Another Look at Grimm’s Charges

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A story of note this week revolves around Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) and accusations that he hid money from the IRS while running a health food store in Manhattan. He is also the subject of an ongoing investigation for potentially mismanaging funds during his 2010 congressional campaign.

Senior Fellow Charles Cushman spoke with Voice of Russia about the New York congressman. In addition to a standard analysis, Dr. Cushman broke down the congressional process and electoral implications of this developing ethics scandal.

He noted that House leadership has the power to pull committee assignments from Members; it’s one tool they can use to ramp up pressure and convey disapproval with a Member’s conduct. No censure from leadership has hit Grimm thus far. For context, the New York Times recently explored the “odd dichotomy” between leadership’s responses to different kinds of ethics violations.

Dr. Cushman noted that scandals like Grimm’s have left a stain on candidates in the past. They can be difficult to overcome. In the case of New York’s 11th district, the threat of Grimm’s diminished prospects was enough for the Rothenberg Political Report to change their projection for the district from “Leans Republican” to “Leans Democrat.”