So to be fair, it isn't just state's rights hypocrite Scott Garrett who voted to allow for federal overreach in permitting individuals to carry concealed and loaded weapons into New Jersey if they have a permit to do so that is issued by another state - even though New Jersey's gun laws do not permit this of New Jersey residents. And it wasn't just Scott Garrett who, along with every NJ House Republican voted against an amendment to exclude terrorists, stalkers, pedophiles, those who have committed domestic violence and other violent criminals from the lax concealed carry rules that this federal overreach would result in
But (1) Garrett is my Congressman (lucky me), and (2) he has used "states' rights" as a reason for many many of his many many many many extreme votes - saying that he thinks that {INSERT COMMON SENSE ISSUE HERE} should not be decided by the Federal Government and that it should be left to the states to decide. One other notable exception to this rule is when Garrett thought it was A-OK for the Federal Government to overstep into the bedroom of Terri and Michael Schiavo in a deeply private and personal medical matter.
With Garrett, it is always about weasel-like excuses such as "we all agree on 'X', but....." with the "but" mainly being Federal overreach. Here, Garrett is just fine with Federal overreach when it is for the NRA (who, according to OpenSecrets ) has given Garrett close to $30,000 over the years) - even though it puts his constituents at risk.
That being said, this little video I did could just as easily apply to so called "social moderates" Leonard Lance or Rodney Frelinghuysen, or any of the other NJ House Republicans. But I did it for Garrett instead. Hope you enjoy it.
It's amazing that a perception still exists that pretty much ANY Congressional Republican is anything other than completely beholden to the far right base - and won't pass up an opportunity to pander with votes in favor or more pollution, a bigger ability to rig the system and impose heartless regulation over people's private medical decisions -unless someone can profit off of it.
Much like the rest of their party, Lance, LoBiondo and Frelinghuysen relish at the fake persona they have created for themselves (see Bush, George W.) while fooling the "swing" constituents with meaningless votes. The three bills - the "TRAIN" Act, which would indefinitely delay the clean-up of toxic power plant pollution; H.R. 2681, which prevents clean air standards that lower mercury and other toxic air pollution from cement plants; and H.R. 2250, which would prevent standards to reduce toxic pollution from industrial incinerators and boilers at power plants.
If one is going to position themselves as "reasonable about" or "sympathetic to" or "in favor of" making it harder to die from harmful toxins in our air, then bills like this should be no brainers to support. All three of these Representatives have at least attempted to demonstrate an interest in the very things they just voted against. If there was any issue that these three would get "a pass" on from the extreme right wing for their vote, it would be this one. The problem is that all three of them face uncertainty either in their bid for reelection or the prospect of losing their seat as a result of redistricting and therefore have to pander to the unreasonable and militant wing of their party.
Environment New Jersey has called them out on this, and you can too if you click on their ad here at Blue Jersey. Their press release is here too.
And don't even expect a Republican's definition of "moderate" to be anything close to what "moderate" actually is.
In all of the ego stroking, "messiah worship" of the Republican Party and their right wing financiers when it comes to the courting of Governor Christie to run for President - for lack of confidence in all of the prior anointed messiahs of the Republican Party, I have given Christie credit for being honest and consistent in his denials and refusal to throw his hat in the ring for President.
I don't believe in my heart and my mind that I am ready
It's much too big a job
In my heart I know I am not ready
I want us to have the best possible candidate but it is not me
I just don't want to do it.
All of this was over the past year or two, and there have been consistent denials, refusals and candid comments about Christie not wanting to run, not feeling it in his heart, not feeling it in his head, not being ready to run, not being ready to govern this country.....
So why is he reconsidering?
Could it be the promises of hundreds of millions in donations from right wing financiers like David Koch to push their radical agenda? Could it be ego because flavors of the month Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann fell on their faces? Could it be to please those who clearly haven't been following his history of cronyism and favors for donations? Could it be to continue a pattern of quid pro quo on a much larger and profitable level?
Clearly it isn't because he feels he is ready to run or to govern. Whatever the other reasons are, they certainly aren't genuine, most likely have some sort of selfish or ulterior motive for the Republican Party, and should be aggressively questioned.
If he doesn't want to run and doesn't feel he is ready to run or govern, and yet he still runs - that is a tremendous disservice to this country.
A day after U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez voted no on the national debt deal, Gov. Chris Christie wailed on Lautenberg in particular, saying he continues to be puzzled by what he sees as the senator's rhetoric.
