House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday called for the resignation of Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who is facing charges of…
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday called for the resignation of Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who is facing charges of insider trading.
« [House] Speaker [Paul] Ryan (R-Wis.) must call on Congressman Collins to resign, » Pelosi said in a statement . « No person is above the law, not the President nor his first supporter in Congress. »
Collins, an ally of President Trump ‘s, announced Saturday that he will not seek reelection as he mounts a defense against the Justice Department’s multiple charges of securities fraud and lying to the FBI.
Pelosi used the opportunity to denounce what she called a culture of « corruption » among Washingtonians, which she linked to GOP leadership in Congress.
« This insufficient and overdue announcement does little to drain the toxic cesspool of self-enrichment, special interest deals and corruption that has proliferated in Washington under GOP control, » Pelosi said.
« Over and over, the Republicans’ brazen corruption, cronyism and incompetence has left hard-working families in the cold, as the GOP Congress races to put the profits of special interests and lobbyists before the well-being of the American people, » Pelosi said.
Collins turned himself into the FBI last Wednesday and pleaded « not guilty » to charges that he shared insider information with his son about an Australian pharmaceutical company, which counts Collins as one of its top shareholders.
He said in a statement Saturday that he plans to « fight the meritless charges brought against me.”
« Democrats are laser focused on taking back the House, electing Nancy Pelosi Speaker and then launching impeachment proceedings against President Trump, » he said in a statement posted to Twitter. « They would like nothing more than to elect an ‘Impeach Trump’ Democrat in this District, which is something neither my party or our country can afford. »
« I will fill out the remaining few months of my term to assure that our community maintains its vote in Congress to support President Trump’s agenda, » he added.
Collins has spent more than $200,000 in campaign funds since mid-2017 to pay the law firm defending him against the charges.
