dan howell painted nails
House Republicans accept a bulletin for ex-congressman and bedevilled felon Michael Grimm: Break home.
The ashamed above New York congressman, who served seven months in federal bastille for tax evasion, wants to accost his old Staten Island seat, declaring a primary claiming adjoin his successor, GOP Rep. Dan Donovan. The faceoff, which Republicans accept could be a absolute nail-biter, will pit an blackmailer adjoin a prosecutor — with both men aggravating to acrylic themselves as the accurate Trumpian applicant in the race.
Story Continued Below
Michael Caputo, a above attack abettor to Donald Trump, is allowance admonish Grimm’s campaign. Grimm has additionally approved and accustomed a absolution from Steve Bannon, the bourgeois hard-liner and above top Trump strategist. Grimm alike afflicted his Twitter handle to "@RealMGrimm,” an credible nod to @realDonaldTrump.
But arch House Republicans appetite annihilation to do with Grimm. They anguish the man who already threatened to bandy a anchorman off a balcony, and brandished a gun during a bistro argument with his adult companion’s conflicting husband, would be a above aberration to their aldermanic agenda. Grimm could additionally accommodate Democrats with abounding fodder to cast the beat district.
House Republicans altercate that Donovan is a advantageous affiliate of the GOP Conference and deserves to break — admitting abreast some of them anguish that Grimm, who charcoal accepted aback home, could prevail.
“I abutment Dan Donovan — apparent and simple,” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday.
Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox.
By signing up you accede to accept email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Ohio), a adolescent abstinent who says he’s accompany with Grimm, offered a blunter appraisal of Grimm's improvement bid.
“I aloof anticipate it’s difficult for addition who copped a appeal and went to bastille for tax artifice to accept believability with colleagues," Tiberi said. "He’d be a big aberration actuality on the House attic and a big aberration in board [hearings]. It would be a bazaar — and, again, I like Michael Grimm.”
Donovan is acquisitive to accept added than adolescent House Republicans in his bend — he wants the admiral to accept his back, too. Donovan said in an account Tuesday that Trump has been a “good acquaintance of abundance for 20 years” and that their accord goes aback to his time as a top official in Staten Island during the 1990s.
Trump had additionally donated to Donovan’s campaigns for accessible office, he said, abetment him for Staten Island commune advocate and, eventually, Congress. Donovan was alike on Air Force One the day Trump accursed Reince Priebus and broke then-Homeland Aegis Secretary John Kelly for arch of staff.
“I said, ‘I anticipate Kelly is an American hero and patriot.’ So the admiral turns to [deputy civic aegis adviser] Dina Powell and says, ‘See, I told you. In 20 minutes, I’m activity to advertise that I’m activity to accomplish him my arch of staff. Put a lid on it,’” Donovan recounted.
Donovan bidding aplomb that the commune will aback him over Grimm, a above FBI abettor generally affected in controversy. Donovan accustomed his chairmanship of a citizenry aegis subcommittee that oversees terrorism, and acicular to a host of bounded projects he’s shepherded through Congress.
But Grimm has his own political assets. The absorbing pol absolutely saw his acceptance in the commune acceleration afterwards the Justice Department accusable him. In 2012, Grimm garnered 48 percent of the vote; in 2014, afterwards actuality answerable with 20 counts of tax artifice and breaking added federal laws, Grimm won 53 percent.
Donovan said that’s because Grimm aria to voters.
“Mr. Grimm told the bodies of Staten Island and Brooklyn he was innocent and would be exonerated. Enough bodies trusted him to vote for his reelection — and then, subsequently, weeks later, he accepted he aria to them and pled guilty,” Donovan noted.
Grimm beneath to animadversion for this story. But in a contempo account with Breitbart, Grimm portrayed himself as a victim of a antagonistic Obama administration, a affirmation he additionally fabricated afore his accusable appeal in April 2014.
“I alleged on [then-Attorney General] Eric Holder as a apprentice to resign, and again it came aback to chaw me,” Grimm said. “I was told that they fabricated a accord with [then-U.S. Attorney] Loretta Lynch, that if she could booty me bottomward on anything, if she could acquisition anything, she would be put to the top of this abbreviate account for advocate general. Two months afterwards my artificial adulterated indictment, she is the advocate accepted of the United States.”
Caputo, the Grimm adviser, said it was unsurprising that GOP leaders were abetment Donovan, the incumbent.
“This a dog-bites-man story,” Caputo said. But if Trump endorses Donovan, Caputo acknowledged, "it would be a difficulty. But I don’t apprehend the admiral to do that.”
Caputo additionally formed Donovan for voting adjoin the House GOP’s Obamacare abolition plan, adage Grimm would be added loyal to Trump’s agenda.
Immigration is an affair on which Grimm thinks he can hit Donovan. Caputo acclaimed that Donovan voted adjoin acid off funds for “sanctuary cities.” Yet Grimm additionally voted adjoin deporting “Dreamers” during his time in office.
Grimm, though, has won Bannon’s blessing, which could be ambiguous for Donovan and a addition for Grimm as he tries to affirmation the autonomous mantle. Indeed, Bannon’s pro-Trump advertisement Breitbart has already accounting several favorable belief about Grimm, who’s aggravating to about-face his tax artifice confidence into a account of martyrdom.
Not every House Republican feels as assured as Donovan. A cardinal of arch House Republican assembly and aides said Grimm could accord Donovan a austere challenge. Several Republicans said Donovan doesn’t like to accession money, which could be a botheration back TV ads are so big-ticket in the New York market. Donovan had alone $300,000 in the coffer as of June 30, according to letters filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Donovan claims that his fundraising numbers accept skyrocketed back Grimm jumped into the chase aboriginal this month. Donors, the bounden said, appetite to ensure that he — not Grimm — speaks for them in Congress.
“Since the Grimm announcement, my fundraising has become abundantly easy,” Donovan said. “The bulk of bodies who accept accomplished out to me to ask how they can abutment [me], or say they appetite to host an accident … I mean, my banknote on duke has added tremendously.”
House Republicans will do what they can to advice Donovan authority on. The Civic Republican Congressional Board is because abacus him to the Primary Patriot Program, a new annex of the attack arm committed to attention accessible incumbents who pay their attack dues. The Republican Main Street Partnership, a accumulation of 70 moderates with a PAC committed to allowance their members, could additionally advice Donovan, said Tiberi, the group's leader.
If Grimm wins, however, his alliance on Capitol Hill won’t be a blessed one.
“He has every appropriate to run. He served his time, and he paid his ante for the abomination that he was bedevilled of," said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). "But why run adjoin a adolescent Republican like Dan Donovan, who is accomplishing a abundant job?”
Missing out on the latest scoops? Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox.
