Federal prosecutors are investigating Michael Grimm’s alleged fund-raising improprieties and at least one individual affiliated with the congressman has been interviewed by the FBI.
Reached for comment, the individual requested anonymity to speak candidly and then confirmed the interview took place. In a statement provided to Politicker from his campaign lawyer, Mr. Grimm also acknowledged the investigation.
“We are of course familiar with the FBI inquiry and we welcome the news that it is heading towards completion,” Mr. Grimm, a former FBI agent himself, said. “We contacted the Justice Department and other appropriate agencies immediately after the false allegations against me first appeared in an irresponsible New York Times story in January.”
“I look forward to a speedy resolution and am confident that I will be fully vindicated. I’ve done nothing wrong and any fair and thorough inquiry will come to the same conclusion,” he added.
The New York Times earlier this year reported that Mr. Grimm used a combination of straw donors and extortion to illegally raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for his 2010 campaign, according to the paper’s sources. However, very little until now occurred in subsequent developments outside of the Associated Press reporting in early March that the FBI was “considering whether to open an investigation” into his fund-raising.
The FBI declined to comment on this story.
Mr. Grimm, a freshman Republican representing Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn, faces a potentially competitive race later this year.
