Michael Grimm to Newsmax: 'Over the Moon Ecstatic' After Trump Pardon

Newsmax contributor and former Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., told "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE" on Wednesday that he is "over the moon ecstatic" after being pardoned by President Donald Trump over tax fraud.

Grimm, a former Marine and FBI special agent, was convicted in November 2014 on charges stemming from his ownership of a Manhattan restaurant before joining Congress in 2011. Grimm was reelected in 2014 despite the indictment but resigned in January 2015 after pleading guilty to one count of tax fraud. He served seven months in prison, one month of house arrest and 200 hours of community service.

"Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to say thank you publicly to President Donald J. Trump," Grimm said. "You know, his first term, I didn't get the pardon. People said, 'Why are you still loyal to him? He didn't pardon you.’

"I said, that's what loyalty is. It's when you don't get the promotion or you don't get whatever you ask for, that you remain loyal because you believe the person is doing the right job and you want to be part of that success. That's loyalty. I've always remained loyal, but I am over-the-moon ecstatic. ... I was just elated."

Grimm was co-host of the "Wake Up America Weekend" morning show with Sarah Williamson before he was paralyzed from the neck down in September after he was thrown from a horse.

Important: Help Michael Grimm and his family through his GoFundMe – See More Here

"It was a lot worse than a lot of people had thought," Grimm said. "I literally shattered my C4, 5 and 6 [vertebrae]. So, my cervical spine on my neck was shattered. And the surgeon, when I came out, said he didn't think I was coming out of surgery. That gives you an idea of how bad it was. But, you know, by the grace of God and I do believe, you know, God wants me around to do more work. I've been mending ever since. I had no ability to move my hands after the accident. Now I'm at about 30% and getting better every day.

"I'm still not moving my legs yet, but you can tell everyone, Michael Grimm says a year from now, I will be walking and I'm going to keep my promise and I'm going to make sure it happens. But I have been getting better and stronger every single day. And I want to just say this: The Newsmax family has been incredible. I have gotten more cards and notes from people around the country that I've never met that would see me on 'Wake Up America Weekend' and just wishing me well. And I am so blessed to have a great president like Donald Trump and a wonderful, wonderful family audience that cares about me so much. So, I'm very blessed."

Trump also reportedly pardoned Wednesday imprisoned reality show couple Todd and Julie Chrisley; former Republican Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland; Kentrell Gaulden, a rapper who goes by NBA YoungBoy; Mark Bashaw; and Tanner Mansell and John Moore Jr.

Trump also commuted the sentences of eight individuals, including Larry Hoover, 74, the co-founder of Chicago’s Gangster Disciples street gang who was serving six life sentences following a 1997 conviction on dozens of charges that included running a criminal enterprise from jail. Hoover’s attorney Justin Moore told the Chicago Sun Times that Trump commuted his client’s sentence to time served, but Hoover still faces essentially life in prison on an Illinois murder conviction.

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