Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took aim at Sen. Richard Burr after he was accused of selling off upward of $1.6 million in personal stocks based on inside information he had from his post on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"As Intel chairman, @SenatorBurr got private briefings about Coronavirus weeks ago. Burr knew how bad it would be. He told the truth to his wealthy donors, while assuring the public that we were fine," the New York Democrat tweeted out on Thursday. "THEN he sold off $1.6 million in stock before the fall. He needs to resign."



As Intel chairman, @SenatorBurr got private briefings about Coronavirus weeks ago.



Burr knew how bad it would be. He told the truth to his wealthy donors, while assuring the public that we were fine.



THEN he sold off $1.6 million in stock before the fall.



He needs to resign. https://t.co/IAITMbJ3R5 — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 19, 2020



ProPublica initially published a report Thursday that alleged Burr sold off between almost $600,000 and $1.6 million in personal stocks in February. The outlet later updated the report to show Burr sold up to $1.72 million of his holdings in 33 separate transactions.

The sell-offs came during the same period that he was getting daily briefings on the coronavirus from the Senate Intelligence Committee, which he leads. Since the sell-off, the stock market has tanked nearly 30% over concerns about the coronavirus outbreak.

NPR also ran a report on Thursday that accused Burr of telling well-connected constituents about the potential market crash while assuring the public things were under control.

Burr has denied the later accusation, saying the story misrepresented what happened and was "a tabloid-style hit piece."



This lunch was hosted on Feb. 27 by the North Carolina State Society. It was publicly advertised and widely attended.



NPR knew, but did not report, that attendees also included many non-members, bipartisan congressional staff, and representatives from the governor’s office. 2/ — Richard Burr (@SenatorBurr) March 19, 2020



Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect four additional transactions by Burr that were not originally reported.