Trump's earliest congressional backer, Rep. Chris Collins, arrested by the FBI on fraud charges

One of Donald Trump’s favorite congressional pals, Rep. Chris Collins (NY-27) was arrested on Wednesday morning after turning himself into the FBI to face securities fraud charges.

NBC News: Rep. Christopher Collins of New York has been arrested and indicted on charges tied to securities fraud. He surrendered himself to the FBI this morning.

Press conference by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District at noon. -@jonathan4ny

— Tom Winter (@Tom_Winter) August 8, 2018

WHAM in Washington, D.C. is reporting these charges are related to insider trading. (You can read the 30-page indictment here.) 

Wednesday, Aug 8, 2018 · 2:14:59 PM +00:00 · Jen Hayden

Incredibly, Rep. Collins committed securities fraud using a phone INSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE. 

According to the Indictment, when @RepChrisCollins made the illegal call to his son to inform him about the inside info, Collins was at the White House. Discussing this with @HallieJackson on @MSNBC at 10:15am.

— Daniel S. Goldman (@danielsgoldman) August 8, 2018

Wow they were…not good at this.

"on Friday, June 23, 2017, at approximately 3:12 PM, CAMERON a 5:05 minute call to CHRISTOPHER COLLINS. While the two were still on the phone, CAMERON COLLINS
placed an online order with his broker to sell approximately
50,000 shares of Innate."

— Tom Namako (@TomNamako) August 8, 2018

 

 

Rep. Chris Collins is particularly tight with Donald Trump. In fact, he was the very first congressman to endorse Donald Trump, touting their shared history as businessmen.

Collins said Wednesday on CNN that Trump is "the guy that has been signing the front of a pay check and not the back."

That endorsement and his continued loyalty, defending and championing Donald Trump in over 200 television appearances, has taken him from obscure congressman to having the ear of the president on a regular basis. From USA Today in February 2017:

In the past month, Collins’ loyalty has yielded personal rewards. He boasts that he was the only rank-and-file member invited to the private lunch after Trump’s inauguration. And he and other early supporters — the “Trump caucus,” as he calls them — got to spend an hour with Trump in the White House last week. Collins, who sat beside Trump, arranged the meeting after Trump suggested getting "the team back together” during the call Collins received in the eye doctor's chair.

Despite the fact that Rep. Collins was being investigated, Vice President Mike Pence was still out on the fundraising trail, raising money for Collins last fall!

Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled on Tuesday to headline a fundraiser for Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for possible insider trading in violation of federal law.

Here is Collins being praised by Fox News host Lou Dobbs for having the “courage” to endorse Donald Trump. 

He was also named as a key member of the executive committee of President-Elect Donald Trump's transition team, along with Rep. Devin Nunes. The pair helped fill Trump’s cabinet with some of the most unqualified candidates imaginable. 

Donald Trump has attracted a cabal of grifters, surrounding himself with criminals in all facets of his administration. Collins cited his shared history in the business world when he endorsed Trump in January 2016. Perhaps these two will share another history in the not-too-distant future: convicted felons.