Dick Durbin is either very savvy, or very crooked; somehow I don’t think he’s that savvy. A report in the Chicago Sun-Times says that Durbin made a bundle when he sold stocks in a market that was tanking. The report says that Durbin (D) Illinois, sold $115,000 dollars worth of stocks and mutual funds shares one day after a closed door meeting with Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chair Ben Bernanke.

Dick “Turbin” Durbin

Durbin turned around and bought shares of Democratic donor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. From the Report:

The Illinois senator’s 2008 financial disclosure statement shows he sold mutual-fund shares worth $42,696 on Sept. 19, the day after then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged congressional leaders in a closed meeting to craft legislation to help financially troubled banks. The same day, he bought $43,562 worth of Berkshire Hathaway’s Class B stock, the disclosure shows.

Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker says of course, that Durbin was only doing what other people were doing, taking a look at their savings and trying to recover some of their wealth. Hmmm, seems a little too convenient to me.

Durbin of course became famous a few years back for his statements comparing our brave soldiers to Nazi’s and Communists torturing prisoners in Iraq and Gitmo.