Rep. Chris Collins, Trump's first congressional endorser, arrested by FBI


President Trump's first friend in Congress is the latest to fall to the FBI.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) was arrested Wednesday on charges of securities fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Collins, who was the first member of Congress to publicly endorse Trump, surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday, reports NBC News.
Collins, still a consistent spokesman for the president, is accused of insider trading along with his son Cameron Collins and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron's fiancée. The House Ethics Committee has been reviewing Collins' investments with Innate Immunotherapeutics since May 2017, The Buffalo News reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Collins is one of the Australian biotech company's largest shareholders, and served on the board. During that time, prosecutors allege, he passed along private information that allowed his son and Zarsky to make "timely trades" that saved them more than $768,000 in losses.
Legal representatives for Collins said that the indictment doesn't specifically allege that Collins himself traded Innate stock. "We are confident he will be completely vindicated and exonerated," they told NBC News.
Despite the ongoing investigation, Collins was heavily favored to win re-election this November. Now, he's expected to appear in court Wednesday.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine