What does Arlen Specter know about the U.S. Attorneys Scandal?

by: Hopeful

Mon Aug 31, 2009 at 09:44:00 AM EDT

Another thing we learned years ago was that the entire scheme was made possible by Senator Arlen Specter, who quietly changed the law allowing US Attorneys to be replaced.  Without this change, President Bush could have threatened to fire Christie and the other USA's, but he would not have been able to easily replace them with political hacks. Apparently, Specter inserted the changes to benefit Bush and the Republican party--and after all, it's easy to guess at his motives since Bush and Rove saved in him in his 2004 primary contest, and Republican control of the Senate rested on the upcoming 2006 elections.  

But now it's 2009, and suddenly our old neighbor, Arlen Specter, is a Democrat, and he claims has different political loyalties. He needs to tell us about the firing of the U.S. Attorneys and what he was told about it by the Bush Administration. Why did he think the changes he pushed through were desirable? What did the Justice Department tell him? Was the "need" to fire anyone specific mentioned?  From my side of the river, I'd like to know if any US Attorneys were specifically mentioned to him.  Say, Chris Christie? Or was Bob Menendez's upcoming election in New Jersey mentioned? Democrat Arlen Specter needs to come forward with what he knows.

AP details Christie deferred prosecution agreements

by: Jason Springer

Wed Jun 24, 2009 at 08:29:27 PM EDT

, John Ashcroft. Christie's former U.S. Justice Department boss made $28 million to $52 million or more in 18 months for monitoring Zimmer Holdings, one of five medical device manufacturers accused of giving kickbacks to surgeons for using their replacement hips and knees.

, David Kelley. A former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Kelley investigated a stock fraud case involving Christie's younger brother, Todd, but declined to prosecute him. Kelley was later picked to monitor Biomet Orthopedics Inc., another of the medical device makers.

, Bristol-Myers Squibb. A $300 million fraud settlement Christie negotiated with the New York company included a provision that Bristol-Myers endow a professorship at Seton Hall Law School, his alma mater. The U.S. Justice Department subsequently issued guidelines barring such requirements as part of out-of-court corporate crime settlements.

, David Samson. The former Republican attorney general and party fundraiser was a monitor of medical device maker Smith & Nephew Inc. His firm is now on Christie's payroll for legal work: the candidate's pre-election finance report last month listed expenditures of $9,439.40 in legal fees/rent and $18,439.40 still owed to Wolff & Samson of West Orange.

, Herbert Stern. Christie mentor got $10 million contract to monitor University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, accused of double-billing for services covered by Medicare. Christie close friend and fundraiser John Inglesino, a partner in Stern's law firm, was paid $325 per hour for his work as counsel on the monitorship. Stern, Inglesino, another partner and their wives later gave $23,800 in donations to Christie's campaign for governor. The donations were matched, 2-1, under New Jersey's campaign finance laws, bringing the total amount to $71,400.

, Debra Wong Yang. Like Kelley, Yang, a former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, is a former Christie colleague. The Republican-connected prosecutor and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner, who had ties to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, was chosen to monitor Deputy Orthopaedics Inc.

, John Carley. A former Cendant Corp. vice president and Federal Trade Commission lawyer under President Reagan, Carley was on Sen. John McCain's 2008 New York fundraising team. He oversaw a nonprosecution agreement involving Stryker Orthopedics.

We asked Congressman Pallone about the timing of the testimony on Blue Jersey Radio, because some have cried politics including editorial boards. Pallone reminded our listeners that Christie declined to testify when he was US Attorney and that the committee postponed the original date at the request of Republicans fearing it could be a political issue in the primary. The timing is of his own creation.

They will be streaming it live through the Judiciary website apparently if you would like to follow along.

More Christie Mythology From the Punditry

by: huntsu

Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 08:16:09 PM EDT

This is Spiderman?

In today's column The Trentonian's Jeff Edelstein has nicknamed Chris Christie Spiderman.  Edelstein envisions Christie in blue and red tights swinging over the streets of the Garden State, because "Christie, much like Spider-Man, spins a web, any size, catches thieves, just like flies."

