The FBI served a search warrant Wednesday evening on North Carolina Senator Richard Burr in an investigation into his early 2020 stock sales.

Reports indicate that Burr provided his cellphone to federal authorities. Officials are examining the communication between the North Carolina Senator and his stockbroker.

The investigation stemmed from Burr’s stock sales earlier this year, where he traded between $628,000 and $1.72 million in stocks, just weeks before the stock market decline due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Authorities are investigating whether Burr’s stock sale was based on private information obtained from his position as Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Senator has stated that all sales were based on public information and requested a Senate ethics investigation to demonstrate no wrongdoing. Burr announced Thursday that he would be stepping down as Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

JURIST reached out to Burr’s office for comment on Wednesday’s search warrant but was unable to connect as staffers are out of the office due to the COVID-19 outbreak and stay at home orders.

Other elected officials have also been the subject of news reports after selling stock prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. Senator Kelly Loeffler of Georgia has been accused of using private intelligence for transactions in February. Loeffler denied the allegations.

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