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New York: Michael Grimm Racks Up Huge Legal Bills

(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

Rep. Michael Grimm (R), who the FBI is reportedly looking into investigating, racked up more than $321,000 in legal fees from April 1 to June 6, according to a Federal Election Commission report filed late Thursday.

During that period, Grimm’s campaign raised $144,000 and disbursed $71,000 but accrued $336,000 worth of debt, including the $321,000 to Patton Boggs LLP, a high-powered Washington, D.C., firm.

Grimm’s campaign did not respond to telephone and email requests for comment Friday morning. At the end of June 6, Grimm had a very comfortable $1.2 million in cash on hand.

In the November general election, Grimm is set to face a weak Democratic opponent, Mark Murphy, a former aide to the New York City public advocate.

Murphy pulled in just $112,000 during the two-month period — with a lot of help from Democratic Members of Congress and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee — and ended with $177,000 in cash on hand. The fact that he was able to pull in such a relatively small sum of money as a Democratic Congressional candidate in heavily Democratic and extremely wealthy New York City underlines Murphy’s weakness.

Roll Call rates the race as Likely Republican. But that could change if some of the allegations that have been swirling around Grimm end up as an indictment.

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