, before the economic threat from the virus was widely known.

Burr had already been cleared of wrongdoing by the Justice Department of President Donald Trump's administration for offloading $1.6 million from his portfolio in January and February 2020. But the SEC continued, according to federal court filings made public in fall 2021.

“This week, the SEC informed me that they have concluded their investigation with no action,” Burr said Friday in a written statement released by his lawyer. Burr, who formally left the Senate on Tuesday as GOP Ted Budd was sworn in to succeed him, said he was "glad to have this matter in the rearview mirror as I begin my retirement from the Senate following nearly three decades of public service.”

Fauth attorney Joseph Warin said separately: "The SEC "has closed its investigation into our client. We are thrilled that the SEC and the DOJ appropriately closed their investigations without any findings of insider trading.”

An SEC spokesperson said later Friday that the agency doesn't comment on the opening or closing of a possible investigation.

Both Burr and Fauth were being...