Representative Grimm To Step Down Following Guilty Plea, Reports Say

By Victoria Cavaliere(Reuters) - U.S. Representative Michael Grimm of New York, who pleaded guilty last week to a federal felony tax charge, is expected to resign from office in coming days, published reports said Monday.Grimm spoke privately on Monday with Republican leaders about the decision, sources told the Washington Post and Politico.Grimm could hand in his resignation as early as next Tuesday, the reports said.Following his guilty plea, Grimm said publicly he had no intention of stepping down.Daniel Rashbaum, one of Grimm's lawyers, declined to comment on the reports.A spokesman for House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner told Reuters he could not confirm Grimm's plans.Grimm pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Dec. 23 to aiding the preparation of a false tax return in connection with a health food restaurant, Healthalicious, that he co-owned before his political career.As part of a plea deal, Grimm also signed a statement of facts, admitting to concealing over $900,000 in gross receipts from 2007 to 2010 and lying during a 2013 deposition.Boehner has not publicly called for Grimm's resignation, but House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi last week said the Republican leadership must "must insist that Congressman Grimm resign immediately."The 44-year-old former Marine and FBI agent easily won a third term in office in November. His resignation would set up a 2015 battle for his House seat, which covers parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn.He faces a maximum of three years in prison when he is sentenced on June 8.(Additional reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Robert Birsel)Join the conversation about this story
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