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Rep. Grimm Says He Hadn't Been Drinking Before Threatening Reporter
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 30, 2014
Modified Jan 30, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 30, 2014
Modified Jan 30, 2014
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Yesterday, Congressman Michael Grimm's threats against a NY1 reporter became a national story, as major networks included the story on its evening newscasts. Of course, Grimm had to discuss the incident and eat humble pie, saing, "I'm a human being and sometimes your emotions get the better of you, and the bottom line is it shouldn't happen—you shouldn't lose your cool and that's why I apologized. When you're wrong, you're wrong and you have to admit it."
Grimm did in fact apologize to reporter Michael Scotto for getting upset when Scotto asked him questions about the federal investigation into his campaign finances. Upset as in crazy angry, because what Grimm said was, "Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this f-----g balcony.... You're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy."
Scotto accepted the apology (apparently Grimm suggested they have lunch) and he told the Daily News that he was "shocked” by Grimm but "not particularly frightened... I didn’t think I was going to fall over the balcony, as some people have asked me today... I got the sense that he just wanted to move past this."
Don't worry—the media won't let him! From the NY Times: "Speaking later with reporters at the Capitol, a more congenial Mr. Grimm explained that he had had “a long day fighting for flood insurance” for his constituents and 'I lost my cool.' Asked if he had been drinking, he laughed it off as 'silly.'"
And Rachel Maddow devoted 21 minutes to how corrupt and terrible NY politicians—both Republican and Democrat—and also spoke to NY1's Errol Louis, who recounted an anecdote about Grimm becoming angry at him during an interview and, afterwards, saying they should "take it outside" (go to 16 minutes):
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, but an aide to House Speaker John Boehner said, "Rep. Grimm has apologized, and the speaker believes that was appropriate." But Grimm's mother is probably unhappy:
Perhaps the most embarrassing thing—besides all of Grimm's "bad temper" episodes being rehashed (cue flashing his gun at a nightclub)—is the fact that Anthony Fucking Weiner wrote an op-ed with advice for Grimm. And his advice is actually pretty good:
First, if you don’t want to talk about a scandal in which you’re embroiled, whatever that scandal may be, maybe it’s best that you don’t do interviews for a while. For that matter, you may not want to attend community meetings, visit your office or go a sporting event. Fact is, an investigation that’s hanging over your head is the kind of thing people might be curious about. People ask you about embarrassing stuff even when you want to talk about other things. Especially when you want to talk about other things...
A few pols under investigation have handled such challenges with real poise. I was not one of them. I did a terrible job following these rules. I did embarrassing things and made them so much worse by being dishonest about them.
Tagged
anthony weiner
michael grimm
michael scotto
staten island
tough guy
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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