This week, congressmen Frank Pallone and Bill Pascrell testified before the House Judiciary subcommittee investigating Deferred Prosecution Agreements. They followed Chris Christie's prickly testimony.
Pallone, who called Christie the "poster child for abuse" on Blue Jersey Radio [listen here], and Pascrell, laid out the real costs to our economy of not reining in people like Chris Christie, and propose a legislative fix.
Pascrell first, Pallone after the jump. Sound quality is from the House Judiciary Committee website feed.
Chris Christie warned he was going to put a time-limit on his testimony today before the House Judiciary subcommittee investigating Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPA's) he oversaw while he was US Attorney for the State of New Jersey.
And damned if he didn't just get up and ... leave. Before the hearing was finished. While there were questions still being asked. Just as the congressmen got to the part where Christie offered a fat monitoring contract to former US Attorney David Kelley, who let Christie's brother, Todd, off the hook in a stock fraud case that hauled in indictments for 15 other people.
He sticks around for an extra moment for the laudatory remarks of a fellow Republican - Ranking Member Rep.Trent Franks - but then he's outta there. It's pretty imperious behavior, don't you think? Watch for yourself:
House Judiciary Subcommittee Chair Rep. Steve Cohen:Mr. Christie, what time is your train? Christie:My train is a little bit before 2, sir, and I have to go. Cohen (checking clock):You're not going to make a 2:00 o'clock, so ... Christie:Well, sir. I'm going.
That last shot? That's Christie's empty chair, in the House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing room. He just got up and ... walked out of the room. Behavior befitting a Governor? You decide.
Sound quality is from the House Judiciary Committee website feed. We apologize.
State Democratic Chair Asm Joe Cryan's statement - posted after Chris Christie's testimony today on deferred prosecution agreements - is a blow-by-blow account of Christie's lies. Yes. Asm Joe Cryan is accusing Chris Christie of making false claims to the United States Congress. NJDSC:
Democratic State Chairman Joseph Cryan today called into question statements made by Conservative Right Wing gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie during his testimony today before Congress.
Cryan: Christie cannot keep his facts straight. In his testimony he said things that directly contradicted his previous statements and e-mails. From the time he sat down until the time he abruptly left in the middle of questioning, Christie continues to be confused by the facts.
It is very telling that Christie got up and walked out as he began to be questioned about the multi-million dollar no-bid contract given to the former U.S. Attorney that refused to charge his brother. If Christie tried to answer for all the other multi-million dollar no-bid contracts he gave out to friends he would have been testifying until Election Day and none of his statements would have matched. It is clear that Christie was either not telling the truth before, or he was not telling the truth today. One of those scenarios could be considered a violation of the law.
Make the jump for Christie's false claims, then the truth, point-by-point.
UPDATE #2: It's over, and it was nearly four hours of testimony, some of it deeply contentious. Christie was on the hot seat, and he clearly didn't like that much. He did not last the entire session. Congressmen Bill Pascrell and Frank Pallone were ... simply outstanding. Argued the need for their own legisation, which calls for much greater transparency, and rules in place to avoid many of the abuses that were discussed and detailed in today's testimony. We will have the full video of today's proceedings, barring any glitches, up as soon as we can.
UPDATE: To get LIVE streaming video, go to the House Judiciary Committee website, and click the Watch Video Webcast button. Note: This will NOT work with Quick Time. You'll need Real Player.
Chris Christie is finally going to have to answer some questions today about his abuse of the Deferred Prosecution Agreements he arranged while he was United States Attorney for New Jersey, a post he held for seven years, resigning just months ago to run for Governor.
Today he appears before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, an appearance delayed from its original date this spring, so that he could avoid having to do so during the Republican Primary.
The most egregious of Christie's abuses include forking over a $52 million contract to the firm of John Ashcroft, his former boss at the Justice Department, though Ashcroft had no experience with DPA's. Ashcroft testified last year, but Christie declined to do so, shielding himself from it by allowing the Justice Department to send someone else.
There is also a deal in which it appears he offered a lucrative contract to former US Attorney David Kelley, who let Christie's brother off the hook in a stock fraud case in which 15 others were indicted.
We have no doubt Christie abused the process - largely secret - of awarding DPA's for his own political gain. Remember, that Justice Department employees - particularly those serving as US Attorney for the state jurisdictions - are to conduct themselves completely without politcal priority. And Chritie gave out seven no-bid, multi-million dollar contracts to his political friends and allies, including Herb Stern, another of Christie's mentors, like Mark Sanford is. John Inglesino, long-time friend of Christie's is a partner at Stern's firm and both are top fundraisers of Christie's campaign. Inglesino is also accused of trying to bribe Rick Merkt to drop out of the Republican primary for Governor, just weeks ago.
