Having already been removed at least temporarily from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is suspending his re-election campaign while he fights federal insider trading charges.
Collins said Aug. 11 he will use his remaining months in office to advocate both for his constituents and the agenda of President Donald Trump. “I will also continue to fight the meritless charges brought against me and I look forward to having my good name cleared of any wrongdoing,” he said in statement.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) suspended Collins from the committee on Aug. 9, the day after documents were unsealed charging the lawmaker with insider trading and lying to federal law enforcement agents.
Collins is being charged with using insider information to help people avoid large stock market losses at an Australian biotechnology company where the lawmaker sits on the board. The three-term congressman is accused of giving his son and others early notice the company had failed an important clinical trial on the effectiveness of its product to treat secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis.
No lawmaker has been appointed to replace Collins on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has oversight of federal agencies including the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