"His tone is just awful," said the governor, who also described Lautenberg as regularly "angry," and questioned how a man in his 80s could sustain the rage.
Just this month, the United States signed on to a Human Rights Council statement praising freedom of expression on the Internet, along with forty other countries across the world. The purpose of the statement is to emphasize how integral modern-day communications technologies are for the promotion of basic human rights. You would naturally expect the United States, leader of the free world, to be a signatory -- but can the recent slew of restrictive legislation being pushed through Congress allow the U.S. to support a globally open Internet in good faith?? Let’s take a look at the inconsistencies:
The HRC statement says: “We consider Government-initiated closing down of the Internet, or major parts thereof, for purposes of suppressing free speech, to be in violation of freedom of expression. In addition, Governments should not mandate a more restrictive standard for intermediaries than is the case with traditional media regarding freedom of expression or hold intermediaries liable for content that they transmit or disseminate.”
Yet, Senate Bill 978 -- the "Ten Strikes Bill" -- would make unlicensed online streaming (by corporations or individual Internet users) a felony punishable by 5 years in prison.
The HRC statement continues: “All users, including persons with disabilities, should have greatest possible access to Internet-based content, applications and services, whether or not they are offered free of charge. In this context, network neutrality and openness are important objectives. Cutting off users from access to the Internet is generally not a proportionate sanction.”
Yet, Senate Bill 968 -- the PROTECT IP Act or "Internet Blacklist Bill" -- would give the government the power to force Internet service providers, search engines, and other "information location tools" to block users' access to sites that have been accused of copyright infringement.
HRC: “For us, one principle is very basic: The same rights that people have offline - freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek information, freedom of assembly and association, amongst others - must also be protected online.”
But the Obama administration is facilitating a "three strikes" style deal between Internet Service Providers and intellectual property rights holders to reduce bandwidth and restrict web access to certain sites for users who have been accused of copyright infringement.
If you can’t stand for such hypocrisy on the part of the US government, sign our petitions below:
Realistic or not, this is what it comes down to. To quote one of my fellow Blue Jerseyans, "this is war". To quote another, "Sweeney, the union boss, is bragging that the union lost." To quote another, "sending around this column to the press is the equivalent of high fiving himself for the union man's unique role in helping a strongman Republican Governor bring organized labor to its knees." - a column that includes the following quote from Sweeney:
"You saw the unions today do their best to intimidate people," said Senate President Steve Sweeney. "But guess what? We're in charge. I didn't come down here to be told what to do."
Sweeney must be proud. He did the bidding for his benefactor, insurance man George Norcross and carried water for Governor Christie's anti-middle class agenda yet again. But in reality, he has yet again betrayed the values of Democrats - the party he is supposed to be one of the leaders of - as well as the middle class workers that the Party has historically stood up for, not to mention the unions that we was a part of for so long.
"If we learned anything in this last election it's that the main issue right now is the economy,"
Ahhhhh yes, the economy. When Sweeney could have made sure that Christie's tax cut for the wealthy didn't happen during the lame duck session, he didn't lead. Then, he could have blocked a vote (singlehandedly) on Christie's horrific budget last year but refused to do so. And while there could have been a shutdown, it would have given New Jerseyans a taste of what "life in Chris Christie's New Jersey" would be like - and has become. Instead, Sweeney made sure there were just enough votes from his caucus to pass Christie's draconian budget last year.
If Sweeney cared about Democratic values or cared about the economy while failing to lead on the issue of equality, he wouldn't be taking the lead on this nonsense on eliminating worker rights and demolishing collective bargaining in the first place. If Sweeney cared about Democratic values or cared about the economy, he wouldn't have led the charge on some of Christie's property tax pet projects like the cap that did nothing to lower property taxes or help towns or schools. That doesn't create jobs. That doesn't help the economy.
He is a failure in his role as Democratic Leader on many many levels and is not deserving of his position. If anything, he is acting like those on the other side of the aisle.
If you look up from this article you will see Blue Jersey's motto "All the news that slips from print." It is in that spirit that I highlight a story that should have made news but didn't for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was Coptergate.
This Friday will be the one week anniversary of a staggering reversal, nay - an epic monumental elephantine 180 - by Chris Christie.
Don't get me wrong, I don't believe George Norcross is a criminal. In fact, in my view he didn't break the law at all. But that was NOT the view shared and constantly espoused by then U.S Attorney Chris Christie.
When U.S Attorney Chris Christie went on a corruption busting spree, which may or may not have been related to future political plans, he focused in on the Camden County Democratic Organization (machine if you like) eventually coming up with a conviction for former Senate Budget Committee Chairman Wayne Bryant. But Christie's central target was Camden County power broker George Norcross.
