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Collins’ Guilty Plea Is Another Warning to Members Who Ignore the Law and Flout Ethics

Statement of Craig Holman, Government Affairs Lobbyist, Public Citizen

Note: U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) will reportedly plead guilty to insider-trading charges and has resigned from Congress. In January 2017, Public Citizen filed a complaint against Collins alleging congressional insider trading and in February 2018 sent a letter to the House Office of Congressional Ethics recommending it investigate the allegations. The federal government charged Collins with insider trading six month later.

Collins was caught red-handed doing insider trading. After years of denying he did anything wrong, he finally admitted his guilt.

The sorriest part of this story is not that he avoided justice for so long, but that his service in Congress was so self-serving. Profit was always the driving principle behind Collins.

Fortunately for the rest of us, the disclosure requirements of the STOCK Act helped lead to his conviction. The STOCK Act is and remains an important part of our arsenal against corruption.