Sen. Burr Steps Down as Intel Chairman

Republican Sen. Richard Burr is stepping down Friday as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

The North Carolina senator's move comes a day after the FBI seized his cellphone in a probe of his stock sales during the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Burr's decision in a statement Thursday:

“Senator Burr contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation. We agreed that this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow.”

FBI officials showed up at Burr's home with the warrant Wednesday, marking a significant escalation into the Justice Department's investigation into whether Burr broke the law with a well-timed sale of stocks before the coronavirus caused markets to plummet,

The Justice Department declined to comment. His layer did not respond to phone and email messages from The Associated Press, but said last month that the law is clear that any senator can participate in stock market trading based on public information “as Sen. Burr did."

This report contains material from The Associated Press.