Tonight the FBI has seized the phone of a powerful Senator, the chairman of the senate intelligence committee temporarily stepping aside from his post as the Feds investigate whether he used inside information to sell stocks and save big money before the pandemic tanked the market. Pete Williams is in Washington tonight Pete what do we know? Well Lester, these allegations first surfaced in March but now this investigation is clearly in a new phase.
And tonight senator Richard Burr republican of north Carolina says it's become a distraction. So he's stepping down for now as the intelligence chairman. Law enforcement officials say just last night the FBI went to senator Byrd's Washington DC home to get his cell phone after showing his lawyer a search warrant. That would require a judge's finding that there's probable cause to think the phone could contain evidence of a crime. Law enforcement officials say they're investigating whether Burr engaged in insider trading. But he has said that his stock sales before the pandemic drag down the market were based strictly on public information.