Rep. Grimm: Rumors of a bodyguard ‘totally false’

By Christina Wilkie - 02/09/11 08:14 PM ET

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) does not have a personal bodyguard, and he’s getting tired of the rumors that suggest otherwise.

“Absolutely no way!” he told ITK when asked about persistent rumors that he had retained a personal bodyguard following the Jan. 8 shootings in Tucson, Ariz. “We are all our own best bodyguards.

“Yes, there’s a former police detective on my Staten Island staff,” Grimm explained, referring to the man reports have labeled Grimm’s “bodyguard.” “But he handles veterans’ affairs for me and sometimes helps with crowd safety for events, but that’s just because of his expertise. I do not have a guy shadowing me.”

As a former undercover agent working Mafia cases for the FBI, Grimm knows something about muscle. While undercover, Grimm’s nickname was Mikey Suits, a nod to the elegant duds he favored. But as of Wednesday, it seemed the dapper dresser had bigger things on his mind than clothes. Asked if he would don a tuxedo for the black tie Congressional Press Club Foundation dinner held Wednesday night, Grimm looked down at his blue suit and shook his head. “I just don’t have time!”