State officials, notably Attorneys General John Farmer (Whitman, DiFransesco) and Peter Harvey (McGreevey) had pursued a case against Norcross which culminated in a widely reported sting operation where Norcross was secretly recorded by Palmyra councilman John Gural during a conversation about South Jersey politics. While the language was entertaining, nothing said on the tapes constituted a crime according to the investigating authorities. When all was said and done Attorney General Peter Harvey did not think there was a winnable case against George Norcross and when asked, turned over the case to eagerly awaiting Christie.
After reviewing the evidence the U.S Attorney with the perfect conviction record also decided not to bring charges but when it became clear Christie would not have that Norcross feather in his cap he went ballistic. From the New York Times:
In a scathing letter dated Tuesday, Christopher J. Christie, the United States attorney for New Jersey, wrote that his office would be unable to bring charges against Mr. Norcross because lawyers for the state attorney general had mishandled their investigation under two administrations before turning it over to his office in 2004.
The implication, clear as day, being that George Norcross had broken the law but that the investigation was so flawed he couldn't be convicted. So Norcross is a criminal but Christie's hands are tied. Typical face saving? No!
Christie went even further with his accusations not only alleging that Norcross was a criminal but that Peter Harvey had sabotaged his own case:
His letter also harshly criticized state prosecutors for deciding not to secretly tape conversations at a Camden County Democratic fund-raiser in 2001, where Mr. Norcross and his associates were expected to discuss a wide variety of political deals. Mr. Christie said that that decision was so inexplicable that it raised the possibility that state investigators were trying to shield political figures.
STOP THE TAPE! Yes, Christie was so strong in his view that Norcross broke the law that when a case could not be made in court he claimed it was not because there had not been a crime but because law enforcement and prosecutors - as high up as the Attorney General - were engaging in an ILLEGAL coverup to protect George Norcross.
That's that bold decisive leadership we've been hearing about. Christie had a conviction (figuratively of course), he believed it and he said what he believed regardless of the consequences, let the chips fall where they may...
Not that any of this is shocking to those of us who have seen his actions and heard his words up close since his Wall Street brother bought him his job as Bush US Attorney with hundreds of thousands in donations to Bush and the Republican Party in 2000.
But this latest in a long line of instances where Chris Christie abused his power as a public employee (most egregiously and frequently as US Attorney and Governor) - either for personal perks like five star hotels and limo rides or for getting out of a ticket for driving the wrong way down a one way street or driving a car without registration - is another brick in the growing wall of evidence that the Fake Crusader in the Governor's office is precisely the so-called "public employee sucking as much personal benefit from New Jersey's citizens" as he rails against at every opportunity he gets.
Even more ironic, this caricature of public employees is and has been exemplified by Chris Christie for most of his career as a public employee. Remember, this man was sued for defamation of character back in the early 90s. The buzz surrounding his ironic rise as a future face of the Republican Party is laughable, given the most cursory look into his very actions that have tried to avoid responsibility and finger point ("DisneyGate", Race to the Top and now "CopterGate"), given out lucrative no-bid deals to political pals (one who was a former US Attorney that didn't prosecute his Wall Street brother with 16 of his colleagues in the biggest securities fraud investigate to date) and repeatedly used his position AS A PUBLIC EMPLOYEE to enrich himself, his friends or his political party.
"CopterGate" may be, as "DisneyGate", "Travel expenseGate" and all of the other many "Gate"s he has been a part of were, a "blip" in the news. But make no mistake, the real Chris Christie is rapidly being exposed and showing that he is the embodiment of the "public employee from hell" that he has been ruthlessly and politically demonizing for well over a decade.
In yet another "dog bites man" story, we find out once again that when Chris Christie talks about responsibility for actions and consequences of decisions, he means everyone but himself. Over the past week or so, "Christie's Rules™" have been on display - this time (again) with respect to his actions regarding the NJ/NY Tunnel funds that he refuses to repay while he puts on the high and mighty condescending air towards everyone else.
Never mind the 100% irony of bashing the Federal Government when it was "strings attached" to stimulus funding or when it was for his error in the Race to the Top funding lost, yet now stealing "refusing to pay back" over $270 million in Federal money that was supposed to go towards a project that he was for before he was against.more below...
