Another Republican member of the House has bitten the dust. Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), who threatened to throw a TV reporter off of a balcony at the State Of The Union, will be indicted for campaign finance violations.
The New York Times has details on the charges that Grimm is expected to face:
The charges against Mr. Grimm, 44, a Republican who was first elected in 2010 and represents Staten Island and a portion of Brooklyn, will include mail fraud and wire fraud and focus on his conduct in connection with a health food restaurant he owned on the Upper East Side of Manhattan after he left the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2006, one of the people said.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
The investigation of the second-term congressman, by the F.B.I. and prosecutors in the United States attorney’s office in Brooklyn, began more than two years ago with an examination of Mr. Grimm’s fund-raising for his 2010 race. Two of his fund-raisers have already been charged, one with illegally funneling more than $10,000 into his campaign.
Here is video of Rep. Grimm threatening to throw an NY1 reporter over a balcony on the night of the State Of The Union:
The good news for Democrats is that Republicans are stuck with Grimm. Rep. Grimm was already designated by the state party as the Republican nominee, so they can only get him off the ballot if he moves out of the district, runs for a judgeship or gets convicted before November. Since none of those things is going to happen, it looks like Democrats have a good chance of picking up a House seat in a district that Obama won by 4 points in 2012.
Grimm was named one of CREW’s 10 most corrupt members of Congress, and his fundraising has been under scrutiny from the minute that he reached Congress. Grimm is the typical House Republican who champions repealing the ACA and cutting taxes from the wealthy.
It looks like Democrats might pick up at least one Republican held seat in November as current Congressman Michael Grimm could be heading off to federal prison.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
