Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., who has been charged with insider trading and lying to federal investigators, said Monday that he is “innocent” and will “fight this right to the end.”
Collins told WIVB in Buffalo that he could not talk about the case, but said, “I am innocent and I'm going to fight this right to the end in court. And I will be exonerated.”
The congressman described learning about the charges as “the shock of all shocks,” and said he learned about the case when federal agents “knocked on my door on April 25 at 6 A.M.”
He added later that he suspended his reelection campaign only a few days after news of the indictment broke because he “needed to remove the spotlight from my family as best I could.
"While I am innocent, I needed to look out for my family, so I did suspend my campaign. That's the right decision. I've expressed to the county leaders, the eight county chairs, I will cooperate fully in deferring to them as they look for someone to replace me on the ballot. Other than that, I am not involved. The powers that be are working through that. I will leave that with them. And other than that, I'm going to be very supportive.”
Collins confirmed that he would support another candidate replacing him on the ballot in November, and that he will see out the rest of his term.
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