New information was released on Wednesday regarding Western New York Representative Chris Collins (R-Clarence) and his fight against insider trading allegations.
2 On Your Side has learned Collins' lost a major argument in his effort to get access to communications from staffers that he says would show prosecutors violated his rights under the speech and debate clause of the constitution by collecting evidence against him. The judge disagreed, though he did block some interviews from the congressional review of Collins from the trial.
In August, federal prosecutors dropped three securities fraud charges against Collins and his son, Cameron. Collins still faces counts related to wire fraud, securities fraud, conspiracy and lying to the FBI. All along, he has maintained his innocence.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman submitted a letter to Judge Vernon Broderick in August regarding the new indictment, "The Government has made these modifications to the Original Indictment in an effort to avoid unnecessary pretrial litigation that could delay the resolution of this matter, including the possibility of an interlocutory appeal. Although the Government continues to vigorously dispute Congressman Collins’s claim that the Original Indictment was tainted by violations of the Speech or Debate Clause, the grand jury presentation that resulted in the S1 Indictment did not include those facts over which Collins has asserted a claim of privilege."
Collins is due back in court Thursday.