Collins Accused of Conspiracy, Wire Fraud and Lying to the FBI
Criminal Caucus Chairman Chris Collins was back in court facing the new superseding indictment in his felony insider trading case.
Thursday’s court appearance follows a crushing pre-trial defeat for Collins. According to local reports, Judge Vernon S. Broderick “dealt a blow to Rep. Chris Collins’ defense team.”
And in court last week, Judge Broderick expressed his impatience as Collins’ defense team again tried to delay the trial. Collins’ trial remains set for February 2020, though his defense team may continue to try to change the timeline, possibly to delay beyond the next election.
After exiting the courthouse, Collins tried to shore up support by claiming his Congressional campaign would “be well-funded.”
Hmmm… is he referring to the $500,000 he loaned his own campaign last quarter or the measly $5,000 total he raised the previous quarter, which did not include a single dollar from a human being?
Over a year ago, Chris Collins was arrested for insider trading and making false statements to the FBI. In doing so Collins secured his Chairmanship of the Congressional Criminal Caucus and forced his party to boot him from all of his actual legislative committee assignments, rendering him ineffective. Collins even missed several votes in Congress in order to attend his court hearing last week.
“Criminal Caucus Chair Chris Collins missed votes to perform his latest Law & Order style perp-walk into court,” said DCCC Spokesperson Christine Bennett. “The Congressman’s legal troubles aren’t going away anytime soon and his re-election chances diminish by the day.”
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