Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is resigning ahead of a hearing Tuesday in which he is expected to change his "not guilty" plea in a criminal insider trading case, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office confirmed Monday.
Context: In August 2018, Collins was arrested in connection with an alleged insider trading scheme involving Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian drug company whose board he sat on for years. Prosecutors allege that Collins, the first congressman to endorse President Trump in 2016, received a tip about about a failed clinical trial involving the company's only product. He then allegedly called his son Cameron, who sold off shares of Innate stock the next day.
