Trump pardons former GOP congressman Michael Grimm over tax fraud charges

President Trump has signed off on a full pardon for former Rep. Michael Grimm of New York, according to a White House official.

Grimm, a Republican, was convicted in November 2014 of tax fraud and related charges stemming from his ownership of a Manhattan restaurant before joining Congress. Prosecutors said he underreported wages and revenue to the government, and that he filed false tax documents.

They alleged Grimm employed unauthorized workers whom he paid "off the books" in cash, took deliberate steps to obstruct the federal and state governments from collecting taxes he properly owed, cheated the state of New York out of workers' compensation insurance premiums, caused numerous false business and personal tax returns to be filed for several years and lied under oath to cover up his crimes.

When prosecutors successfully argued for a prison term for Grimm, they raised Grimm's threats against a reporter who questioned him about his case and statements he made in court about the impact of his sentencing.

"Though the defendant casts himself as an individual with a life 'nothing short of extraordinary in its commitment to service to this country and those in need', his habit of falsely denying and minimizing his criminal conduct and impugning anyone who questions him is indicative of an individual who has not come to terms with his own crimes," the Justice Department argued.

Grimm won reelection in 2014 in spite of his indictment, but he pleaded guilty a month later to one count of tax fraud. He resigned from Congress in January 2015 and served eight months in prison.

He was released from prison in May 2016, after serving approximately half a year.

Grimm, who was former Marine and FBI agent before he was elected to Congress, represented Staten Island and part of Brooklyn from 2011 to 2015.

Separately, he was under investigation for alleged campaign finance violations relating to his fundraising in his 2010 race.

In 2018, he attempted a comeback but lost a Republican primary for his old district to incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan, who then lost the general election to Democrat Max Rose.

In September 2024, Grimm was paralyzed from the chest down after he was thrown from a horse during a polo tournament.