Trump Pardons Former N.Y. Representative Who Pleaded Guilty to Tax Fraud
President Trump on Wednesday pardoned Michael G. Grimm, a former New York representative who pleaded guilty in 2014 to felony tax evasion, according to a White House official.
Mr. Grimm, a Republican, represented Staten Island and part of Brooklyn in the House of Representatives from 2011 until he resigned in 2015. On Wednesday, a White House spokesman compared Mr. Grimm's prosecution to the president's own legal troubles, which Mr. Trump has long derided as a witch hunt.
'President Trump knows firsthand the impact of a weaponized justice system,' said the spokesman, Harrison Fields. He said the president was 'using his constitutional authority to right the wrongs of Americans who've been impacted by this corrupt system.'
Mr. Grimm was indicted in 2014 after he failed to report nearly $1 million in gross receipts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in employee wages from a Manhattan restaurant he had owned, prosecutors said. After pleading guilty to one felony charge of tax fraud, he was sentenced to eight months in prison, serving seven.
Reporting by The New York Times indicated that Mr. Grimm also engaged in a range of other potential crimes, including campaign finance and other possible fraud. He was not charged in connection with any of that activity.
In recent years, he has worked as an on-air personality at the right-wing television network Newsmax, and has been an enthusiastic public supporter of Mr. Trump's.
But he has been off the air since a horseback riding accident at a polo tournament last September that left him paralyzed.
In a statement posted online earlier this month, he said he had been in a physical therapy rehabilitation center and that he hoped to be released at the end of May and return to his job at Newsmax. Mr. Grimm did not respond to a message seeking comment on Wednesday.
After his release from prison, Mr. Grimm tried to mount a political comeback on Staten Island, which has for years been a reliably Republican district in New York City.
Mr. Grimm ran in a Republican congressional primary in 2018 to retake his old seat, but Mr. Trump endorsed his opponent, Representative Dan Donovan, and his comeback attempt fell short.
During that campaign, Mr. Grimm argued that his prosecution — which began as a campaign finance inquiry but evolved into a 20-count indictment related to his former management of a restaurant called Healthalicious — had been politically motivated.
That is an argument that Mr. Trump himself has used when seeking to minimize the criminal investigations he faced before his re-election last year and his criminal conviction last May.
Mr. Trump on Wednesday also pardoned John G. Rowland, who served as the governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004, when he resigned to avoid impeachment during an investigation into corrupt government practices.
He pleaded guilty later that year and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Ten years later, Mr. Rowland was convicted again of public corruption, including obstructing justice, conspiracy, falsifying documents relied on by federal regulators and other violations of campaign finance laws. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Vogue
19 minutes ago
- Vogue
LoveShackFancy Resort 2026 Collection
Rebecca Hessel Cohen believes that during 'resort,' the Loveshackfancy woman operates with the following schedule: first, she's out and about attending holiday parties around town. Then, she's hosting intimate dinners for her family at home, whether that's in New York, Charleston, or wherever else Loveshakfancy has a store. Finally, it's New Years, and she's off to celebrate on the slopes of Aspen or the shores of St. Barths. 'Our customers are traveling to all the places at this time,' Hessel Cohen said. Naturally, the brand's new resort collection addresses all those occasions. There's a number of evening dresses and gowns meant for a Christmas party or black tie soirée. Many of them boast glittering stars and a palette of sun-like gold or moon-like ivory. Hessel Cohen said that they took their opulent cues from the Venetian palazzos of Ca' d'Oro and Ca' Rezzonico. Indeed, a soft white tulle gown with beaded stars would pair perfectly with a Venetian mask, as would a long black dress with gold sequins. 'Our customer is really coming to us for event dressing," she noted. Although Loveshackfancy is best known for its silk bias-cut dresses. in this collection Hessel Cohen and co. explore the more casual side of the brand with knitwear looks. (Not so coincidentally, the company just opened a cold-weather store in Aspen and in the next few months will do so in Chicago.) Metallic knit dresses and miniskirts come with cardigan shrugs. There's even a Loveshackfancy interpretation of a Fair Isle sweater. Then there comes their take on New Year's party dressing. Mini dresses are adorned with gold sequins or pink flower paillettes. One maxi dress feels like a pastel disco ball with its deep-v neckline and rhinestones. A bohemian-flavored powder blue set and another in white feathers look ripe for those ringing in 2026 on a beach. Some of the designs in this collection can feel quite young—it's hard to imagine a grown woman wearing a spaghetti-strap tartan minidress with a bow hemline or a tutu-like pink frock. But then again, Loveshackfancy's core audience has always included pre-teen, teen, and college students. ('The New Tween Status Look: LoveShackFancy Dresses,' read a Wall Street Journal headline in 2021.) That said, Hessel Cohen does report that the brand has recently seen a 'mature and elevated customer' coming through the doors. She's responding in kind, offering evening looks at higher price-points: one dress in the collection retails close to $1,800. It doesn't have any bows.
