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Rep. Michael Grimm (right and inset) told NY1 journalist Michael Scotto (right), 'I'll break you in half,' when he tried to ask the Congressman about a federal investigation into campaign fraud.
NY1 Reporter Michael Scotto said he was "taken aback" when Rep. Michael Grimm hurled threats his way after the journalist tried to get the congressman to talk about the federal investigation he faces into alleged campaign finance fraud.
"I'm used to people giving me pushback for questions, but I was not used to something like that," Scotto said Wednesday on "Morning Joe" about the politician's on-air rant.
Scotto was staged inside the Capitol Rotunda Tuesday night and was interviewing Grimm (R-S.I.) about his response to Obama's State of the Union address.
When Scotto tried to turn the conversation to the investigation, Grimm told him, "I'm not speaking about anything that's off topic. This is only about the President," and he walked away.
Thinking that the moment was over, Scotto tried to turn it back to the studio in New York, but before the camera cut off, Grimm returned in a rage and told him off.
"Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again I'll throw you off this f-----g balcony," Grimm said.
"Why, why, I just wanted to ask you...?" Scotto responded.
"If you ever do that to me again...," the Republican shot back.
"It's a valid question," Scotto said in his defense, but Grimm replied: "No, no, you're not man enough, you're not man enough. I'll break you in half. Like a boy," according to the NY1 transcript.
Scotto, who joined NY1's Washington bureau in January 2013 and spent his earlier career covering City Hall for the New York channel, defended the line of questioning.
"I thought it was the perfect opportunity to ask him a question that's we've been trying to ask him for almost two weeks now," he told the MSNBC show.
NY1 is demanding an apology from the representative, but Grimm remains defiant.
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He issued a statement to slam Scotto for being "disrespectful" and for taking a "cheap shot at the end of the interview."
"I expect a certain level of professionalism and respect, especially when I go out of my way to do that reporter a favor ... I doubt that I am the first member of Congress to tell off a reporter and I am sure I won't be the last," he added.
NY1 News Political Director Bob Hardt said Wednesday "the way Michael asked that question was totally professional," in an interview with AM 970 The Answer.
"You can even duck the question in a professional way, not storm off, not threaten someone."
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Scotto says he doesn't "believe the substance of the threat... I'm not taking it personally. I'm not frightened by it," in an interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo.
Grimm, a 43-year-old former Marine and undercover FBI agent, was elected to Congress in 2010, the only Republican congressman in New York City.
He has been the subject of a two-year federal investigation into allegations his former girlfriend, Diana Durand, used straw donors to bypass campaign finance donation limits.
Durand, 47, was arrested on Jan. 10 in Houston on charges of election fraud and lying to agents.
She is the second person arrested in connection with the case.
Grimm has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged.
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