The Congressional Guide to Insider Trading
Stock tips and public policy are a dangerous mix.
It shouldn’t have come to this.
Photographer: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
Whether or not U.S. Representative Chris Collins engaged in insider trading, as federal prosecutors allege, his indictment this week exposes what a poor job Congress has done to guard against such transgressions. Collins, a New York Republican, is accused of sharing insider information about the value of a publicly traded Australian biotech company.
Collins didn't gather the inside information in Congress — that would violate the 2012 Stock Act, which made it illegal for members and their staff to trade on privileged knowledge having to do with ongoing legislation. Rather, if prosecutors are correct, he exploited his position as a director of Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd. In that role, in June of last year, Collins learned that disappointing results from clinical drug trials would soon drive down the value of the company's stock.