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Presidential Clemency Record

Christopher Carl Collins

Pardon

  /   2017–2021

Record at a Glance

Clemency type
Pardon
Presidential term
2017–2021
Federal district
Southern District of New York
Offense
Conspiracy to commit securities fraud; false statements
Sentence
26 months' imprisonment; one year's supervised release; $200,000 fine (January 16, 2020)
Current status
Florida's official 2026 candidate system records his District 19 congressional candidacy as defeated.

Background

Collins pleaded guilty to securities-fraud conspiracy and false statements to federal investigators. The insider-trading matter involved information about Innate Immunotherapeutics' unsuccessful drug trial passed to his son. The separately settled SEC matter imposed a public-company officer-and-director bar; it is not a criminal conviction or pardon consequence.

Original Case

In S.D.N.Y., Collins pleaded guilty October 1, 2019 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and false statements to federal law-enforcement agents. DOJ reported that he tipped his son with confidential Innate Immunotherapeutics clinical-trial information, leading to sales before the adverse result became public. The court imposed 26 months’ imprisonment, one year of supervised release, and a $200,000 fine on January 16, 2020; DOJ’s release issued the following day.

Clemency

Trump granted Collins a full and unconditional pardon on December 22, 2020. Collins had not yet begun the 26-month prison term, so the grant prevented his incarceration and relieved the remaining punishment in the covered case without converting the guilty plea into an acquittal.

Trump Connection

Collins was the first sitting member of Congress to endorse Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and became one of his most visible congressional supporters. After Collins pleaded guilty and resigned from the House, the White House said many members of Congress requested clemency. Trump’s pardon removed the federal consequences of the covered case but did not undo Collins’s admitted insider-trading tip or false statements.

Since Clemency

  • 2025-06-26 to 2026 · political development

    Collins filed to run as a Republican for Florida's 19th congressional district; the official system records qualification June 8, 2026 and subsequent defeat.

    Legal Status: Election participation and outcome.

Sources

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