Chicago Tribune
19 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
President Donald Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's big bill making its way through Congress will cut taxes by $3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO also estimates an increase of 10.9 million people without health insurance under the bill by 2034, including 1.4 million who are in the United States without legal status in state-funded programs. The package would reduce federal outlays, or spending, by nearly $1.3 trillion over that period, the budget office said. What is the CBO? A look at the small office inflaming debate over Trump's tax bill'In the words of Elon Musk, this bill is a 'disgusting abomination,'' said Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, reviving the billionaire former Trump aide's criticism of the package. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he called Musk late Tuesday to discuss the criticism but had not heard back. 'I hope he comes around,' Johnson told reporters. The analysis comes at a crucial moment in the legislative process as Trump is pushing Congress to have the final product on his desk to sign into law by the Fourth of July. The work of the CBO, which for decades has served as the official scorekeeper of legislation in Congress, will be weighed by lawmakers and others seeking to understand the budgetary impacts of the sprawling 1,000-page-plus package. Ahead of the CBO's release, the White House and Republican leaders criticized the budget office in a preemptive campaign designed to sow doubt in its findings. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the CBO has been 'historically wrong,' and Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the CBO was 'flat wrong' because it underestimated the potential revenue growth from Trump's first round of tax breaks in 2017. The CBO last year said receipts were $1.5 trillion, or 5.6% greater than predicted, in large part because of the 'burst of high inflation' during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. White House Budget Director Russ Vought said when you adjust for 'current policy' — which means not counting some $4.5 trillion in existing tax breaks that are simply being extended for the next decade — the overall package actually doesn't pile onto the deficit. He argued the spending cuts alone in fact help reduce deficits by $1.4 trillion over the decade. Democrats and even some Republicans call that 'current policy' accounting move a gimmick, but it's the approach Senate Republicans intend to use during their consideration of the package to try to show it does not add to the nation's deficits. Vought argued that the CBO is the one using a 'gimmick' by tallying the costs of continuing those tax breaks that would otherwise expire. Leavitt also suggested that the CBO's employees are biased, even though certain budget office workers face strict ethical rules — including restrictions on campaign donations and political activity — to ensure objectivity and impartiality. 'When it comes time to make prognostications on economic growth, they've always been wrong,' House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said at a press conference. Asked if it's time to get rid of the CBO, Scalise did not dismiss the idea, saying it's valid to raise concerns. Alongside the costs of the bill, the CBO had previously estimated that nearly 4 million fewer people would have food stamps each month due to the legislation's proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP. The bill, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act after the president's own catch phrase, is grinding its way through Congress, as the top priority of Republicans, who control both the House and the Senate — and face stiff opposition from Democrats, who call it Trump's 'big, ugly bill.' All told, the package seeks to extend the individual income tax breaks that had been approved in 2017 but that will expire in December if Congress fails to act, while adding new ones, including no taxes on tips. It also includes a massive buildup of $350 billion for border security, deportations and national security. To help cover the lost revenue, Republicans want to slash some federal spending. They propose phasing out green energy tax breaks put in place during Democrat Joe Biden's presidency. New work requirements for some adults up to age 65 on Medicaid and SNAP would begin in December 2026 and are expected to result in less spending on those programs. Republicans argue their proposals are intended to make Medicaid and other programs stronger by rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. They want the federal funding to go those who most need health care and other services, often citing women and children. But Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said those claims are bogus and are simply part of long-running GOP efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, as most states have expanded Medicaid to serve more people under the program. 'They just want to strangle health care,' Schumer said. The package also would provide a $4 trillion increase to the nation's debt limit, which is now $36 trillion, to allow more borrowing. The Treasury Department projects the debt limit will need to be raised this summer to pay the nation's already accrued bills. Now in its 50th year, the CBO was established by law after Congress sought to assert its control, as outlined in the Constitution, over the budget process, in part by setting up the new office as an alternative to the White House's Office of Management and Budget. Staffed by some 275 economists, analysts and other employees, the CBO says it seeks to provide Congress with objective, impartial information about budgetary and economic issues. Its current director, Phillip Swagel, a former Treasury official in Republican President George W. Bush's administration, was reappointed to a four-year term in 2023.
