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WASHINGTON — President Trump pardoned former Staten Island and Brooklyn GOP Rep. Michael Grimm and commuted the federal sentence of notorious Chicago gangster Larry Hoover as part of his latest round of clemencies, White House sources told The Post Wednesday.
Grimm, a former FBI agent and business owner, served seven months in prison in 2015 and 2016 after pleading guilty to underreporting taxable revenue from his Manhattan restaurant Healthalicious.
Grimm, 55, served two terms in Congress and was elected to a third before resigning in January 2015 following his guilty plea.
He unsuccessfully sought his former House seat in 2018, losing in the Republican primary, and worked as a Newsmax commentator before being paralyzed from the chest down in September after falling off a horse during a polo tournament.
Grimm’s congressional tenure may be best remembered for an incident in 2014 when he threatened then-NY1 reporter Michael Scotto after being asked a question about a campaign finance investigation.
The congressman initially declined to discuss the topic and started to walk away, then stormed back into shot to get the last word in on Scotto.
“Let me be clear to you, you ever do that to me again, I’ll throw you off this f–king balcony,” Grimm said. “You’re not man enough. I’ll break you in half. Like a boy.”
The former lawmaker’s pardon was first reported by NY1.
“I am grateful beyond words to President Trump for restoring my good name and giving me my life back,” Grimm told The Post in a statement Wednesday night.
“Ten years ago — after years of serving my country faithfully in the Marines, the FBI, and in Congress—the Obama Justice Department was weaponized against me. I believe President Trump, having battled his own baseless lawfare campaign, saw this for what it was: using the Justice Department to do what they couldn’t do with the ballot box.
“Thanks to President Trump, I can now focus on recovering fully from my accident, supporting my family, and serving the community that I love so dearly. A heartfelt thank you to my family, friends and supporters whose prayers and well wishes have made my recovery possible.. God bless you, and God bless our President!”
Trump, 78, has pardoned or commuted the prison sentences of an unusually large number of people early in his second term — after alleging he was treated unfairly by the legal system over the past four years.
Also Wednesday, the president pardoned former Connecticut Republican Gov. John Rowland, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to conspiracy to commit tax, mail and honest services fraud and served 10 months in prison — then was convicted in 2015 in an election fraud case and served an additional 30-month sentence.
Upstate New York couple James and Marlene Kernan, who were sentenced to probation in 2010 after pleading guilty to employing three-time felon Robert “Skip” Anderson Sr. at their Oriskany insurance business, also received a repreive from Trump.
Insurers are restricted from employing people with past convictions involving dishonesty like Anderson, though no specific harm to customers was alleged.
Trump also pardoned former Army Lt. Mark Bashaw, convicted by a court-martial of disobeying orders by refusing to telework during the COVID-19 pandemic, and rapper NBA Youngboy, who has a rap sheet including gun crimes.
In total, Trump issued 17 pardons Wednesday and nine commutations, including many to little-known recipients. Trump has designated Alice Johnson, whom he released from prison in his first term, as his “pardon czar” to recommend less high-profile cases.
Hoover, likely the most controversial of the cohort, co-founded the Chicago gang Gangster Disciples, and earned a life sentence from the state of Illinois in 1973 for ordering the murder of William “Pooky” Young, 19, after Young stole drugs and money from the gang.
Hoover, now 74, received six federal life sentences in 1998 for continuing to run the gang from prison — with prosecutors alleging his illicit business empire raked in $100 million annually selling heroin, cocaine, crack and other drugs.
“You were able to do what you did in jail for 25 years — you’re amazing,” Chicago federal judge Harry Leinenweber told Hoover during sentencing.
“You must be a very charismatic person. What you might have done for the good of the people had you stayed the straight and narrow path. You misused a gift you got from God.”
Although Trump commuted his federal sentence, Hoover’s state murder conviction cannot be pardoned by the president. It was not immediately clear whether Hoover would be returned to Illinois custody.
Hoover’s commutation, first reported by NOTUS and confirmed by The Post, follows a push by rappers Kanye West — a Chicago native — and Drake, both of whom argue Hoover is a changed man.
Trump, who has for years threatened federal intervention to address gang violence in Chicago, did not immediately issue a public statement explaining his decision in Hoover’s or any of the clemency cases.
