Video: Representative to reporter: ‘I’ll break you in half’

By Ashley Killough

CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) — After first defending his actions, Rep. Michael Grimm, R-New York, apologized Wednesday for physically threatening a NY1 News reporter at the Capitol.

“I apologized. I called (the reporter) Michael Scotto up. He was very gracious in accepting my apology. We’re going to have lunch sometime next week and make sure this is all behind us,” Grimm told reporters in Washington.

“This was an unfortunate incident that shouldn’t have happened. I’m sure my Italian mother is going to be yelling at me, saying ‘you weren’t raised that way’ and she’s right,” he added

Scotto confirmed on Twitter that he spoke with Grimm and accepted his apology.

It all started when the congressman, who’s under investigation by the Justice Department for illegal fundraising during his 2010 campaign, walked away from an on-camera interview Tuesday night after the State of the Union address. Grimm stormed off when Scotto tried to ask him a question at the end about the campaign finance allegations.

“Alright, so Congressman Michael Grimm does not want to talk about the allegations concerning his campaign finances,” Scotto said. “We wanted to get him on camera on that, but he, as you saw, refused to talk about that. Back to you.”

With the camera still rolling, Grimm surged toward the reporter, who appeared visibly surprised.

The second-term congressman, who’s also a former Marine and former FBI agent, spoke aggressively to Scotto for about 20 seconds.

NY1, a CNN affiliate, broadcast the confrontation late Tuesday night, though it bleeped out the obscenities.

“Let me be clear to you: If you ever do that to me again, I’ll throw you off this f***ing balcony,” Grimm said, as they were standing on the third floor of the rotunda in the Cannon House building.

Scotto replied that he was just trying to ask “a valid question.”

“No, no. You’re not man enough, you’re not man enough. I’ll break you in half, like a boy,” Grimm replied.

First elected in 2010, Grimm represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. In a statement late Tuesday night to NY1, he defended his comments, saying he was “extremely annoyed” because he was “doing NY1 a favor by rushing to do their interview first in lieu of several other requests.”

“The reporter knew that I was in a hurry and was only there to comment on the State of the Union, but insisted on taking a disrespectful and cheap shot at the end of the interview, because I did not have time to speak off-topic,” he added.

“I verbally 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.”

Talking to reporters Wednesday morning after the apology, Grimm said he’s “passionate” and tends to “wear my emotions on my sleeve.”

The congressman said he had been working on flood insurance legislation all day Tuesday and was under “a lot of pressure to deliver because I want my constituents to know I do have their back.”

Speaking with another group of reporters Wednesday, Grimm was asked whether he has talked to the FBI or the Justice Department about the investigation.

“No, not at all,” he said.

Grimm is accused of taking campaign donations from overseas and encouraging donors to exceed contribution limits.

Two people close to Grimm have been charged in the case, but Grimm denies any involvement.

Earlier Wednesday morning, Scotto said he didn’t expect much of a reaction from Grimm to his question the previous night.

“I was surprised about his reaction,” Scotto said Wednesday morning on CNN’s New Day. “I’m a New York City reporter. I’m used to pushback but I never encountered anything like that”

Asked by CNN anchor Chris Cuomo if he thought the threat was real, Scotto said “I don’t believe the substance of the threat at all. I’m not taking it personal. I just think he was angry by the fact that I asked that question and I think he was even more angry by the fact that I kind of explained to viewers why he was not going to answer that question.”

Scotto added that there were no preconditions when he spoke to the Grimm before the interview started.

NY1 Political Director Bob Hardt also released a statement, calling the congressman’s behavior “unacceptable.”

“It is extremely disturbing when anyone threatens one of our reporters — let alone a U.S. Congressman. The NY1 family is certainly alarmed and disappointed by the behavior of Representative Grimm and demands a full apology from him. This behavior is unacceptable,” reads the statement.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has long been targeting Grimm over the allegations, was quick to push out the confrontation in an e-mail blast to reporters Tuesday night.

Grimm has been known to get testy with reporters in the past, including on CNN’s “The Situation Room” last fall.

CNN’s Athena Jones, Deirdre Walsh, Conor Finnegan and Greg Seaby contributed to this report.