Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., listens to testimony before the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing, Tuesday, May 12, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
.By Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker
Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday after the FBI served a search warrant for his phone as part of an ongoing insider-trading investigation tied to the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the move, saying he and Burr had agreed it was in the Senate's best interests.
FBI officials showed up at Burr's home with the warrant on 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 attorney did not respond to phone and email messages, 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."
Alex Ward, National Security Reporter at Politico, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss the latest in a looming international threat as Russia continues aggression against Ukraine, in defiance of Western nations.
The recent Virginia and New Jersey elections are making one trend line pretty clear: voters in this climate will vote on education, and it could be a winning tactic for Republicans.
Virginia's race for governor was defined by, as the Republican candidate and eventual winner described it, "school-choice." Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is taking a page out of Governor Youngkin's playbook for his upcoming reelection bid, over-indexing on themes of education. John Kennedy, Florida capital reporter at Gannett, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
North Korea launched its sixth missile test this month, equaling the total number performed in all of 2021. Cheddar News speaks with Bruce Klinger of the Heritage Foundation on why the regime is suddenly ramping up its weapons testing program.
More than 80 lawmakers are calling for President Biden to release a memo outlining the legal pros and cons regarding the president's authority to cancel student loan debt, the total of which sits around $1.75 trillion. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.), joined Cheddar to discuss the memo and support the push to forgive student debt that could potentially have a massive positive impact on the U.S. economy. "I think that would be really helpful for all of us to be able to see as we figure out how we can go forward," she said. "It seems like a simple thing to do, and I hope that the administration will release this memo." For her part, Sen. Smith said she believes the president does have the authority to abolish student loan debt.
Dr. Celeste González de Bustamante, professor and director of the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the Univerity of Arizona, and Dr. Jeannine E. Relly, professor and director of Global Initiatives at the Center for Border and Global Journalism at the University of Arizona, join Cheddar News to discuss the recent journalist killings in Mexico.
Joe Kennedy III, a former congressman and co-founder of Give Us the Ballot, joined Cheddar News to discuss voting protections in the United States and how his campaign is aiming to fix the issue of voter suppression. "Yes, redistricting is critical — Give Us the Ballot though recognizes it's 'redistricting, and —', because voting rights has an implication for every single election at every single level: school board, mayor, city council, House of Representatives, Senate, president," he said. Kennedy also gave his thoughts about the retirement of Justice Stephen Breyer.
