Woman Accused Of Funneling Illegal Donations To Congressman Grimm Appears In Court

The Texas woman arrested last month as part of the FBI probe into Congressman Grimm’s campaign fundraising appeared in Brooklyn court yesterday, and her lawyers told reporters that she was being targeted because of her association with Grimm.

Diana Durand, 47, was put in handcuffs in January and charged with skirting federal campaign laws to steer money to Grimm. According to investigators, Durand used straw donors to hide the source of donations from contributors who sought to exceed the maximum amount permitted by law. She allegedly used a network of associates to write out checks to Grimm, which investigators say she then reimbursed using funds from the real donors.

If true, it appears to be a blatant and contrived attempt to dodge campaign finance laws – but Durand’s attorneys say the woman had no knowledge of the law to begin with.

NY1 reports:

Her attorneys say they are reviewing the evidence against her before the case moves forward.

“Had she had no association with the congressman, she would not be confronted with these charges,” said Stuart Kaplan, Durand’s attorney.

… “This is a woman that was never involved with politics before she met Michael Grimm. I think she is totally or she was totally devoid or ignorant to the rules or regulations or laws or ethical constraints with respect to fundraising,” said Kaplan.

The complaint alleges Durand knew she was skirting campaign finance law.

It points for one to this e-mail, showing Durand poking fun at one person she eventually reimbursed.

… From here it’s unclear if Durand will be officially indicted or if a plea deal could be in the works.

Prior to Durand’s arrest, authorities busted another member of Grimm’s campaign network, Ofer Biton, who pleaded guilty to visa fraud last year. The campaign has also been accused of donor swapping – a controversial practice in which candidates skirt campaign finance limits by having donors contribute to an ally, who then forwards the money to the original candidate as a separate contribution.

Grimm has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and the congressman has refused to speak at length on the matter. Questions about the investigation are what led Grimm to threaten to throw a NY1 reporter off a balcony and break him like a boy last month.