GOP Rep. Chris Collins Resigns Before Pleading Guilty to Insider Trading

Republican congressman Chris Collins, one of the first members of Congress to throw his support behind President Trump, reportedly resigned his congressional seat Monday a day before he is expected to plead guilty to insider-trading charges he had previously vowed to fight.

Collins, 69, is accused of working with his son, Cameron Collins, to avoid more than $700,000 in losses using confidential information about the Australian company Innate Immunotherapeutics. Collins, who was the company’s biggest investor and sat on its board, allegedly received private corporate information regarding a drug trial while at a White House congressional picnic, and contacted his son with the information.