New York Congressman Michael Grimm has apologized to NY1 reporter Michael Scotto, who he threatened after the State of the Union for asking about an investigation into his campaign finances.
Grimm had threatened to push Scotto off the Capitol rotunda when Scotto tried to ask him about a topic that wasn’t related to President Obama’s State of the Union. “Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this f-----g balcony,” Grimm told Scotto, later adding, “No, no, you're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy.”
While Grimm did issue a statement last night, it wasn’t much of an apology. He explained that he was annoyed, admitting that he 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.”
NY1 is now reporting that Grimm contact Scotto over the phone to personally apologize, saying that he “overreacted.”
In a written statement, Grimm said, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have allowed my emotions to get the better of me and lose my cool.” He added that Scotto has accepted his apology and that they will meet for lunch.
“In the weeks and months ahead I’ll be working hard for my constituents on issues like flood insurance that is so desperately needed in my district post Sandy,” he said.
According to The New York Daily News, Scotto told Morning Joe this morning that he was surprised that Grimm had acted out the way he did. “I'm used to people giving me pushback for questions, but I was not used to something like that,” he said.
image: Wikimedia Commons
