Donald Trump made a push late into the 2016 presidential election to “drain the swamp,” a pledge to put an end to Washington self-dealing and corruption that seemed to benefit the establishment in both parties.
After immigration crackdowns, this was his central campaign promise.
So, the news that Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., an early supporter of Trump’s candidacy, was arrested and indicted on Wednesday on multiple counts of securities fraud, making false statements, wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud should come as a surprise to his base.
Whether or not anyone saw this coming (of course, Tim Carney did), Collins removed all doubt that his track record falls in line with other Trump associates who have had questionable dealings and affiliations that have landed them into legal trouble. In the past year alone, four people who worked for Trump – Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, and George Papadopoulos – came under investigation and were either indicted or took a plea deal.
Collins, who did not work for Trump in any official capacity but was the first House member to endorse him, is just another Trump associate getting into legal trouble.
And, according to Republican lawmakers who spoke to the Hill last year, it’s not looking good. Collins allegedly urged other House members to invest in Australia-based pharmaceutical company Innate Immunotherapeutics. On top of that, Collins, who was the company’s largest stockholder by investing over $6 million in the firm, bragged about how much money he had made them.
It also doesn’t help that Collins’ son, Cameron Collins, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron Collins’s fiancee, were also charged.
Call it a witch hunt if you want, but the ongoing trend that we’re seeing is that Trump surrounded himself with people who appear to be as corrupt as the people he’s trying to rid Washington of.
[More: Paul Ryan kicks Chris Collins off House committee following insider-trading indictment]
