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.
That video needs a good laugh track.
Thank G-d the GOP rammed through all those draconian surveillance powers under Shrub.
I’ll bet Mr. Mueller has tons of these heartwarming chats between fathers and sons.
Maybe even between fathers and sons -in- law.
Or daughters.
“What followed, according to the indictment, was a phone tree of insider trading violations.”
When editorial standards preclude the use of the word “clusterf*ck.”
Christ a’mighty, but this debacle has less subtlety than a plot line from “Billions”.
(p.s. I quite like the image of a veritable “phone tree of insider trading violations.”)
“Wow. Makes no sense. How are these results even possible???” --Chris Collins
“WTF? How could I be blindsided like this. You told me you were on top of this.” --Paul Manafort
There’s a white-collar country and western song in there somewhere. Possibly rap.