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Intelligence Chairman Raised Virus Alarms Weeks Ago, Secret Recording Shows
NPR ^ | 3/19/20 | Tim Mak

Posted on 03/19/2020 3:42:52 PM PDT by heartwood

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned a small group of well-connected constituents three weeks ago to prepare for dire economic and societal effects of the coronavirus, according to a secret recording obtained by NPR.

The remarks from U.S. Sen. Richard Burr were more stark than any he had delivered in more public forums.

On Feb. 27, when the United States had 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19, President Trump was tamping down fears and suggesting that the virus could be seasonal.

"It's going to disappear. One day, it's like a miracle. It will disappear," the president said then, before adding, "it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We'll see what happens."

On that same day, Burr attended a luncheon held at a social club called the Capitol Hill Club. And he delivered a much more alarming message.

"There's one thing that I can tell you about this: It is much more aggressive in its transmission than anything that we have seen in recent history," he said, according to a secret recording of the remarks obtained by NPR. "It is probably more akin to the 1918 pandemic."

The luncheon had been organized by the Tar Heel Circle, a nonpartisan group whose membership consists of businesses and organizations in North Carolina, the state Burr represents. Membership to join the Tar Heel Circle costs between $500 and $10,000 and promises that members "enjoy interaction with top leaders and staff from Congress, the administration, and the private sector," according to the group's website.

(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...


TOPICS: Government; Politics/Elections; US: North Carolina
KEYWORDS: 2020election; coronavirus; defundnpr; defundpbs; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; dsj02; election2020; mediawingofthednc; npr; partisanmediashills; pbs; presstitutes; smearmachine
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To: heartwood

This thread from January 25th along with some other stuff was enough to put a whole mess of folks into active prep mode. I had a Berkley on the way within a few days etc.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3810834/posts

Get inside tips from Congress—or read old FR posts and back issues of Al Jazeera.

So much for western reporting


21 posted on 03/19/2020 4:55:32 PM PDT by Hieronymus ("I shall drink--to the Pope, if you please,-still, t Conscience first, and to the Pope afterwards.")
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To: heartwood

Three weeks ago, while FR was all rosy, we here in Asia (mostly next door in China and also to some extent in Korea—and growing in Japan) were already overrun and on high alert and living the shit real time .

And yet when I looked back at America it was all (at least in FOX land) Greg Gutfeld’s sarcastic jokes, Tomi Lehrer’s “I’m more afraid of stepping on a syringe” smirky blonde headed bimbo jokes, Congressman Matt Gaetz’s gas mask fraternity pranks on the House floor, Laura and Sean downplaying it as a “hoax” (WTF?), Nunes and that jackass Oklahoma governor exposing his kids to CV-19 at a restaurant proudly on Instagram (since hurriedly deleted) and above all President Downplay calling it under control, declining and miraculously gone perhaps with the heat of April and continuing his handshakes and intent to have rallies.

All me and my friends and wife could say was “you asleep at the wheel jackasses have NO idea what is coming. “ still SMH


22 posted on 03/19/2020 4:55:59 PM PDT by AmericanInTokyo (Camp Humphreys, S. Korea Target #1 by Kim Jong UnÂ’s varied trajectory missile tests since May!)
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To: pilgrim

I am not saying he dumped stocks and I really don’t think NPR cares about Burr dumping his stocks.

2nd paragraph

“On Feb. 27, when the United States had 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19, President Trump was tamping down fears and suggesting that the virus could be seasonal.

“It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle. It will disappear,” the president said then, before adding, “it could get worse before it gets better. It could maybe go away. We’ll see what happens.”

I do not think this article is really about dumping stocks it is about trying to insinuate Trump was not acting fast or taking it serious enough. At least that is my opinion of it.


23 posted on 03/19/2020 4:56:05 PM PDT by funfan
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To: heartwood

Oh PLEASE! It was obvious to all but the FluBros that this was going to be HUGE DEAL, just from the reports coming out of China. Should be who acted on those reports (and got out of the market and stocked up) also be punished for Insider Trading?


24 posted on 03/19/2020 4:59:14 PM PDT by BobL (If some people here don't want to prep for Coronavirus, they can explain it to their families)
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To: heartwood; null and void
> Ha. Three weeks ago on FR all was rosy.

