I understand - but what bothers me is the timeline: the president issued the travel ban and quarantine on January 31sr but the Burr financial transaction occurred two weeks later - February 13th. I just don’t see how that can be considered as insider trading.
If there was a known specific outcome based on information not known to the public, something that would be important additional information to the general public in deciding to buy or sell a stock, and that was the basis for making the sale, then it is outlawed.
For example, if the health agencies or scientists working on it could describe a likely outcome of the spread of the disease that was far more specific than what the public knew, or if they discussed government plans and timelines for taking severe action impacting those businesses, then that is not information I would know as a John Q. Public.
If I had that information, would I have been more likely to sell?
This is especially true if the information came out after the President closed the Border with China, but the next stage was not yet announced.
It could be information learned even 5 minutes before the sale. So it could have been information transmitted any time in the two weeks before the sale, or much earlier.
The fact of the President’s actions does not vitiate any additional insider information used for making the sale.
That is the nature of the crime.
Knowing you are buying an old Chevy that may need work in the next 500 miles is different that knowing that the thing won’t start to get it off the lot after the sale is made.
General negative knowledge vs. specific negative knowledge.