With great fanfare, Congressman Dan Donovan tried to accuse Michael Grimm of wrongdoing. 

"Did he lobby? Was he lobbied by Patton Boggs?" Donovan said.

"No, absolutely not. I never did anything to receive any benefit, and Ii did not receive any benefit," Grimm said.

"Can I ask you about the Elk Association, that they sent you emails lobbying on behalf of their client at the SBA that their client owned," Donovan said.

NY1 has obtained copies of those emails from the Donovan campaign. They show Grimm's office was lobbied by the firm Patton Boggs after the congressman retained them as his own legal counsel during a federal investigation into his fundraising activities. 

The emails mostly involve one Patton Boggs client who was in the midst of a legal dispute with the Small Business Administration. 

Grimm was personally only on one email, and he does not appear to respond. 

The emails are with a Grimm staffer. They show a Patton Boggs lobbyist requesting help for a client, Elk Associates Funding Corporation, urging Grimm's office to reach out to the Small Business Administration on its behalf. The lobbyist even provides talking points for them.

When the firm settles with the administration months later, the Patton Boggs lobbyists thanks Grimm's office for its help. 

Donovan has made Grimm's relationship with Patton Boggs a major issue in this campaign. Because last year, Patton Boggs and Michael Grimm entered a legal settlement that forgave hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt racked up over the course of the years-long investigation into his campaign fundraising.

The tab went from $420,000 to $25,000. That settlement still needs to be approved by the Federal Election Commission. 

"I think it's a vacuous attack," Grimm said Thursday night. "And the FEC ultimately makes the decision. The FEC makes the deal, not Michael Grimm. He knows that. He is just being petulant."

Donovan's team tells us this demands further investigation. Meanwhile, Grimm's team accuses Donovan of stumbling through incoherent, false claims. They also note Grimm has said if elected, he would not allow Patton Boggs lobbyists to lobby his office.