Former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari today blasted disgraced serial sex-texting Congressman Anthony Weiner as a “pervert and a liar,” a day after Weiner claimed he tipped off the feds to an alleged fundraising shakedown threat made by Rep. Michael Grimm.
Weiner, who resigned in disgrace last year after he was caught sending lewd photos to several women, contacted the FBI in the fall of 2010 claiming that now-Rep. Grimm of Staten Island attempted to extort campaign contributions from a politically well-connected orthodox rabbi he knew, Roll Call reported.
“Here in Staten Island no one will believe: 1) That a pervert and proven liar like Anthony Weiner would have damaging information in late 2010 about Grimm and not use it politically just before the election — that he wouldn’t at least leak it anonymously to the press, but rather hold the information for almost 17 months; or 2) That the FBI received a complaint from a sitting congressman (Rep. Weiner) and did nothing with the information,” Molinari, a political mentor to Grimm, said in a press release today.
Grimm, a Republican, has been dogged by allegations that he accepted suspicious donations collected by former associates of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto. Some donors have since said they broke rules to donate.
A law enforcement source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Weiner contacted the bureau in 2010, and that agents are mulling a formal investigation.
Weiner didn’t explain to Roll Call the exact nature of the threat. He told the publication he didn’t know whether the allegations were true when he dropped the dime on Grimm.
“I can confirm the rabbi did bring allegations to me and I can confirm that I turned them over to the FBI immediately,” Weiner told Roll Call.
Grimm called the allegations “profoundly absurd.”
Molinari noted in today’s statement that Grimm, a former FBI agent, was given a glowing review by the agency on Feb. 16, just weeks ago. Called a “Good Guy Letter,” it confirms Grimm worked with the agency and left in good standing, Roll Call reported.
“They never even questioned Grimm and then just a few weeks ago would give Grimm a ‘Good Guy’ letter stating that he left the FBI in good standing. Why would the FBI issue such a letter if Grimm was under any type of investigation?” Molinari said. “Because none of it was true, not then and not now.”
— with AP, Roll Call