Judge Allows Ex-GOP Congressman Convicted for Insider Trading to Delay Prison Time

A former Republican congressman in New York, famously the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president, will not begin his 26-month prison sentence until at least June. Lawyer for Christopher Collins asked U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick to permit months of delay in incarceration, given the threat of COVID-19.

Notably, federal prosecutors did not object to the request. Collins had been on track to begin a prison stint for incarceration on April 21.

The argument from Collins’s lawyers was basically this: the coronavirus pandemic is serious and Collins is at a higher risk of death, so he shouldn’t be placed in prison right now.

Since the filing of the last motion to continue Mr. Collins’ Report Date, the impact of the new strain of coronavirus which causes COVID-19 greatly worsened, prompting the World Health Organization, on March 11, 2020, to officially classify COVID-19 as a pandemic. As of this morning, Johns Hopkins University reports more than 877,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide and more than 43,000 deaths. It reports that the United States currently has the largest number of confirmed COVID-10 cases at 189,633, and reports more than 4,000 deaths in the United States from the disease. New York Governor Cuomo declared a State of Emergency on March 7, 2020, and on March 20, 2020, ordered all nonessential businesses to close and residents to stay home. On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a National Emergency. More than half of states have now imposed lockdown measures restricting gatherings and social contact. Florida Governor DeSantis declared a State of Emergency in Florida, the state where Mr.Collins resides, on March 9, 2020. Dr.Deborah Birx, the White House coordinator for the virus response team, has warned of the expected dire consequences of the pandemic stating that even if all social distancing guidelines are followed “perfectly,” the nationwide death toll could reach 100,000 to 200,000.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/judge-allows-ex-gop-congressman-convicted-for-insider-trading-to-delay-prison-time/ar-BB124ZRd?li=BBnb7Kz