A senator’s husband could be in hot water after buying over $1 million in stocks this spring just before provisions of federal coronavirus relief became public. Jeffrey Sprecher is the head of the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange and husband to Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA). HuffPost reported that in mid-March Sprecher went on a buying spree while the stock market was in free-fall, reversing a selloff trend in his own trades from weeks prior. The CARES Act set aside billions of dollars in aid for the country, including tax write-offs for industries Sprecher bought stock in. At the time of his purchases, the CARES Act was still being written and wasn’t yet public, but Senate Republicans, including Loeffler, had received closed-door briefings of its provisions. If Sprecher acted with nonpublic information from Loeffler, that would be illegal. Both Loeffler and Sprecher have been facing questions about their stock portfolio since the start of the pandemic. Just weeks before her husband began his March buying spree, Loeffler sold off millions in stocks ahead of the onset of the pandemic, The Daily Beast previously reported. A Justice Department inquiry into Loeffler’s trades concluded without criminal charges. Loeffler is in a run-off election for her senate seat this winter, and if she loses, it could help Democrats take over the Senate.
