By Del Quentin Wilber

Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Justice Department is dropping its inquiry into Sen. Dianne Feinstein for stock trades made as the novel coronavirus struck the U.S. and roiled the economy, a person familiar with the matter said.

Feinstein, D-Calif., was among a handful of senators whose stock trades have been scrutinized by federal investigators to see if they violated a law preventing lawmakers from utilizing insider information they gleamed from their work. She had denied any wrongdoing and said the trades were made by her husband.

A spokesman for Feinstein declined to comment.

Federal prosecutors informed Feinstein’s personal attorney Tuesday afternoon of their decision. The person familiar with the matter said prosecutors were also closing investigations into two other senators who traded stocks in the days before the market tanked: Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Idaho. Loeffler sold stocks valued at between $1.25 million and $3.1 million in late February and early March in companies that later dropped significantly. In January, Inhofe sold stocks valued at as much as $750,000.

The Justice Department’s decision came a week after federal agents dramatically escalated an investigation into another senator’s trades before the stock market tanked in response to public health lockdowns that have snarled the economy. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., stepped down May 14 from his powerful position as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the morning after the Los Angeles Times reported that the FBI had seized his cellphone as part of its investigation.

Burr sold a significant portion of his stock portfolio in 33 separate transactions on Feb. 13, just as his committee was receiving coronavirus briefings from U.S. public health officials and a week before the stock market declined sharply. Much of the stock was invested in businesses that in subsequent weeks were hit hard by the plunging market.