Rep. Chris Collins: Insider Trading Charges Are ‘Meritless’

Rep. Chris Collins, charged earlier today with insider trading, told reporters that he will remain on the ballot for the November midterms. “The charges that have been levied against me are meritless,” he said, adding that he would mount “vigorous defense in court” to clear his name. The Justice Department announced Collins’ insider trading charges on Wednesday, accusing him of telling his son, family, and friends about how Innate Immunotherapeutic’s drug for multiple sclerosis did not pass clinical trials. Prosecutors claim that Collins’ disseminated the information within “minutes” of receiving it, and that those who got word subsequently sold their stock—though Collins held onto his stake as a majority shareholder of the company. Nick Biase, spokesman for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, told CNN that Collins could face “up to 150 years in prison if he’s convicted on all counts.”