Footage Shows Collins At Alleged Start Of Insider Trading Scheme — At WH Picnic

on June 22, 2017 in Washington, DC. — WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 22: Guests attend a Congressional Picnic at the White House June 22, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump and the first lady hosted their first Congressional Picnic with the theme, Picnic in... WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 22: Guests attend a Congressional Picnic at the White House June 22, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Trump and the first lady hosted their first Congressional Picnic with the theme, Picnic in the Park, which is modeled after a summer evening in Central Park in New York. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) MORE LESS

August 8, 2018 5:33 p.m.

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According to Wednesday’s indictment accusing Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) of insider trading and lying to the FBI, the congressman, formerly an Innate Immunotherapeutics board member and the company’s largest shareholder, received some “extremely bad news” about a major drug trial at around 6:55 p.m. ET on June 22, 2017.

Innate’s CEO explained to his board in an email that the company’s marquee drug had experienced a “clinical failure.” Shareholders, the CEO was saying, were about to lose a bunch of money.

Fifteen seconds after responding to the email (“Wow. Makes no sense. How are these results even possible???” Collins wrote, according to prosecutors), Collins repeatedly tried to reach his son on the phone. After “several missed calls,” they “connected and spoke for six minutes.” What followed, according to the indictment, was a phone tree of insider trading violations.

As it happens, Collins attended the White House’s congressional picnic on the evening of June 22, 2017. President Trump spoke at 7:30 p.m. ET, according to a pool report.

Photo and video from that night, therefore, may show Collins in the very first minutes of his alleged insider trading scheme.

EXCLUSIVE: Footage shows New York Rep. Chris Collins on the phone at the White House’s Congressional Picnic when he allegedly shared an illegal stock tip with his son. See our timeline of the case against him: https://t.co/ELIdmZdjTv pic.twitter.com/BAv1sZuzgt

— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 8, 2018

Here’s the footage of Rep. Chris Collins, (mid left in first shot after the zoom, bottom left in second shot) busy on his phone as POTUS and FLOTUS are introduced. pic.twitter.com/Qvl5jvTxcB

— Kristin Wilson Keppler (@TheOtherKeppler) August 8, 2018

Collins posted this photo on Instagram from that White House congressional picnic (h/t @ryanobles) pic.twitter.com/7EPhwZ3vs0

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) August 8, 2018

CNN shows B-roll of Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) at last year’s Congressional Picnic: pic.twitter.com/jOi8mFcvPb

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 8, 2018

Fox News shows B-roll of Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) at last year’s Congressional Picnic: pic.twitter.com/hiTCclfqWq

— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) August 8, 2018

See any other evidence of Collins at the picnic? Maybe in the photos below? Send it to us.

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greet guests at the Congressional picnic at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM (Photo credit should read NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Donald Trump (CR) and First Lady Melania Trump (CL) greet guests at the Congressional picnic at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM

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Matt Shuham (@mattshuham) is a reporter in TPM’s New York office. Prior to joining TPM, he was associate editor of The National Memo and an editorial intern at Rolling Stone.

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