Archive for the ‘Republican’ Category

Rep. Michael Grimm says he won't resign after pleading guilty to tax evasion

Embattled Republican Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of tax evasion, but said he would not resign his seat.

In a Brooklyn courtroom before U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen, Grimm admitted to aiding in the filing of a false tax return, according to court filings.

Grimm was indicted in April on federal charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, employing undocumented workers, and perjury in relation to a Manhattan fast-food restaurant he once co-owned and operated.

Grimm admitted that he had made "off the books" payments to employees and under-reported nearly $1 million in gross receipts to the Internal Revenue Service and New York state tax collectors. He also admitted that he lied during a deposition about whether employees had been paid in cash, and whether he had used email accounts to operate the restaurant.

"I should not have done it and I am truly sorry for it," he told reporters outside the courtroom.

He struck a defiant tone when asked whether he would resign after the plea. "I'm going to get back to work and work as hard as I can," said the 44-year-old, who represents Staten Island.

Grimm had previously said that if he was convicted, he would step down from Congress. "Certainly, if I was not able to serve, then of course I would step aside," he said at a debate in October, according to the Associated Press.

In a 20-count indictment unsealed in April, federal prosecutors accused Grimm of under-reporting his employees wages to the IRS, paying them in envelopes full of cash, and said he had lied under oath when he claimed he was not responsible for handling payroll.

Grimm sold his interest in the restaurant before taking office in 2011, according to prosecutors.

The trial in his case was set to begin in February, according to the Associated Press. If convicted, Grimm could have faced a prison sentence of anywhere from six months for hiring undocumented workers to 20 years for each of the mail and wire fraud charges, prosecutors said.

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Rep. Michael Grimm says he won't resign after pleading guilty to tax evasion

Rep. Michael Grimm refuses to resign after guilty plea in tax case

Embattled Republican Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) pleaded guilty Tuesday to a single count of tax evasion, but said he would not resign his seat.

In a Brooklyn courtroom before U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen, Grimm admitted to aiding in the filing of a false tax return, according to court filings.

Grimm was indicted in April on federal charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, employing undocumented workers, and perjury in relation to a Manhattan fast-food restaurant he once co-owned and operated.

Grimm admitted that he had made "off the books" payments to employees and under-reported nearly $1 million in gross receipts to the Internal Revenue Service and New York state tax collectors. He also admitted that he lied during a deposition about whether employees had been paid in cash, and whether he had used email accounts to operate the restaurant.

"I should not have done it and I am truly sorry for it," he told reporters outside the courtroom.

He struck a defiant tone when asked whether he would resign after the plea. "I'm going to get back to work and work as hard as I can," said the 44-year-old, who represents Staten Island.

Grimm had previously said that if he was convicted, he would step down from Congress. "Certainly, if I was not able to serve, then of course I would step aside," he said at a debate in October, according to the Associated Press.

In a 20-count indictment unsealed in April, federal prosecutors accused Grimm of under-reporting his employees wages to the IRS, paying them in envelopes full of cash, and said he had lied under oath when he claimed he was not responsible for handling payroll.

Grimm sold his interest in the restaurant before taking office in 2011, according to prosecutors.

The trial in his case was set to begin in February, according to the Associated Press. If convicted, Grimm could have faced a prison sentence of anywhere from six months for hiring undocumented workers to 20 years for each of the mail and wire fraud charges, prosecutors said.

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Rep. Michael Grimm refuses to resign after guilty plea in tax case

CBO Chief Elmendorf Said Not to Win Reappointment by Republicans

Incoming Republican leaders in Congress wont reappoint Doug Elmendorf to another term as head of the Congressional Budget Office, according to a party aide briefed on the decision.

The move comes after a campaign from conservative lawmakers who want to change the way the CBO calculates the costs of government, said the aide, who requested anonymity to discuss a personnel decision. The office provides nonpartisan budget analysis for members of Congress that includes estimates of the cost of legislation.

Elmendorf, 52, an economist with experience at the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, was appointed to run the CBO in 2009 when then-director Peter Orszag was picked by President Barack Obama to run the White House Office of Management and Budget.

In 2011, Elmendorf won a full four-year term, after Republicans took control of the House while Democrats retained the Senate. A CBO conclusion that Obamas signature domestic achievement -- the 2010 Affordable Care Act -- was cutting costs pleased Democrats, while Republicans appreciated the offices finding that the health-care law and a proposed minimum wage increase would cost jobs.

Even as Democrats lost their Senate majority in the November election, some economists who side with Republicans said that Elmendorf should keep his job.

His background insulates his rulings and the congressional Republicans who choose to reappoint him from accusations of bias, wrote Keith Hennessey, who served as President George W. Bushs final director of the National Economic Council and is now a lecturer at Stanford Universitys business school.

Republican lawmakers who have questioned the offices analysis were unmoved. They agreed with calls from incoming House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price for a new director who might introduce so-called dynamic scoring to CBO analysis.

Dynamic scoring is the idea that policy changes can induce significant macroeconomic effects, such as tax cuts partially paying for themselves. Democrats say the method is unproven and relies on too many assumptions.

Price, a Georgia Republican, had previously introduced a bill to require a dynamic score from the CBO, and the Republican House passed the measure.

Prices office declined to comment.

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CBO Chief Elmendorf Said Not to Win Reappointment by Republicans

You Voted Republican Did You Expect This? – Video


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