House

Pelosi calls on embattled Collins to resign: ‘No person is above the law’

by Emily Birnbaum - 08/11/18 3:02 PM ET

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.

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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.