Brown resigns from US Attorney's office to not be "a distraction"

by: Jason Springer

Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 05:56:51 PM EDT

In her resignation letter dated today, Michele Brown, the acting first assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, said it has been an "honor and privilege" to serve, but she does not want to be "a distraction" for the office.

"I am extraordinarily proud of all the work we have done and all the good we have accomplished on behalf of the people of this state," Brown wrote. "I also know how important it is that we continue to pursue our mission, and I do not want to become a distraction from the critically important work we do."

New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie said he won't ask a federal prosecutor to sever the mortgage loan he made to her if he is elected governor.

Christie said it would be up to Michele Brown whether to repay the $46,000 loan early.

"Michele Brown's resignation today does nothing to put to rest questions about Christie's conduct both in and outside of the U.S. Attorney's office. Whether it was illegally laying the groundwork for his gubernatorial campaign from the U.S. Attorney's office with the help of Karl Rove, maintaining a secret financial relationship with the number two at the U.S. Attorney's office during his campaign, or rewarding political cronies with millions of dollars in no-bid contracts, Christie still must answer to serious legal and ethical questions. He can start by demanding the immediate release of public documents from his tenure as U.S. Attorney as requested by the Corzine campaign."

Weinberg leaves nothing on the table

by: Jason Springer

Fri Aug 21, 2009 at 10:30:00 PM EDT

It seems that there are two sets of standards when it comes to ethics and insider deals in the mind of Mr. Christie: Those that apply to everyone else and those that obviously do not apply to him. Here's a brief synopsis of recent scandals that Mr. Christie has found himself engrossed in:

Exhibit A: Insider Deals

More breaking news recently shed light on Christie's failure to report a $46,000 loan he gave to his top aide while he was U.S. Attorney. Christie failed to report the loan and interest earned from those loans on his tax returns and financial-disclosure forms. Read the N.Y. Times article to learn more.

Exhibit B:  Ethics

While Mr. Christie made his whole campaign platform about corruption and ethics, he doesn't believe that it applies to him. It was recently discovered that Christie had secret conversations with President Bush's right hand man, Karl Rove, while Christie was still a U.S. Attorney.  Chris Christie may portray himself to be an outsider fighting for reform, but he's just another Bush Republican crony. Bergen Record article about Rove and Christie.

Exhibit C:  Insider Monitor Deal gets Christie's brother off the hook

As U.S. Attorney, Chris Christie gave deferred prosecutions and no-bid contracts worth millions of dollars.  One of those went to 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.  Learn more here.

Quote of the Day: Isn't that what they all say?

by: Jason Springer

Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 09:00:00 PM EDT

Chris Christie came across many a wrongdoer in his years as New Jersey's U.S. attorney, including a fair number of tax cheats. In fact, he once boasted in a 2005 press release that his office had prosecuted "every variation of tax fraud and method of evasion." And we'd bet Christie heard - and scoffed at - more than a few claims of innocence and ignorance through all those years, criminals insisting that it was all a big mistake.

Now Christie is the one accused of some questionable tax affairs - failing to report on federal tax returns and financial disclosure forms a $46,000 loan he gave to a subordinate. His excuse? It was an oversight. And as for why he's different from all of those tax cheaters he caught, Christie said that in his case it really was unintentional.

Isn't that what they all say?

This is, at best, an egregious blunder on Christie's part. It would be bad enough for any citizen or candidate, but Christie's a former U.S. attorney who should certainly know better. His gubernatorial candidacy has been built primarily on his reputation as a political corruption-buster. He is being presented to the voters as the pristine candidate, the one untainted by political machinations and poised to clean up New Jersey government.

More tarnish on Christie's Armor: "He should have known better"

by: Jason Springer

Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 02:30:00 PM EDT

What I find most puzzling is that Christie's "oversight" is at odds with his experience as a corruption fighter. He should have known better.

Perhaps more than any other federal prosecutor who preceded him, Christie demonstrated how New Jersey's toothless disclosure laws foster corruption. It was a common theme in his indictments and convictions.

Christie failed to disclose the $46,000 loan

by: Jason Springer

Mon Aug 17, 2009 at 10:31:38 PM EDT

In 2007, while he was New Jersey's ranking federal prosecutor, Christopher J. Christie - now the Republican candidate for governor - lent one of his top aides $46,000. But he failed to report the loan as required under federal and state ethics rules.

Mr. Christie did not list the loan on his June 21, 2008, personal financial disclosure form as a member of the federal executive branch, which requires the detailing of any assets (like loans or receivables) worth more than $1,000, and any sources of income of more than $100 a year. Ms. Comella confirmed that Mr. Christie?s final disclosure as a prosecutor also omitted the loan.

Nor did he include the loan on his candidate's disclosure with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission in April 2009. One of its catchall categories of unearned income requires the detailing of "other income (including interest)" of more than $100 when the total in that category exceeds $1,000. Mr. Christie listed Pfizer and three government bonds as the sources of such income, but made no mention of the loan to Ms. Brown.

Moreover, some Democrats have privately speculated that Ms. Brown has been a conduit for information between the federal prosecutor's office and Mr. Christie's campaign, particularly in the wake of the arrests of dozens of mostly Democratic political operatives in a bribery sting last month. Mr. Christie and prosecutors have angrily denied it.

Sean Darcy, a Corzine campaign spokesman, demanded that Mr. Christie explain the loan. "Now we know that Chris Christie has an ongoing financial relationship with Brown," he said. "Are they still in contact? Have they been discussing this campaign? What impact has their ongoing financial relationship had on the gubernatorial campaign?"