Republican Representative Chris Collins was arrested and charged with insider trading earlier this morning.
Collins, who represents the 27th congressional district of New York, turned himself into the FBI. Politico has the full scoop:
Rep. Christopher Collins (R-N.Y.) was indicted Wednesday by federal prosecutors and charged with wrongdoing connected to an alleged insider trading scheme linked to his investments in an Australian biotech firm.
The third-term congressman, who represents a district in western New York, was the first member of Congress to back President Donald Trump’s candidacy during the 2016 election. He was charged, along with his son, with securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI.
BREAKING NEWS: GOP Rep. Collins indicted, charged with securities fraud https://t.co/5FOPipceRC
— POLITICO (@politico) August 8, 2018
Now, excluding other charges against Collins, insider trading is a petty crime, and one that some economists have argued shouldn’t be a crime. Economist Robert Murphy has argued that insider trading is really a free speech issue with no actual victims. Why should investors be barred from using their knowledge and skill to capitalize on the market?
Even so, insider trading remains a crime, and Collins was wrong to engage in it and thereby break the law.
Interestingly enough, a strange fact of Collins’s arrest hasn’t been lost on some observers. Many have pointed out that he was one of the first congressional backers of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
#BREAKING: Trump-loving GOP congressman Chris Collins gets arrested by the FBI on securities fraud charges https://t.co/SkEYT7t93w
— Raw Story (@RawStory) August 8, 2018
One of Donald Trump’s earliest Republican supporters, Rep. Chris Collins, was just arrested by the FBI for insider trading. It’s almost as if everyone associated with Trump is a criminal or something 😆
— Palmer Report (@PalmerReport) August 8, 2018
Hahaha #ETTD in action:
Congressman Chris Collins (R-NY) arrested for insider trading.
He was Trump’s 1st Congressional endorsement.
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 8, 2018
How odd. But let’s not forget that some of Hillary Clinton’s congressional backers don’t have clean noses either. Rep. Luis Gutierrez was an early supporter of Clinton and he was arrested several times during protests. (RELATED: Rep. Luis Gutierrez Arrested In Capitol Hill Protest.)
It just goes to show that a politician’s supporters aren’t always law-abiding individuals. Everyone pointing out the Trump-Collins connection seems to forget that Hillary attracted criminals into her orbit like a field of daises attracts bees.
