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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 1 OcTOber 2019

Collins resigns from Congress ahead of expected guilty plea

By TOM HAYS stock losses. can.
NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. The case, filed in August of The charges stem from Col-
Chris Collins, a Republican 2018, initially caused the lins' business ties with Innate
from western New York, 69-year-old Collins to drop Immunotherapeutics Ltd.,
submitted his resignation a reelection bid, though a biotechnology company
from Congress on Monday he denied any wrongdo- headquartered in Sydney,
ahead of an expected ing and called the charges Australia. He was the com-
guilty plea in an insider "meritless." pany's largest shareholder,
trading case in which he But he restarted his cam- with nearly 17% of its shares,
was accused of leaking paign a month later as and sat on its board.
confidential information Republican leaders were According to the indict-
during an urgent phone deliberating who would re- ment, Collins was attend-
call made from a White place him on the ballot. ing the Congressional Pic-
House picnic. At the time he said the nic at the White House on
Collins' resignation will take "stakes are too high to al- June 22, 2017, when he re-
effect when Congress In this Sept. 12, 2019 file photo, U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., low the radical left to take ceived an email from the
meets in a brief session speaks to reporters as he leaves the courthouse after a pretrial control of this seat in Con- company's chief executive
on Tuesday, according to hearing in his insider-trading case, in New York. gress." saying that a trial of a drug
a spokesman for House Associated Press The charges turned Collins' the company developed
Speaker Nancy Pelosi. expected easy reelection to treat multiple sclerosis
A federal judge in Manhat- Monday. His attorney didn't trial next year on charges in a strongly Republican was a clinical failure.
tan scheduled a hearing immediately respond to of conspiracy, securities district into a close race, Collins responded to the
for Collins to enter a guilty a message. The U.S. attor- fraud, wire fraud and mak- but he managed to fend email saying: "Wow. Makes
plea to unspecified charg- ney's office in Manhattan ing false statements to the off Democratic challenger no sense. How are these re-
es in the case Tuesday af- also declined to comment. FBI. Prosecutors accused Nate McMurray by a thin sults even possible???" the
ternoon. A similar hearing Collins, who was among him of sharing non-public margin. indictment said.
has been scheduled Thurs- the first members of Con- information from a biophar- With his departure from It said he then called his
day for the congressman's gress to support Presi- maceutical company with Congress, it would be up to son, Cameron Collins, and,
son, Cameron Collins. dent Donald Trump's run his son, allowing Cameron Gov. Andrew Cuomo to set after several missed calls,
Collins' congressional office for the White House, had Collins and another man a special election to fill the they spoke for more than
declined to comment on been scheduled to go to to avoid nearly $800,000 in seat, which leans Republi- six minutes.q

Ethics panel reviews claims against Tlaib, 2 Republicans

da Rep. Ross Spano. sion to pay herself $4,000 against the congressman
The committee did not a month in salary from her "partisan and politically
reveal the nature of the 2018 campaign account, motivated" and said it has
complaints, but the of- an action that conserva- been resolved by the Fed-
fices of the three lawmak- tive groups called improp- eral Election Commission.
ers said they are related to er. The FEC complaint alleged
campaign spending and A spokesman for Tlaib that Huizenga had misused
not the members' official called the complaint po- his campaign account
congressional duties. litically motivated. Tlaib, for personal use and had
Tlaib is a high-profile fresh- part of the "squad" of fresh- failed to properly item-
man Democrat from De- man women of color in ize expenses. He denied
troit, while Huizenga, a Re- the House, is an outspoken wrongdoing.
publican, is in his fifth term critic of President Donald Spano, in a statement re-
representing west-central Trump and has been the leased by his office, said
Michigan. focus of repeated attacks the ethics panel was re-
Spano, a Republican, is from Trump and other Re- viewing self-reported filings
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., questions CDC Principal Deputy a freshman from central publicans. with the FEC. Published
Secretary Dr. Anne Schuchat as she speaks before a House
Oversight subcommittee hearing on lung disease and e-cig- Florida. "Representative Tlaib fully reports indicate that Spa-
arettes on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. All three lawmakers de- complied with the law no borrowed more than
Associated Press nied wrongdoing, saying in and acted in good faith $100,000 from two friends
separate statements that at all times," said Denzel and then loaned it to his
By MATTHEW DALY reviewing allegations of they were cooperating McCampbell, a spokes- campaign. He has since
Associated Press wrongdoing against Michi- with investigators. man for Tlaib. Brian Patrick, repaid the loans, with the
The House Ethics Com- gan Reps. Rashida Tlaib The complaint against a spokesman for Huizen- proceeds of a bank loan
mittee said Monday it is and Bill Huizenga and Flori- Tlaib focused on her deci- ga, called the complaint to himself.q