Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler blasted the investigation into her stock trading as a “baseless, politically-motivated witch hunt,” on a call with reporters on Wednesday. The newly-minted GOP senator was exonerated by the Department of Justice last week, along with Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), who were investigated on claims of insider trading.
Criticism surrounding the allegations of insider trading, which the DOJ eventually deemed false, tilted disproportionately toward Sen. Loeffler. Mainstream media outlets and political opponents of Sen. Loeffler ran with the allegations before any proof of wrongdoing was laid out; Sen. Loeffler said that the story was “recklessly published” without any fact-check. Indeed, the DOJ’s exoneration of Sen. Loeffler has received minimal coverage from the same outlets that ran with the story without meeting a substantial burden of proof.
The Georgia Republican attributed the controversy to the “liberal media’s” desire to “create narratives,” and said that the media used the “same playbook they use to attack the president” to perpetuate the manufactured, insider-trading scandal.
The freshman GOP senator also touted her work in the upper chamber and as a member of President Trump’s economic recovery task force. Sen. Loeffler introduced legislation to end American dependence on China and bolster economic growth in her ‘USA RISE’ plan; as a part of this proposal, which includes multiple pieces of legislation, Sen. Loeffler also introduced a provision that would bar abortion providers from receiving loans via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) after it was discovered that Planned Parenthood received nearly $80 million in loans from the program that was intended for small businesses.
In the wake of nationwide riots and violence, in protest of the tragic death of George Floyd, Sen. Loeffler also signed on to legislation to designate ANTIFA as a domestic terrorism organization, along with GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (TX) and Bill Cassidy (LA). When asked if any Democratic colleagues would join their effort, Sen. Loeffler was not confident in Senate Democrats’ willingness to condemn the violent group.
Sen. Loeffler faces a “jungle primary” in November, meaning that the freshman senator faces a Republican challenge from Rep. Doug Collins, in addition to Democrats vying for the seat.
