Roger Ailes and Chris Christie Enjoy a "Confidential" Relationship

by: Nick Lento

Fri Jun 17, 2011 at 05:09:17 PM EDT

Gov. Chris Christie Claims Fox News Chief as Confidential AdviserThe office of Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey is claiming that Fox News chairman Roger Ailes is a confidential adviser whose interactions with the governor should remain secret under New Jersey's executive privilege.

Last month, after New York magazine reported that Ailes met with Christie last summer and called him this year to urge him to run for president, Gawker filed a request under New Jersey's Open Records Act seeking any correspondence between the two men, as well as any records of meetings or phone calls with Ailes from Christie's schedule or call logs.

Last week we received a rather surprising response: While declining to confirm the existence of any such records, Christie's office said they "would be exempt from disclosure...based upon the executive privilege and well-settled case law." In other words, Christie's staff refused to search for any records-which, given the undisputed reports of a dinner and phone call, almost certainly exist-on the basis that Ailes is a confidential adviser whose comments should be shielded from public scrutiny.

New Jersey has a rather robust executive privilege-former Gov. Jon Corzine successfully employed it to keep his email exchanges with his ex-girlfriend and former union boss Carla Katz secret in the face of a public records act request-and there's nothing particularly unusual about Christie invoking it. What is unusual is his attempt to use it to cover conversations with someone who is, ostensibly at least, a news executive. It amounts to a rather bald admission that Ailes provides Christie with political advice.

Christie is clearly gunning for the White House...if now now, then in 2016.   Ailes and Christie......turds of a feather, imperfect together.

If NJ Democrats and progressives allow Christie to continue to ride roughshod over the people of NJ, then it's likely he'll be wanting to do the same to the whole country.......this guy only "wins" where he can bully.  

So far, Christie is NJ's own "Teflon Don"........that doesn't just happen by accident,  eh?  Meanwhile Steve Adubato Jr's obsequious  softball hour with Christie was an atrocity.   Will anyone be able to truly challenge Christie and shed enough light on him that the people of NJ actually begin to see what they elected?