Trump administration tipped off wealthy investors about coronavirus while it downplayed threat in public
Jacob Crosse
World Socialist Web Site, Oct. 14, 2020
A memorandum leaked by a hedge fund consultant to the New York Times reveals that in February, while President Trump was declaring there was no danger to the public from the coronavirus, White House officials were informing wealthy supporters of the administration that the pandemic represented a significant threat of uncertain dimensions—triggering decisions by numerous investors to short-sell stocks and profit from the ensuing plunge in the stock market.
The release of the memo follows earlier US Justice Department investigations into insider trading conducted by multiple US senators, including Republicans Kelly Loeffler (Georgia) James Inhofe (Oklahoma) Richard Burr (North Carolina) and Democrat Dianne Feinstein (California). While investigations have closed on Loeffler, Inhofe, and Feinstein with no charges filed, Burr remains under investigation after being forced to step down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in May.
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Prior to the pandemic, the stock market had been hovering near 30,000 on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. But in mid-February the Dow began a nearly 10,000-point drop which continued through March in response to the growing international pandemic crisis.
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The memo was written by William Callanan, a member of the Overseers, located at Stanford University, and then relayed to billionaire David Tepper, founder of Appaloosa Management and owner of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, on February 26. Tepper has an estimated net worth of over $12 billion.
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https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/10/16/trad-o16.html
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