Rep. Chris Collins has resigned his congressional seat, one day before he's scheduled to appear in court to change his plea in a federal insider trading case.
Sources confirm to Spectrum News the resignation is effective immediately.
Court documents confirm a 3 p.m. court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1.
His son, Cameron Collins, is also on the docket to change his plea Tuesday as well.
Rep. Collins pleaded not guilty in August 2018 to charges of insider trading in relation to selling roughly 1.4 million shares of a company in which he was an investor. He is accused of using non-public information to sell his shares and then telling his son, who then told his fiancée and soon-to-be in-laws.
Earlier this year, Collins’ bid to have his case dismissed was denied.
Collins was due to go to trial starting next February in New York City.
This seat is in a deep red portion of the state and he was a prominent backer of President Donald Trump, becoming the first member of Congress to endorse his campaign in 2016.
Collins won re-election last year against Democrat Nate McMurray just three months after he was indicted on insider trading charges.
This year, three Republicans have already filed to run for the party’s nomination in the 27th congressional district — a tacit reflection of Collins’s vulnerability heading into 2020.
“It is vital that we continue to have a strong, conservative voice representing the residents of New York’s 27th Congressional District and elect a candidate who will defend President Trump’s agenda,” said one of the candidates, Sen. Robert Ortt.
“I am the only candidate in this race who has proven that they are willing to do both. It is time that we send a battle-tested patriot to Washington who will stand up for our district, stand up to the Party of Impeachment, and push back against the radical socialists running our nation’s Democrat Party.”