FBI serves warrant against Senate intel chair, seizes cellphone

The Federal Bureau of Investigation served a warrant against Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) as part of an investigation into his questionable stock market actions during the coronavirus pandemic.

Burr came under fire when reports surfaced that he had sold a majority of his stock market holdings after attending a grave congressional briefing about the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic in February.

The FBI seized Burr's cellphone on Wednesday night according to a law enforcement official who spoke to the Los Angeles Times.

Burr is accused of violating laws barring the profiting from information learned in the course of official congressional work.

He has denied the accusations and called the NPR story a "a tabloid-style hit piece" in tweets from February. The report from ProPublica said that Burr sold as much as $1.72 million worth of stocks in 33 separate transactions.

'He should not be trusted'

Former Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz weighed in on the development and opined that Burr should be relieved of his position as the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee while the investigation proceeded.

"@SenatorBurr should be immediately dismissed from the Senate Intel Committee while he is under investigation. The FBI is investigating and Senate Ethics is investigating," said Chaffetz.

"Until the conclusion, he should not be trusted with our nation's most important intelligence," he added.

Here's more about the accusations against Burr:

Sen. Richard Burr asks ethics panel to review his stock saleswww.youtube.com