REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Rep. Chris Collins talks to reporters in Washington.
- New York GOP Rep. Chris Collins announced that he was suspending his bid for re-election on Saturday.
- The move comes on the heels of insider trading allegations against Collins and an FBI arrest earlier this week.
GOP Rep. Chris Collins announced that he was suspending his bid for re-election on Saturday, following his arrest this week by the FBI on insider trading charges.
In a statement, the New York congressman said that "after extensive discussions with my family and my friends over the last few days, I have decided that it is in the best interests of the constituents of NY-27, the Republican Party and President Trump's agenda for me to suspend my campaign for re-election to Congress."
Collins was arrested Wednesday by the FBI and indicted on allegations of securities fraud, with the indictment accusing him of passing nonpublic information about a tiny Australian biotech company Innate Immunotherapeutics.
Collins served on the company's board and is alleged to have passed information to his son, Cameron, that was then used to make timely trades of stock. Cameron Collins is accused of giving that information to Stephen Zarsky, his fiancée's father, according to the indictment.
Collins said he would continue to fight "the meritless charges" brought against him. He has served in Congress since 2013. He was Donald Trump's first congressional backer in the 2016 election cycle.