Seriously.  Not kidding.

Of course to get to this disturbing image Edelstein decided to make up facts instead of researching them.  It seems to be an endemic problem with columnists in New Jersey, with Edelstein standing at or near the top of the heap.

Now, as you know, Christie is the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, and under his watch, 105 politicians and political appointees have been charged and convicted.

And he's never lost a case. He's 105-0. And it doesn't matter if it's water board members or the biggest fish in the scummy New Jersey political pond, Christie goes after them and gets them.

Sorry, Jeff.  But Christie only claims 125 cases including investigations, indictments and convictions as of yesterday, and not the 105 convictions Edelstein claims.  If this weren't a column in the Trentonian a retraction would be in order for such a wild exaggeration of fact.

A review of the NJ US Attorney's Office press releases provides just 59 convictions, 21 of Republicans, 37 of Democrats and one we could not determine a party affiliation for.  That leaves another 46 for Edelstein to find.  Or retract.

But Edelstein's number was about investigations, so let's see if that proves the point.  A review of all available investigations - the US Attorney likes to quote numbers of cases but doesn't return phone calls of people seeking to find out what they are - finds a much greater disparity between parties.  Of the 150 people we found who have been investigated, indicted or convicted only 33 are Republicans and 112 are Democrats. Five are unknown.

We'll do a more in-depth analysis in a later post, but the preliminary review shows that Democrats are 300 percent more likely to be investigated than Republicans, a number far out of whack with the true ratio of party identification or elected officials.  Dems are only 175 percent as likely to be convicted.

Edelstein goes on to hero-worship Christie's speeches, and use Christie's own assertions as defense of Christie:

For instance, he twice highlighted the word "Republican" when discussing putting members of the GOP behind bars. He also recounted a conversation he had with then- U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who told him to "check your politics at the door."

And as far as I can see, Christie has done just that.

We've already demonstrated how far Edelstein can see, and how accurately.  But leave that aside and note that he is impressed that Christie said the word "Republican" twice while talking about ? Republicans.  Somebody out there has got to help me with this one, because I just don't get it.

The Ashcroft thing is just as ridiculous.  Attorney John Ashcroft was a master at telling us he was non-partisan in his effort while engaging in partisan activities, and using him as a paragon of virtue that Christie follows is laughable at best.

Ashcroft changed hiring practices in the Department of Justice program that hired new law school graduates to remove it from the civil servants and put it under political appointees, with the result being far more members of the arch-conservative Federalist Society getting interviews and being hired. (Washington Post, 1/12/2003)

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette noted that Ashcroft turned his "front-line federal prosecutors into a politicized lobbying team" in support of the Patriot Act, using them for political support rather than catching criminals.

And then, of course, there were the politically convenient terror alerts that were always ready to distract from bad news for President Bush or to remind the voting public of the threat just before an election.  Terror alerts that shockingly stopped coming after the 2004 Presidential election.

No, if Christie is using Ashcroft as his measure of how to run a non-partisan prosecutor's office then he is in deep trouble.

How Chris Christie Got His Reputation

by: huntsu

Mon Mar 19, 2007 at 10:21:09 PM EDT

As recently as July [2004], it appeared that the governor himself was in danger of being indicted. ...

Mr. Christie stoked the speculation during a speech in September by declaring that corruption in the state was pervasive, "from the governor's office to the local school board, and every level in between." Mr. Christie said that he was not accusing Mr. McGreevey specifically of corruption.

Why is this bad?  Because the US Attorney accused the Democratic Governor's office of widespread corruption just before an election though he had not indicted or convicted anyone in that office.  And still hasn't.  US Attorneys shouldn't be implicating people or specific groups unless it's in court, yet Christie felt free to use the papers to smear the whole Governor's office.

Christie has been able to get away with this kind of thing with little impact on his "reputation" because he gets a lot of cover from a media that is sometimes willing to accept his surface image without digging.  Sort of like the beltway media did for Bush from 2001 until recently.

Some in the media are even willing to stretch the truth and make up facts to give Christie his image as a bipartisan crusader.  Some of them like Bob Ingle of Gannett.

Back in March 14, 2005 Ingle counted three arrests among Christie's count of public officials nailed:

Three more busts in Monmouth County brought the score this week to U.S. Attorney Chris Christie 79, Harvey 4.

A year later -- today -- Ingle is now changing the way he describes Christie's record, including all arrests, indictments and convictions under the same category:

Christie has more than 100 convictions and guilty pleas.

Suddenly arrests and indictments have become convictions and guilty pleas.  In one of the most widely read columns in the state.  Out of some weird kind of hero worship, normally reserved for inflating a batting average or ERA of your favorite ballplayer.

When the media starts just accepting "common knowledge" as the truth, and then starts exaggerating to the point of fibbing, then the powerful can get away with using their offices in ways they weren't meant to be used. 

Were a US Attorney looking to use his office for partisan gain -- subtly -- this cover would be of immense help. 

Again, the evidence is not there that the office has been used improperly, though the more we look the more smoke gathers.  The more smoke gathers the more likely there actually is a fire.

Tom Moran Missed The Point

by: huntsu

Wed Mar 14, 2007 at 06:59:00 PM EDT

Now, Blue Jersey is flattered to have been mentioned of course, but while we like being mentioned in concert with Paul Krugman we don't really want to be called conspiracy theorists.  Especially when we are not espousing any theories or conspiracies, just asking questions.  Here's what Moran wrote about us:

Here's the problem in this for New Jersey: It is bound to give undeserved credence to conspiracy theorists who consider U.S. Attorney Chris Christie a partisan hack.

That view is gaining some ground. The lefty blog BlueJersey.com suggested Christie has kept his job because he is doing the White House's bidding by going after Democrats on corruption charges. And New York Times columnist Paul Krugman wrote that the firings make the bias charges against Christie "quite plausible."

First step in the debunking of this is to note that Blue Jersey was very careful not to convict Christie when we first posted on this, going so far as to say that there was no fire and the smoke was pretty whispy.  What we are doing is asking the questions, and getting our readers to ask the questions, that are needed to either find out guilt or exculpate Christie of any wrongdoing.  It's what news gatherers do, only on blogs we do it a little more out in the open.

But it appears that Moran didn't really ask the question of whether there was a problem at the NJ US Attorney's office.  Instead, he just make guesses and suggestions of his own:

We'll never know Christie's motives with full certainty. We can't peer into his soul. Maybe he is an evil genius, and has thrown Republicans in jail only for cover.

But in that case, we would surely have heard from one or two of the career prosecutors in his office by now, at least anonymously. Why would a guy like Ralph Marra, Christie's first assistant and a Democrat, go along with a partisan scam?

Why haven't we heard from Marra?  It might be that he wants to keep his job, or that he hasn't been let in on it by Christie, or that he thinks this is business as usual and doesn't want to rock the boat.  Heck, it might be that he has been replaced by a doppelganger and is being kept hostage in the White House.

But we don't know because Moran didn't ask.  He has a platform with his column that he could use to ask, access that we Blue Jerseyans would love to have, but instead of asking the question he made up his mind ahead of time.  That's not good journalism, something at which Moran usually excels.

It's A New Week -- Call Your Congressman

by: huntsu

Tue Mar 13, 2007 at 07:09:47 AM EDT

The story has been gaining legs, and the questions about US Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie are being asked.  Paul Krugman of the NY Times wrote a piece about it last week, and today we have a letter to the editor in the Home News Tribune asking similar questions.

Part off the story is that certain Republican members of Congress in Washington and New Mexico called their US Attorneys to put pressure on their offices to speed partisan investigations.  Blue Jersey is working to get our Republican delegation on the record by calling their offices and asking a direct question: "Did you call US Attorney Chris Christie or his office to inquire any investigation into Democratic politicians?"

We have Mike Ferguson (NJ7) and Rodney Frelinghuysen (NJ11) on record as saying no, but two others haven't answered and two others haven't gotten a call from a constituent that we know of.

Today we're going to suggest that you call your legislators and Executive Director Tom Wilson of the NJ Republican Party, as well, to get their answers.  Numbers are below.

This is how we can make change as Blue Jersey, folks!  Let's get them all on the record.

Action Alert: Call Your Republican Congressman

by: huntsu

Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 07:27:12 AM EST

Looks like others are picking up the scent.  Paul Krugman in today's NY Times:

Mr. Christie's actions might have been all aboveboard. But given what we've learned about the pressure placed on federal prosecutors to pursue dubious investigations of Democrats, Mr. Menendez's claims of persecution now seem quite plausible.

In fact, it's becoming clear that the politicization of the Justice Department was a key component of the Bush administration's attempt to create a permanent Republican lock on power. Bear in mind that if Mr. Menendez had lost, the G.O.P. would still control the Senate.

Then Krugman makes the point that generated today's Action Alert:

refused to soft-pedal investigations of corrupt Republicans.

In the last few days we've also learned that Republican members of Congress called prosecutors to pressure them on politically charged cases, even though doing so seems unethical and possibly illegal.

We know from former conservative attack dog David Brock that there was a coordinated attack on Democrats and progressives in the 1990s that continues to this day.  We know from Matthew Continetti that Republican members of Congress participated, including the K Street campaign.  In other words, this is not an isolated incident.

There are six Republicans representing New Jersey in Congress, and they need to be on the record whether they called Chris Christie about the investigation and subpoena issued last fall to the non-profit group that rented a house from Bob Menendez.

Please call or write yours (numbers after the jump) and ask, "Did you or your office contact Chris Christie with regard to the subpoenas issued last September on the North Hudson Community Action Corporation, or any investigation related to Senator Bob Menendez?"

Put the answers you get -- with the name of the person who gave you the answer -- in the comments below.  If they all answer, "No" then we have them on the record.  If they refuse to answer, then there may be fire.

More on The US Attorneys Story

by: huntsu

Fri Mar 02, 2007 at 08:11:12 AM EST

That diary raised questions about whether Christie had received or acceded to political pressure to investigate Democrats during last fall's elections.  As many as US Attorneys have been fired or pressured to do so in the past few months, and some of them say it was because they refused to use their office politically to benefit the Republican Party.

Now Talking Points memo reports that the House Judiciary Committee sentsubpoenas the fired US Attorneys, and a lot more information may come out.

Remember Bud Cummins. He was the US Attorney from the Eastern District of Arkansas who got canned so Karl Rove's opposition research chief could take over the job. Look closely at what he just told the Associated Press ...

Cummins, U.S. attorney for Arkansas' Eastern District from 2001-2006, said Thursday that he and other fired attorneys had "politely declined" previous requests from the committee. He said he "didn't have any desire to stir up the controversy any further."

"If given the choice, I'd elect to stay home and mind my own business," Cummins told The Associated Press. "Now that I'm under subpoena, I'll go and give cooperative, truthful answers."

When asked if officials in the Justice Department or White House had asked him to decline the earlier requests, Cummins said he had no comment.

Again, one of those 'no comments' that says plenty.

This story may be getting bigger.  Again, we do not know how many US Attorneys got pressure to insert themselves into the political process in close elections, but we do know Chris Christie did insert himself in the Menendez/Kean Jr. campaign at a sensitive time.  We also know he has continued to issue subpoenas whenever NJ Democrats are making good news for themselves.

The House Judiciary Committee should not only subpoena the fired US Attorneys, but also ones who have not been fired.  They should start with ones who publicly investigated Democrats between Labor Day and the November election last fall. 

Unfortunately, there is no one from the NJ House Delegation on the House Judiciary Committee for us to call.

Some enterprising reporter should also ask US Attorney for the State of New Jersey Chris Christie if he received any such political pressure.  Christie has previously denied it, but with mounting evidence that others have been pressured the subject should be raised again.