Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — A Republican congressman who was indicted this week for alleged insider trading has suspended his re-election campaign.
Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., a top Trump ally, announced Saturday that he would suspend his campaign following his indictment on insider trading charges.
“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,” he said in a statement.
Collins, who plans to serve out the remainder of his term, was charged along with his son and son’s future father-in-law with insider trading related to an Australian biotechnology company, Innate Immunotherapeutics.
Collins, who sat on the board of the company, allegedly shared nonpublic information about a failed drug trial with his son, who passed it along to his future father-in-law and others.
The test results were made public four days later, and Innate stock dropped 92 percent. By then, however, Collins, his son and his son’s future father-in-law had avoided $768,000 in losses.
Collins has maintained his innocence and said he will fight the charges.
The House Ethics Committee is investigating the allegations against him.
While Collins was favored to win re-election, Democrats have been using the scandal to attack him and other Republicans as they seek to retake control of the House.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.