John Oliver: 'The only way Richard Burr's stock deal would be shadier is if he bought shares of actual coronavirus'

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) is under investigation for allegedly making stock trades using inside information about the coronavirus and the stock market. While Burr was being briefed on the impact the virus was having on the country and the projections, he dumped millions of dollars in stocks and then allegedly flagged it for his family.

This week he was raided by the FBI and his phone was seized. The evidence "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver found about the situation is so far "pretty damning."

The day after Burr got a briefing on the impact of the virus on the economy, he dumped $1.7 million in stocks that mainly had to do with the hospitality and hotel industry.

"The only reason that could be any shadier is if Burr then bought a ton of shares in the actual coronavirus."

Burr maintains that he did nothing wrong and was only basing his investment decisions on the reports at the time.

"You know what? Sure," said Oliver. "But there are things in Burr's past that are inherently suspicious. There was his position on the STOCK Act which forbids members of Congress from trading on public information they learned on the job. Burr was one of only three senators to vote against the legislation."

Finally, however, Oliver hit Burr at home: his opposition to socks. Burr, told reporters that his problem with socks is that "it's a southern thing."

"What?!" exclaimed Oliver. "Going foot-comando is not a southern cultural thing. Just because you choose to do something and you're from The South does not mean everyone there does it. Not wearing socks isn't a southern thing, any more than wearing socks on your penis is a west coast thing. No. It's very particularly a Red Hot Chili Peppers thing."

Oliver explained Burr has found himself in much the same state as the federal government itself.

"He got information about the coronavirus early. There are lots of questions about what he did with it. And now he is, if I may quote the testimony of a very tired public health official, 'in deep sh*t,'" Oliver closed.

Burr recently stepped down from his Intelligence Committee chairmanship after pressure from other members.

Watch the video below: