Words just don't seem to matter to the new Governor. During the campaign, he got himself in some political hot water for taking contributions from John Inglesino and Herb Stern's law firm, who he had given huge no bid monitoring contracts to while US Attorney, all while denying he had taken money. Adam did this video about the connections at the time. Then, when stopped getting off the campaign bus, a woman asked him if he had taken any money, to which he said:
"No. No. He didn't. He did not. He never raised any money." (Video to the right)
But that wasn't really true. Michael Aron asked him after a Press Conference on ethics Christie held, where he said he wouldn't take any more money from people who he gave monitorships to about Inglesino hosting a fundraiser that raised more than $100,000 for his campaign at the same time. Aron asked if that isn't just one step removed from taking contributions from people he gave contracts to, to which Christie responded:
No, because John had already made his contributions to my campaign. The invitation for that fundraiser went out two months before I made the statements at that press conference. Um, and John did not participate um in the fundraiser that evening. Uh, we had I think 20 or so hosts of that event .
Lets count the excuses. 1) he already had made his contributions 2) The invitation already went out 3) John didn't attend, even though he later admitted to Aron that Inglesino attended at the end. 4) There were lots of other people who helped host. But Christie still said he wasn't going to take any more money, which leads us to add a 5th excuse/justification/broken promise for why it's ok to take money from people who you gave contracts to, since Herbert Stern, John Inglesino and Kevin Kilcullen all gave money to Christie's inaugural committee:
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the donations from Stern and his colleagues were different than giving for campaign purposes. "Everyone's money went to the cost of the inaugural, with the balance going to charities," he said.
Huh? It's ok for them to give to fund because you gave some at the end to charity? It seems more like they're only banned from donating when they're not making contributions is really the policy.
The Star Ledger had an eye opening reminder of the connections between Herb Stern and Chris Christie dating back to Christie initially getting the job and leading up to the conclusion of his tenure with his actions just before leaving office. Let's recap and look at who supported Christie when he first got the US Attorney job while many did not:
Herbert Stern was one of the few prominent lawyers who initially supported Christie as he came under widespread fire for his lack of law-enforcement experience when he became U.S. attorney in 2002.
In 2005, former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie gave Herbert Stern and his law firm, Stern & Kilcullen, a $3 million no-bid contract to monitor the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in Dec. 2005 as part of a deferred prosecution agreement after the institution admitted to committing Medicare fraud. Christie considers Stern a "mentor," according to the New York Times.
Before leaving the U.S. Attorney's office, Christie hired Samuel Stern, the son of Herbert Stern, to work as a federal prosecutor.
During his Republican primary campaign for governor, Chris Christie accepted $23,800 in campaign contributions from the principals and spouses of Stern & Kilcullen, the firm to which Christie had given a $3 million contract to monitor UMDNJ.
Herbert Stern and his wife each gave $3,400 to Chris Christie's gubernatorial campaign, as did John Inglesino and his wife. Inglesino, a lawyer at Stern & Kilcullen, had served as Stern's chief counsel in the UMDNJ case.
Now questions were raised about the hiring and these contributions in the primary, but Christie shrugged them off as just politics. There has also been plenty of talk about Inglesino's role and actions.
As time goes by however, we find out more details of the lengths Christie went to make sure Stern's son was hired:
Typically, candidates are subject to several rounds of interviews, meeting first with three rank-and-file prosecutors. If that goes well, they meet with three division supervisors. The final interview is typically with the U.S. attorney or a top deputy.
In Stern's case, he performed poorly in his first round, and none of the rank-and-file assistants who interviewed him recommended that he be hired, the officials said. He was given the unusual opportunity for a second chance with three different rank-and-file assistants, but again received negative reviews, the officials said.
Then on Friday, Nov. 14 - after Stern had met with just two supervisors - Christie offered him the job, the officials said. The following Monday, Christie announced his own resignation.
Just how poorly did the younger Stern do in the interview:
Christie hired Samuel Stern over objections from nearly every assistant U.S. attorney who interviewed him, according to three federal law enforcement officials with knowledge of the hiring process.
They contended Stern, who at the time was two years out of law school, lacked the experience to become a federal prosecutor, the officials said. And before hiring him, Christie took the unusual step of changing the interview process after receiving negative reviews, according to the officials who spoke to The Star-Ledger on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter.
This looks like a parting shot for Christie right before he left office. And he changed the rules to make sure it happens. Now it can be one set of rules for himself, another for everyone else, unless he wants to change them to the rules he wants. Maybe that was the cherry on top of the sundae?
With someone as big of an ethical hypocrite as Chris Christie is, it is difficult to talk in simple terms about all of the ways his actions are precisely the opposite of what he says and how far too many have portrayed him to be.
And what it really boils down to is that he is just another sleazy lawyer - no offense to the many very good attorneys I know (including my wife). But the fact is, there is a stereotype for certain lawyers because the type of lawyer that Christie is exists. Says one thing, does another, for example. Or:
Buys his position with hundreds of thousands in donations;
Abuses that office to give friends millions of dollars in no bid deals;
Abuses that office by targeting political enemies time and time again;
Gives jobs to friends' family members; and
Talks about cleaning up corruption and ethics reform - all while doing the very things he talks about changing.
Those are just for starters.
And with that, I figured that the best way to show it is to give a very simple visual explanation of how Christie and his fellow lawyer buddies look out for each other - and not for the people of New Jersey. New Jerseyans really need to ask themselves if they trust this sleazy lawyer to run their state in a manner that looks out for them:
