FBI Seizes Senator’s iPhone, Collects Evidence from iCloud Warrant

The FBI served Apple a warrant requesting access to iCloud data belonging to U.S. Senator Richard Burr, reports the Los Angeles Times. Burr, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is under investigation for insider trading during the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the FBI served Apple a warrant in “recent days” asking for access to Burr’s cloud data. The evidence that the FBI obtained from this request led to another warrant. This second warrant then was used to seize the senator’s iPhone.

The FBI reportedly is interested in the emails and other communications between Burr and his broker that may be contained on the phone.

Burr turned over his iPhone after FBI agents served him the warrant at his home.

Burr is accused of insider trading after it was uncovered that the senator sold a significant percentage of his stock portfolio, up to $1.72 million on February 13. At the same time, Burr allegedly initiated these 33 different transactions, his intelligence committee was receiving daily briefings on the coronavirus epidemic, which was hitting China hard at that time. A week later, the stock market plummeted when the coronavirus epidemic began to spread worldwide.

Burr claims his role as an Intelligence committee chair did not give him any advantage over other investors. He said all the information he used to guide his trade was publicly available data from Asian news sources.

Burr isn’t the only senator under fire to questionable trading before the coronavirus pandemic hit American shores. Senators Kelly Loeffler, Dianne Feinstein, and Jim Inhofe also conducted financial transactions, but these trades were negotiated by a third-party broker. Unlike the other senators, Burr allegedly was directly involved in his stock trades.