federal monitors 
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Fri Jan 25, 2008 at 09:39:51 PM EST
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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer sure was busy today. While campaigning for Congressional Candidates Linda Stender and John Adler, Hoyer talked about Bob Menendez as a Vice Presidential Candidate and called for hearings about the Christie/Ashcroft/Federal Monitor situation. On the prospect of Senator Menendez as a candidate for Vice President, Hoyer said...He and I were good friends from his first day in the Congress many years ago, so I'm not objective on that, But I think he brings a lot of unique attributes to that possibility. Now whether that's going to happen or not, I don't know. It's not without some degree of rationality. Hoyer said it was "absolutely essential" that Congress hold hearings about deferred prosecution agreements like the one entered into by Chris Christie. Although he had not yet read the bill introduced by Congressman Pallone to constrain US Attorney Jurisdiction, he did praise his colleague and offer possible support...Still, he said, if the legislation is introduced by Pallone, it's probably good.Frank and I happen to be very close friends, said Hoyer. If he's introduced legislation, I haven't focused on it now, but it is certainly worthy of careful consideration, since he's one of our most substantive members. Attempting to give a boost to what is viewed as two of the best pick up opportunities in New Jersey, the Majority Leader first voiced confidence in the candidacy of Linda Stender...I'm absolutely convinced she can win. She had an excellent race last year against an incumbent and worked hard Hoyer then turned his attention to the economy at a campaign stop with John Adler in Marlton where Adler tied many of our current economic problems to the flawed policies of the Bush Administration including the Iraq War...We need real answers for South Jersey families struggling to make ends meet. We must create tax breaks for middle class families instead of the wealthiest 1%. And we must bring an end to the war in Iraq that has cost us thousands of lives and nearly $600 billion, so that we can provide health care to middle class families, invest in renewable sources of energy, rebuild our infrastructure. America must be our top priority - not Baghdad Seems like a pretty full day to me. If this is any indication how much attention NJ is going to be getting from DC over the next year, it's going to be a very interesting year in the Garden State.
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Fri Nov 23, 2007 at 11:32:52 AM EST
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In New Jersey, the appearance of a conflict in interest means a litany of denials followed by an investigation which is (usually) followed by an indictment and guilty plea. I wouldn't say that the sudden appearance of a conflict of interest would automatically be seen by the public as de facto evidence of wrong-doing, but it's pretty close. And that is why the huge fees paid to John Ashcroft as a result of Chris Christie's efforts to end a kick-back ring in the surgical implant business is such big news.
Ashcroft was the guy who gave Christie his current position. He is not, however, Christie's current boss. Still, if Ashcroft being handed a contract that pays between $1.5 and $1.9 million per month doesn't smack of political payback, then Christie has some apologizing to do to the likes of Wayne Bryant. But then the lines coming out of Christie's office about this sound like they may have been vetted by Wayne Bryant.
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