OCE Referral Regarding Rep. Chris Collins
OCE Referral Regarding Rep. Chris Collins Exhibits 1 of 3
OCE Referral Regarding Rep. Chris Collins Exhibits 2 of 3
OCE Referral Regarding Rep. Chris Collins Exhibits 3 of 3
On July 14, 2017, the Office of Congressional Ethics transmitted a referral to the Committee on Ethics of the United States House of Representatives regarding Rep. Chris Collins.
Nature of the Review
Representative Collins is a board member of Innate Immunotherapeutics Limited (“Innate”) and holds stock in the company. Representative Collins may have shared material nonpublic information in the purchase of Innate stock. If Representative Collins shared material nonpublic information in the purchase of Innate stock, then he may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.
Representative Collins may have also purchased discounted Innate stock that was not available to the public and that was offered to him based on his status as a Member of the House of Representatives. If Representative Collins purchased discounted stock that was not available to the public and that was offered to him based on his status as a Member of the House of Representatives, then he may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.
Representative Collins attended a meeting at the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) in November 2013. In that meeting, Representative Collins discussed Innate and requested that an NIH employee meet with Innate employees to discuss clinical trial designs. If Representative Collins took official actions or requested official actions that would assist a single entity in which he had a significant financial interest, then he may have violated House rules and standards of conduct.
OCE Recommendation
The Board recommended that the Committee on Ethics further review the above allegation because there is a substantial reason to believe that Representative Collins shared material nonpublic information in the purchase of Innate stock, in violation of House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.
The Board recommended that the Committee on Ethics dismiss the above allegation because there is not a substantial reason to believe that Representative Collins purchased discounted stock that was not available to the public and that was offered to him based on his status as a Member of the House of Representatives, in violation of House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law.
The Board recommended that the Committee on Ethics further review the above allegation because there is a substantial reason to believe that Representative Collins took official actions or requested official actions that would assist a single entity in which he had a significant financial interest, in violation of House rules and standards of conduct.
Committee Action
On October 12, 2017, the Committee on Ethics released a statement indicating it would continue to gather information necessary to complete its review. The Committee published the OCE report and findings and announced the allegations would be further reviewed pursuant to Committee Rule 18(a).