The number one reason I attended was hypocrisy. Republicans love to preach about limited government, but what is Governor Christie attempting to do? Create more laws that do an end run around collective bargaining. We made a law to cap budgets. We made a law to cap superintendants salary. We made a law to require health insurance contributions. There is legislation to make additional health insurance contributions. The governor has made remarks conveying his respect for the collective bargaining process, but really this is a covert, dastardly attempt to end collective bargaining. By the time Christie and Sweeney are done making laws there will be nothing left to negotiate because it will all be superseded by state law.
The number two reason was to engage politicians and tell them so stand up for democratic principles or get out of the way. At the NJEA rally in May only 3 politicians appeared (I think Greenstein, DeAngelo, and Coleman). I realize that we are 3 months away from a primary, but yesterday's rally had around 40 politicians who decided they were coming back to the base. Christie fooled many cops, firemen, and teachers into voting for him. Those votes are gone now. It was impressive to see a galvanized group of people focused on mission. The mission going forward has to be to support those politicians willing to stand up and redeploy the legislative branch of government.
Number three was to sound the alarm. Public safety has taken a beating over the past 18 months, and the beatings will continue. The mass layoffs have created giant gaps in police and fire coverage around the state. It is ludicrous to think that police and fire can maintain a service where in some cases there have been staffing reductions of 50%. You cannot do more with less in emergency services, anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is a bigger liar then Christie. The radical downturn of the economy causes more reliance on government services. Public Safety is the last safety net for many citizens, cutting government services only deepens the chaos created by recession.
The demoralizing of a workforce is also a condition that will affect the quality of service. I know this is really the last of Christie's concerns, but the reality is that he is the leader of the state who expects more out you for less, and shits on you the entire time. It is no secret that the best employer/employee relationship is one that shares a common respect. Christie wouldn't know this because he never had a job. The motto, "the beatings will continue until morale improves" is appropriate for Christie, because I think he believes it.
I say this with all seriousness, as it has become more and more evident over the past year that Chris Christie is more interested in "being the Governor" and picking fights with anyone who crosses him (or in some instances, just crosses his path). But when it comes to the hard part like actually dealing with the structural issues in the state - whether it be the property tax costs, the pension system, the amount of debt, the ARC tunnel, funding of particular programs, the transportation fund.....you name it, and the general theme is as follows:
React with short term fix that doesn't address long term solution;
Scapegoat anyone who questions;
Demonize anyone who is in the "targeted groups" (public workers, unemployed, individuals buried in snow, other elected officials, etc.);
Verbally attack anyone who points out inconsistency between prior statements and current actions;
Ignore underlying issue;
Distract and create diversion by creating another manufactured controversy or pat self on back for something minor or expected from someone who should be doing their job.
As far back as when then US-Attorney Chris Christie was pulling rank for going down a one way street the wrong way and causing an accident, it was never his fault. In that instance, it was the biker who hit him, which is a metaphor for everything that "just happens" when it comes to Christie.
The "admitting a mistake is a sign of weakness" view is really one that has a much more sinister meaning. It shows a fatal flaw - one that was shown by Christie's mentor, George W. Bush - in that one is never wrong, even when they are wrong, and is too immature to ever take responsibility for one's own actions.
We have seen it with the Race to the Top Application that Christie hijacked, changed and ended up costing the state $400 million. That wasn't his fault - it was Obama's, then others in the federal government, then Bret Schundler's - but never his, despite the fact that the application that was to have been submitted before Christie got his hands on it had the correct information.
And of course now, when he left for Disney World as a horrible snowstorm was crippling much of the state he is supposed to govern, he blames his wife ("you better not cancel this vacation"), the mayors in the towns that were snowed in - forgetting the fact that the STATE roads were the ones that were decimated, and anyone who dared to criticize his decision as partisan. Except that (1) it was bipartisan criticism and (2) he lied again - saying that he was in contact with acting Governor Steve Sweeney, when this too was denied by Sweeney himself.
It is no secret to New Jersey Democrats (and many independents) as well as many national Democrats that Chris Christie is a mere charlatan when it comes to the facade he has erected when compared to his true actions and words.
But lately, things have been happening here - things that may very well be a sign of things to come over the next few years, especially if things continue as they have over the first year of Christie's term as Governor. There have been a lot of articles and editorials as well as political cartoons expressing a side of Christie that shows how his character flaws are hurting the state and exposing his hypocrisy.
