Thread by @FrankJannuzi

I don’t know if @SenatorBurr is guilty of the crime of insider trading. There is strong prima facie evidence to charge him.
But here is what I DO know.
Senators are public servants, and must be motivated in all they do by the public interest; NOT by their personal interests.

I worked in the Senate for 15 years. I had the chance to study and interact with 177 Senators over that time. I saw the good, the bad, the ugly, and the despicable, during my own period of public service.

Among the finest in terms of the spirit of PUBLIC Service?
Dan Inouye
Nancy Kassebaum
Dick Lugar
Barbara Mikulski
Joe Biden
John Warner
Patty Murray
Gordon Smith
Carl Levin

I am a democrat. This is not a partisan list. Public servants exist in both parties. In droves!

And then there are the Senators who let down the team. They fail — usually at a really critical moment, when one’s character flaws are more likely to be revealed. They put their selfish interests or ego above the national interest. They compromise their ethics. They cheat. Lie.

I am so happy to report that such epic failures are rare. Mistakes are common. Ethical/leadership/character flaws on the scale I am talking about here are actually quite rare. So rare, that they cry out for censure, shame, investigation, and, as appropriate, criminal prosecution.

@SenatorBurr failure is on THAT scale. There is NO doubt about it, even though there remains considerable doubt about whether what he did will ultimately be found criminal.
His can I make this determination so conclusively?

The facts are before us, and uncontested by Burr.

Even as he was privately dumping stock, Burr was telling his constituents that all was well and that the economy and stock market were great. He was privately ensuring his position against a coming calamity—a calamity on which he had received authoritative intelligence briefings.

A public servant doesn’t do this. A public servant either shares his concern/alarm with the people who he is sworn to represent \ to make sure they at least have the same ability to act that he enjoys / or he stoically remains silent and HOLDS his assets, refusing to profit....

...based on his insider knowledge of other citizens wont enjoy equal access.
So while we don’t know, YET, if what @SenatorBurr did was criminal, we have more than enough info to reach a verdict on his character and his spirit of Public Service.
As to his character....

...when he was sorely tested, he failed utterly. He put his selfish interests first. He acted in one way — panic selling of his portfolio — while speaking soothing words to his constituents. He is a hypocrite. His conduct is beneath contempt. There is no excuse for it. None.

As for his spirit of public service, I cannot evaluate that which is not in evidence.

-30-

“His” should read “How”