Judge not. Please.
We all remember Michael Grimm, right? The Republican member of Congress from Staten Island who is
under federal indictment for underreporting payroll costs, perjury, and obstruction of justice? He's also the same guy who
threatened to throw a reporter off a balcony for asking about an investigation into his campaign fundraising. Nice guy all the way around.
Well, Republicans are scrambling for a way to keep the seat in their hands, and they're in a bit of trouble. President Obama carried the district in 2012, and it was a top pickup opportunity for Democrats even before Grimm was indicted and taken into custody. If Grimm is the Republican Party's nominee come November, it's hard to imagine them holding the seat. But the deadline to replace Grimm on the ballot has already passed, which means that the options to legally replace him are limited. As Steve Benen writes at MaddowBlog:
I won’t pretend to be an expert in the nuances of state election law in New York, but Roll Call reported this week that at this point, with the filing deadline already having passed, there are three options: (1) Grimm can move out of the district; (2) he can seek a judgeship; or (3) Grimm can be convicted of the pending charges.
Guess which option is getting the most traction? Why, option 2, of course! As the
WSJ reported, there are already conversations in the works:
Staten Island GOP Chairman John Antoniello, a supporter of Mr. Grimm’s, said he planned to speak with Mr. Grimm to talk about his options this weekend. “The charges are real,” Mr. Antoniello said. But, he added, “I think he has the support of the people.”
Mr. Antoniello, who nominates Republicans to judgeships, said it was unclear if there would be any openings by September, the earliest Mr. Grimm could be nominated.
To recap: the Republican Party is so desperate to hold a swing Congressional seat that they're willing to consider nominating for a judgeship someone who was just indicted on 20 felony counts. Because, ethics.