It may have been the Race to the Top application - where Christie was exposed by fellow Republicans as a bullying liar. It may have been the extensive travel around the country and the denial of OPRA requests for documentation of his travel expense records. It may have been the denial of the OPRA requests regarding Race to the Top. It may have been the admission that they look for "YouTube moments" - and use taxpayer dollars to capture them. It may have been the foot dragging of the medical marijuana law implementation, the recent lie he was caught in regarding a meeting requested by Assemblywoman Oliver or the "mission accomplished moment" regarding the economy coupled with the empty web site section on economic development.
Either way, Christie has (as he has consistently done in the past) spent more time crafting an image he wants people to have of him than actually governing. And even when he does try to put forth an initiative - like the property tax "toolkit", it is more flash than substance and doesn't take the necessary steps to actually deal with the rising property tax issue.
The big thing for Republicans is that veneer - how things look as opposed to any real substance. But eventually, and even more so in a high information age, it is tougher to conceal the rot that is underneath a fresh coat of paint.
Now that the NJ media has started to point this out as it is having a real impact on New Jerseyans, Christie has to make a decision: is he interested in actually governing, or just playing the part of "Mr. Bigshot"?
No one wants to be unemployed. It's a life fraught with stress and financial uncertainly. Usually it means not having health care. Not having a job undermines self-worth and dignity. Unemployment breaks up families. Oftentimes it leads to alcohol and drug abuse. So yeah, basically being unemployed sucks.
Dapper, dandy, DeCroce. Photo: Star Ledger
"DeCroce's unemployment comments show he's clueless."
Given the backdrop of what it's really like to be unemployed, it's shockingly obnoxious that Assemblymen Alex DeCroce would accuse people who are laid out in this shitty economy of "gaming the system" like a sort of "get rich quick" scheme. DeCroce:
"I'm one of the few who feel that benefits are too good for these people. Why go to work? If you can go 26 weeks collecting $550/week and then get an extension for another 26, that's close to $27,000/year and a lot of people figure "Why go to work?"
Now in real life, most unemployed people are up shit's creek, living hand to mouth. If you're "lucky" you might qualify for unemployment insurance. Most people don't. Fewer still earn the "maximum" annual amount (roughly $27,000.) It's not a fun or pretty or enviable lifestyle by any stretch of the imagination.
Keep in mind, this guy DeCroce is the top Republican in the NJ Assembly. He's a tea party wannabe who'd love nothing more than to shrink the government to the size of a toaster then drown it in the bathtub. And while his rhetoric sounds as right-wing as you're gonna find in this state, a closer look at DeCroce and his family reveal him to be less of a small-government ideologue and more of a modern day (suburban, white, male) Welfare Queen.
Follow me below the fold for the gory details. If you're a taxpayer, this could hurt. You might wanna bring some Vaseline.
"Folks in this state have a right to know what we're doing in their name every day. And any kind of thought that you have about playing hide-the-ball on the public or on any part of the administration should be left by the sidelines,"
On August 26 Senator Buono filed a request for all documents related to New Jersey's 2010 application to the Race to the Top funding. She granted one request for an extension and denied a second request made just two days after granting the first one.
The Asbury Park Press on Aug. 27 filed a request under OPRA to both the governor's office and the state Department of Education for copies of all correspondence regarding the firing of former Education Commissioner Bret Schundler. In a response, they were told summer vacation made them unable to produce the records and no date was given for completion of that review.
Even after he just took office, Christie's transition team issued a report questioning the extent to which the Open Public Records Act applies to the Governor's Office in light of the exceptions found in the statute as well as judicially-recognized privileges, including executive privilege, the deliberative-process privilege and the attorney-client privilege.
The Governor's secret slush fund Reform Jersey Now, has helped Christie's close friends get around campaign finance laws and raise unlimited sums of money from the same people that are protected by the Governor's changes to disclosure laws in order to push the Christie agenda.
Maybe Christie honestly doesn't know the meaning of the word "transparency". But more likely, this is yet another one of Christie's rules that apply to others but not himself. And once again, what Christie is saying is in direct contrast to what he does.
New York magazine reports that almost everywhere New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) goes "he is filmed by an aide whose job is to capture... 'moments,' as the governor's staff has come to call them. When one occurs, Christie's press shop splices the video and uploads it to YouTube; from there, conservatives throughout the country share Christie clips the way tween girls circulate Justin Bieber videos."
What is not so important to Chris Christie: Actually coming up with any plan - even one that can be debated and dissected on its merits (or lack thereof) - to create jobs and stimulate the economy in New Jersey.
As Bill Orr said on Sunday, the Democrats in the Legislature have introduced a number of different proposals to get the economy going again and put New Jerseyans back to work.