The hell it was. FReeper Nully (null and void) has been posting warnings about this since the first week of January -- 10 weeks ago.

I suppose you were distracted by all the impeachment threads.

25 posted on 03/19/2020 5:03:14 PM PDT by dayglored ("Listen. Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government."`)
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To: The Toll

Feb 29 people were wearing masks on airplanes. They were thinking about it then.


26 posted on 03/19/2020 5:04:06 PM PDT by Jaded (Pope Francis? Not really a fan... miss the last guy who recognized how Islam spread... the sword.ag)
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To: Pearls Before Swine

But the people he spoke with aren’t members of Congress

I just don’t like burr at all


27 posted on 03/19/2020 5:07:02 PM PDT by Nifster (I see puppy dogs in the clouds)
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To: dayglored

*shrug* Running the ‘Bring out your dead’ emerging pandemics ping list does keep me on my toes.

I had hoped I’d always be wrong. *sigh*


28 posted on 03/19/2020 5:12:57 PM PDT by null and void (By the pricking of my lungs, Something wicked this way comes ...)
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To: heartwood

Not much visible reaction from the Tar Heel Circle. Not believing, or taking quiet reasonable precautions?

Or possibly unloading stocks, selling short?


There was a story somewhere this evening to the effect that Burr did just that. I think the number was $1.6 million.

So his notice to his pals was to sell, without actually saying so.

And no one asks how they get rich on a salary that will not even pay their bvills in DC.


29 posted on 03/19/2020 5:13:37 PM PDT by old curmudgeon (There is no situation so terrible, so disgraceful, that the federal government can not make worse)
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To: The Toll

Exactly.. Anyone paying attention since mid January would have suspected this was coming. But, we hope we are wrong and think it can’t get that bad. But then we think about all the people over the last few years predicting a crash worse than 2008.. and how we won’t recover from it. Hoping they were wrong on the last part.


30 posted on 03/19/2020 5:30:12 PM PDT by DivineMomentsOfTruth ("There is but one straight course, ad that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily." -GW)
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To: heartwood

Well, What we know is that he dumped stocks, big time. Thanks Richard, for not warning the rest of us.


31 posted on 03/19/2020 5:43:06 PM PDT by MrChips ("To wisdom belongs the apprehension of eternal things." - St. Augustine Do you think we have a chan)
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To: heartwood

Government always plays hide the ball with the public. at this moment, the model the government is using to drive policy is not public. Hide the ball.


32 posted on 03/19/2020 5:45:05 PM PDT by Cboldt
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To: heartwood

We need to find out how many senators and representatives sold stock in the past few weeks


33 posted on 03/19/2020 5:49:21 PM PDT by ladyjane
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To: heartwood

The reaction of the stock market could be postulated from what was made public about the virus in China and the problems with the cruise ships back in January. I don’t blame the politician for selling as it was a prudent thing to do. The information and speculation was there and he acted upon it but the information was available to everyone to evaluate.


34 posted on 03/19/2020 5:52:32 PM PDT by vetvetdoug
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To: heartwood

My 17-year-old son told me about coronavirus three or four weeks ago and I don’t think he has any kind of special access to information


35 posted on 03/19/2020 6:00:10 PM PDT by SquarePants (Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time)
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To: funfan

They are also criticizing the President for trying to calm fears and prevent panic and hysteria. IOWs he wouldn’t go along with the Corporate Media in their efforts to cause as much panic and hysteria as possible.


36 posted on 03/19/2020 6:01:30 PM PDT by TigersEye (MAGA - 16 more years! - KAG)
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To: funfan

No problem.

‘They’ are always insinuating errors of President Trump.


37 posted on 03/19/2020 6:06:31 PM PDT by pilgrim
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To: MrChips

Did Tucker Carlson mention this on his show tonight?


38 posted on 03/19/2020 6:12:35 PM PDT by ncpatriot
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To: ncpatriot

Yes, he did. He called for Burr’s resignation.


39 posted on 03/19/2020 6:59:28 PM PDT by MrChips ("To wisdom belongs the apprehension of eternal things." - St. Augustine Do you think we have a chan)
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To: Pearls Before Swine

dont forget family and friends of the elite class

they ala do nicely


40 posted on 03/19/2020 9:20:05 PM PDT by whistleduck
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