Rep. Chris Collins calls insider trading charges against him 'meritless'

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) announced Wednesday night that he is not resigning and is still running for re-election, hours after he was arrested on charges of insider trading, wire fraud, and making false statements to the FBI.

The three-term incumbent is on the board of the Australian biotech company Innate Immunotherapeutics, and he said without his "investments and steadfast support, the company would have gone under." In court filings, federal prosecutors allege that Collins learned ahead of time that Innate's drug did not pass clinical trials, and quickly notified his son, so he could make trades and save himself from hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses.

Collins said his political rivals have long tried to make his 15-year relationship with Innate an issue, and called the charges against him "meritless." He also said he held onto his shares, which caused him to lose millions, and "acted properly and within the law at all times in regards to my affiliation with Innate." He feels bad not for himself but for people suffering from MS, he added, and looks "forward to being fully vindicated and exonerated."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.