New York congressman threatens to throw reporter off balcony

POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 30, 2025 17:12
VIEWED: 2875
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It started when Grimm, who's under investigation by the Justice Department for illegal fundraising during his 2010 campaign, walked away from an on-camera interview about the State of the Union after the reporter, Michael Scotto, tried to ask him questions about the allegations.

"Alright, so Congressman Michael Grimm does not want to talk about the allegations concerning his campaign finances," Scotto said. "We wanted to get him on camera on that, but he, as you saw, refused to talk about that. Back to you."

With the camera still rolling, Grimm surges toward the reporter, who appears visibly surprised.

The second-term congressman, who's also a former Marine and former FBI agent, spoke aggressively to Scotto for about 20 seconds.

NY1 broadcast the confrontation, though it bleeped out the obscenities.

"Let me be clear to you: If you ever do that to me again, I'll throw you off this f***ing balcony," Grimm said.

Scotto replied that he was just trying to ask "a valid question."

"No, no. You're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half, like a boy," Grimm replied.

"I was surprised about his reaction," Scotto said Wednesday morning on CNN's New Day. "I'm a New York City reporter. I'm used to pushback but I never encountered anything like that"

Asked by CNN anchor Chris Cuomo if he thought the threat was real, Scotto said "I don't believe the substance of the threat at all. I'm not taking it personal. I just think he was angry by the fact that I asked that question and I think he was even more angry by the fact that I kind of explained to viewers why he was not going to answer that question."

Scotto added that there were no preconditions when he spoke to the Grimm before the interview started.

NY1 Political Director Bob Hardt also released a statement, calling the congressman's behavior "unacceptable."

"It is extremely disturbing when anyone threatens one of our reporters – let alone a U.S. Congressman. The NY1 family is certainly alarmed and disappointed by the behavior of Representative Grimm and demands a full apology from him. This behavior is unacceptable," reads the statement. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/29/new-york-congressman-t
hreatens-to-throw-reporter-off-balcony/

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Well, that'll sure prove he's a level-headed guy who'd never commit a crime...




"Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"

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His "explanation" of his actions just made him sound worse, too. In his response, he said, "I verbally took the reporter to task and told him off, because I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect..."


Comes off very much like "how dare you speak to me, serf! Bow your head!"


I wonder how many who called Richard Sherman a "thug" will denounce this guy.

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"No, no. You're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half, like a boy," Grimm replied.

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"You can't handle the truth."

9_9

Gotta love stereotypical power-mad corrupt jerkasses.

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Wish the reporter had called his bluff right there on TV.

"Go for it, tough guy."




"Goram it kid, let's frak this thing and go home! Engage!"

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His "explanation" of his actions just made him sound worse, too. In his response, he said, "I verbally took the reporter to task and told him off, because I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect..."

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I think his constituents expect as much from him as well. He's not royalty. Nor should he be so naive to think that all reporters are there to enhance his image or get his message out in a favorable light.

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I wonder how many who called Richard Sherman a "thug" will denounce this guy.

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Knowing how Crabtree reacted to Sherman, right after the game and just before the interview, I didn't see him as a thug. He was excited, animated, and Erin Andrews got exactly out of him what she was suppose to, a great sound bite. Too bad her producers in the truck waved her off from getting more interview gold.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

I'm just a red pill guy in a room full of blue pill addicts.

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Yeah, EC, sounds like quite a character. Aat first he refused to apologize:

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“I was extremely annoyed because I was doing NY1 a favor by rushing to do their interview first in lieu of several other requests,” he wrote in a statement on Tuesday night. “The reporter knew that I was in a hurry and was only there to comment on the State of the Union, but insisted on taking a disrespectful and cheap shot at the end of the interview, because I did not have time to speak off-topic.”

“I verbally took the reporter to task and told him off, because I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect, especially when I go out of my way to do that reporter a favor,” he wrote. “I doubt that I am the first member of Congress to tell off a reporter, and I am sure I won’t be the last.” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/nyregion/rep-michael-grimm-threat-ny
1-reporter.html?_r=0

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But now he's decided best to backpedal:

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But on Wednesday, Mr. Grimm seemed to have had a change of heart. “I was wrong,” he said in a statement. “I shouldn’t have allowed my emotions to get the better of me and lose my cool. I have apologized to Michael Scotto, which he graciously accepted, and will be scheduling a lunch soon.” Same

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As to what he was so pissed off about and didn't want to answer questions on:

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This month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Diana K. Durand, a fund-raiser for Mr. Grimm, on charges that she illegally funneled more than $10,000 into his campaign. Mr. Grimm has also faced a continuing federal investigation into accusations that he or his campaign illegally solicited money from foreign donors. A key figure in the investigation, a former aide to a well-known Orthodox rabbi, Yoshiyahu Pinto, pleaded guilty last year to visa fraud. The aide, Ofer Biton, helped steer hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mr. Grimm’s 2009-10 campaign.

Mr. Grimm, who was first elected with the help of Tea Party support, has been entangled in controversy involving a continuing federal investigation into his campaign fund-raising, including assertions by several contributors that Mr. Grimm or his chief fund-raiser told them that his campaign would find ways to get around the legal limit on donations. Same

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...and it's apparently not the first time he's lost control:

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Rep. Michael Grimm’s bizarre and scary rant against Michael Scotto last night is not an isolated incident; it’s part of a pattern in which the congressman has tried to avoid questions about an ongoing probe into his campaign finances -- and then become enraged when we’ve dared to ask him about a legitimate story.
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Following an interview with NY1’s Errol Louis in December of 2012, the congressman blew his top –- off-camera. Again, at issue was the fact that Louis had the temerity to ask Grimm about an investigation that recently led to an associate of the congressman being arrested and charged with illegally donating $10,000 to his campaign.

After the interview, Grimm became red-faced and started yelling at both Louis and me, alluding to settling the issue by “taking it outside” with our political anchor –- acting as if he were in a bar instead of a TV studio. He’s also complained to me when our reporters on Staten Island asked him about the probe when he was running for re-election in 2012. http://www.ny1.com/content/politics/ny1_political_itch/202681/ny1-itch
--a-grimm-tale-of-disunion-in-washington

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Tough guy:

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Mr. Grimm, who was first elected to Congress in 2010, is a former Marine and he often uses his military service to push back at criticism.

In 2010, when his Republican primary opponent Michael Allegretti accused him of wearing Army combat ribbons he did not earn, Mr. Grimm showed a flash of temper.

“You sleep under a blanket of freedom that I helped provide. You should just say, ‘Thank you,'” he said. “What I’ve done in my life, you see in the movies.”

Mr. Grimm’s response, however, raised some eyebrows

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