Grimm trial scheduled to begin in December
An effort by attorneys for Congressmember Michael Grimm to push back the start of his trial for fraud and tax evasion to early January was turned down by Federal Eastern District Judge Pamela Chen during a brief court session on the morning of Tuesday, September 2.
Chen upheld a schedule proposed by prosecutors in which jury selection would begin on December 1 in the trial of the Republican congressmember, a former Marine and former FBI agent, who has represented Staten Island and portions of Brooklyn since 2011.
Grimm’s lawyers had argued that beginning the trial so soon after the election cycle closes could potentially be detrimental to Grimm’s receiving a fair trial, because of planned Democratic ads that include “snippets” of the press conference held by U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Lynch in which the 20-count indictment against Grimm was unveiled. Grimm – like all members of the House of Representatives – is up for reelection this year. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him.