But "Combative Christie" is more interested in trying to craft his image and score political points by yelling at anyone who dares to point out the truth about where his priorities really are than he is at doing the real work of helping those who live in the state he is supposed to be governing.
The Bush administration that Governor Christie honed his political skills in the supposed non-political role as US Attorney was best at what I can only generously call "false advertising". Whether it was "Mission Accomplished" or "No Child Left Behind", "Clear Skies Initiative", the "PATRIOT Act" or "Help America Vote Act", there was an overemphasis on names that sounded as great as the underlying policies or details were contradictory.
Chris Christie has learned from this and is trying to perfect it here in New Jersey before the citizens of this State find out. One can certainly look at his consistent "aggressively defensive" behavior when called to defend its questionable nature when it comes to what you see is NOT what you get, as much as he likes to say it is.
And as he enters his second year as Governor, we also see signs of the carefully crafted façade meant to hide a very disturbing and dark side more interested in accumulating power to settle personal scores. He talks about "education reform" but sides with an admitted liar smear artist making an example of a special education teacher who happened to throw herself in front of a van to save her students as a contrast to his so-called virtuous side. A side that has him portraying himself as looking out for students and "good teachers"; yet he blames teachers for the students not having adequate supplies and calls the students "drug mules" in the fight he picked with the teachers union.
Even his "YouTube moments", where he gleefully starts a fight with a constituent, a reporter or anyone who doesn't suck up to him are completely manufactured - and that is when someone sneaks through his handpicked "fanboy" Town Hall meetings - just like the ones that George W. Bush used to hold when he was trying to dismantle the social security system.
His "Reform Jersey Now" fund that is controlled by friends and political allies with secret donations and no transparency is a backdrop for his hand-picked Town Hall meetings where he is all about other people's transparency - as long as he and his closest buddies don't have to abide.
And his signature issue - the property tax "toolkit" and cap masquerade as something new, even though a cap already exists, his proposals merely shift any responsibility from him to the local levels and none of them address the real underlying issue of "home rule" and consolidation of services; for starters.
We already know that he doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt for his many contradictions and conflicts of interest and "do as I say, not as I do" edicts. We also know that Christie uses the same methods of distraction to cover up the fact that what he says and what he does are usually opposite.
And when many top NJ lawyers pointed out that Christiedidn't have any experience in criminal law and his appointment was directly connected to the above hundreds of thousands in donations for Bush, that was just a coincidence.
Once again, what Christie says should apply to everyone else and what applies to him are exactly the opposite. Under "Christie's rules", seniors, the middle class, public employees, commuters, women and all but a privileged few must sacrifice as part of belt tightening. But the other side of "Christie's rules" is that Chris Christie gets to do what Chris Christie wants - regardless of the conflict of interest or hypocrisy. Lead by example? Not by a longshot.
Case in point: the just-released report by the US Department of Justice, Inspector General's office on US Attorney travel that exceeded the Government lodging rate
In terms of the percentage of travel, U.S. Attorney C was the U.S. Attorney who most often exceeded the government rate without adequate justification. The U.S. Attorney provided insufficient, inaccurate, or no justification for 14 of 23 trips (61 percent) that exceeded the government rate.
And that is just from 2007 - 2009.
As always, emptywheel is all over this, just as we mentioned during the campaign as well - even when his expenses were approved by a subordinate, which is Rule number one on avoiding conflicts of interest. Two of the many egregious examples include a 4 mile roundtrip trip from a luxury Boston hotel to and from the airport - costing $236; and a car service from the airport to his hotel in London (why is a US Attorney is taking overseas business trips again?) costing almost $600.
This was not a one -time thing, or even a few "transgressions". I'll repeat: Chris Christie overbilled the US Government for excessive travel and luxury hotel costs more than every other US Attorney and for more than 60% of his total trips.
More from the report on Christie's serial abuse:
U.S. Attorney C declined our request for an interview. In a letter to the OIG, U.S. Attorney C's attorney stated that the U.S. Attorney was unable to provide "any other specific information" to supplement the travel documentation that we had provided to him for review.
In sum, we concluded that U.S. Attorney C did not comply with the travel regulations or show that his lodging costs which exceeded the government rate were appropriate. The U.S. Attorney or his staff did not make an adequate effort to determine whether the government rate was available within a reasonable distance of his meetings. Most of the justification memoranda that we found simply stated that the government rate was unavailable, but provided no substantiation for this claim. In four cases, there was no justification memorandum at all.
Way to set an example, Governor. I guess when it comes to eliminating excessive government spending, that only applies to everyone else.
