Indicted GOP Rep. Chris Collins expected to plead guilty in insider trading case

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is expected to swap his not guilty plea on insider trading charges.

U.S. District Court Judge Vernon Broderick on Monday scheduled a change of plea hearing for Collins on Tuesday, where he's expected to drop the "not" from his previous plea. His son Cameron Collins and Cameron Collins' soon-to-be father-in-law Stephen Zarsky also had change of plea hearings scheduled for Thursday, The Buffalo News reports.

Collins was arrested more than a year ago on charges of securities fraud and making false statements to the FBI, to which he pleaded not guilty. He was on the board of Australian biotech firm Innate Immunotherapeutics, and was accused of telling his son and Zarsky to make "timely trades" on their investments that saved them more than $768,000 in losses. Collins himself lost millions when the firm's drug failed clinical trials. A trial on the charges was scheduled for early 2020.

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Despite the ongoing indictment, Collins was still re-elected in his conservative western New York district, albeit narrowly. He ended up losing his spots on his congressional committees, but has continually been a vocal supporter of President Trump. Collins provided Trump's first endorsement in Congress. Collins' 2018 Democratic challenger has already announced he's challenging Collins again next year.