Chicago Tribune
19 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
What is the CBO? A look at the small office inflaming debate over President Donald Trump's tax bill
WASHINGTON — A small government office with some 275 employees has found itself caught in the political crossfire as Congress debates President Donald Trump's 'one big beautiful bill.' The Congressional Budget Office has projected that the legislation would increase federal deficits by about $2.4 trillion over 10 years. That's a problem for a Republican Congress that has spent much of the past four years criticizing former President Joe Biden and Democrats for the nation's rising debt levels. The White House and Republican leaders in Congress are taking issue with CBO's findings. They say economic growth will be higher than the office is projecting, resulting in more revenue coming into government coffers. Meanwhile, Democrats are touting CBO's findings as evidence of the bill's failings. President Donald Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO saysHere's a look at the office at the center of Washington's latest political tug-of-war. Lawmakers established the Congressional Budget Office more than 50 years ago to provide objective, impartial analysis to support the budget process. The CBO is required to produce a cost estimate for nearly every bill approved by a House or Senate committee and will weigh in earlier when asked to do so by lawmakers. It also produces a report each Congress on how to reduce the debt if lawmakers so choose with each option including arguments for or against. Plus, it publishes detailed estimates when presidents make proposals that would affect mandator spending, which includes programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Lawmakers created the office to help Congress play a stronger role in budget matters, providing them with an alternative to the Office of Management and Budget, which is part of a Republican or Democratic administration, depending upon the president in office. CBO hires analysts based on their expertise, not political affiliation. Staff is expected to maintain objectivity and avoid political influence. In evaluating potential employees, the CBO says that for most positions it looks at whether that person would be perceived to be free from political bias. Like other federal employees, the CBO's staff is also prohibited from making political contributions to members of Congress. The CBO's director, Phillip Swagel, served in former Republican President George W. Bush's administration as an economic adviser and as an assistant secretary at the Treasury Department. The stakes are incredibly high with Republicans looking to pass their massive tax cut and immigration bill by early July. Outside groups, Democrats and some Republicans are highlighting CBO's analysis that the bill will increase federal deficits by about $2.4 trillion over 10 years and leave 10.9 million more people uninsured in 2034. Republicans spent much of Biden's presidency focused on curbing federal deficits. They don't want to be seen as contributing to the fiscal problem. GOP lawmakers say the CBO isn't giving enough credit to the economic growth the bill will create, to the point where it would be deficit-neutral in the long run, if not better. 'The CBO assumes long-term GDP growth of an anemic 1.8% and that is absurd,' said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. 'The American economy is going to boom like never before after the 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' is passed.' Republicans began taking issue with the CBO even before Trump and the current Congress were sworn into office. 'CBO will always predict a dark future when Republicans propose tax relief – but the reality is never so dire,' Rep. Jason Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in a December news release. Recently, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been taking digs at the office. 'The CBO is notorious for getting things WRONG,' he said in a Facebook post. In April 2018, CBO said that tax receipts would total $27 trillion from fiscal years 2018 to 2024. Receipts came in about $1.5 trillion higher than the CBO projected. Republicans have seized on that discrepancy. But the numbers don't tell the whole story. Some of the criticism of the CBO ignores the context of a global pandemic as the federal government rushed to prop the economy up with massive spending bills under both Trump and Biden. In a blog post last December, Swagel pointed out three reasons for the higher revenues: The primary reason was the burst of inflation that began in March 2021 as the country was recovering from COVID. That burst of inflation, he said, led to about $900 billion more in revenue. There was also an increase in economic activity in 'the later years of the period' adding $700 billion. Also, new tariffs added about $250 billion, with other legislation partially offsetting those three factors.
