House subcommittee gives Christie Sept. 4 deadline to respond to questions on deferred prosecution agreements
The chairman of a congressional subcommittee reviewing deferred prosecution agreements has given former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie, above, until September 4 to answer additional questions regarding a settlement with Zimmer Holdings

House subcommittee gives Christie Sept. 4 deadline to respond to questions on deferred prosecution agreements

By Editor | August 31st, 2009 - 1:53pm
| More

The chairman of a House Judiciary Subcommittee that questioned former U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie last June on his use of deferred prosecution agreements has given the Republican gubernatorial candidate until September 4 to fully respond to questions asked by several members of the panel.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN), the chairman of the Commercial and Administrative Law subcommittee, called Christie's responses to additional questions "particularly unsatisfactory." 

After the hearing, Cohen sent Christie a series of questions related to a settlement with Zimmer Holdings.  Christie's decision to appoint former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft as a federal monitor to oversee the deferred prosecution agreement has become an issue in the gubernatorial campaign.

"For all but two of the questions, you responded with a general assertion that the questions were answered in your oral and written testimony," Cohen wrote to Christie.  "At times you cited page numbers in the unofficial hearing transcript, which on further inspection appear not to contain anythig responsive, and which in any event will be confusing to those who will have only the officially published hearing record." 

Cohen said that the answers to those two questions are incomplete.

Correspondence between Christie and Cohen was released today by two Democratic congressmen from New Jersey, Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) and Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson).

"Chairman Cohen and the other members of the congressional subcommittee have legitimate oversight responsibilities with federal prosecutors and valid questions about the heavy use of deferred prosecution agreements," said Pallone. "Mr. Christie walked out of the congressional hearing and now he's all but refusing to answer follow-up questions. I would expect a former federal official to have more respect for the legal process and to be more responsive to questions about his past actions."

Christie has agreed to testify before the subcommittee and told the panel he would be available from 11AM until 1:30 PM.  Cohen was twenty minutes late starting the hearing and Christie stayed an extra half hour before leaving to make a train back to New Jersey.

Click here to read Cohen's letter to Christie
Click here to read Christie's letter to Cohen
Click here to read the subcommittee's questions to Christie

"Christie has agreed to

"Christie has agreed to testify before the subcommittee and told the panel he would be available from 11AM until 1:30 PM. Cohen was twenty minutes late starting the hearing and Christie stayed an extras half hour before leaving to make a train back to New Jersey."

Is Pallone totally incapable of comprehending the prior sentences? I can't wait to run his "flighty" butt out of office next year. On his Health Care stand alone he should be thrown out.   I would like a Congressional Probe into all the leaks coming out of this B.S. Committee.

I can not believe that in 3

I can not believe that in 3 weeks, the Corzine campaign actually convinced me to vote for Chris Christie. Their action in this campaign have been utterly pathetic.

Just in 3 Weeks?

Corzine lost my respect (and vote) when he raised the sales tax and extended it to other industries including gyms then shut down state Govt only to pay the union employees anyway. By the way I didn't miss the shutdown at all and was actually supporting it until I found out that Corslime was going to pay the thieving employees. What a joke!

3 Week? Ok, then what?

I would tell the sub committee to go suck an egg. They have no authority to do squat.

"If you don't read the newspapers, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspapers, you are misinformed."  - Mark Twain

 

Christie should play a new game of "Absurd "

He should answer every question with this answer " I dont know anything about the Obama Death Camps for Seniors "
He should say this over and over and over again.

have a try

yo steve go do something tax payers car about.

These people don't get it, people are hurting because of these idiots in Trenton & Washington and this is what there wasting tax payers money on. I can't wait for next year to get rid of them all.

Wake-Up Call

Morning News Digest: February 9, 2010

Garden State Equality fires new broadside at Dems Smarting over the state Senate's refusal to pass marriage equality and disillusioned at the moment with the Democratic Party majority, Garden State Equality’s 85-member Board of Directors unanimously decided against giving financial contributions to political parties and their affiliated committees. ...

Wally Edge

A handwritten note left behind during a Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting indicates that Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-Metuchen) would support a plan to require all current public employees to contribute at least 1.5% of...
As New Jersey braces for another snowstorm, noteworthy is Hamilton Mayor John Bencivengo’s website, where residents can use “Snow Plow Sal” to monitor the movements of snow plows to determine when their street will be plowed.  Hamilton also has...
Just before leaving the Senate Presidency, Richard Codey (D-Roseland) appointed Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins to the Congressional Redistricting Commission.  Now his successor, Stephen Sweeney (D-West Deptford) is considering making his own...
Mark Anton, the Chairman of the Suburban Propane Gas Corporation, was a half-term Republican from Essex County who was elected in a 1953 special election after Alfred Clapp, who had mounted an unsuccessful campaign for the GOP gubernatorial election...
Assemblyman Herbert Conaway (D-Delanco) has dropped his bid for Burlington County Democratic Chairman, notifying party leaders by letter this weekend.  That leaves Gary Haman as the leading candidate to replace Alice Furia, who took over last...

Contributors

Everybody needs to start a new job with a list of priorities and Chris Christie is no exception. There might be a thousand things that need to get done... more »
A new Governor and Legislature offer the perfect opportunity to re-think the Trenton status quo and for experienced observers and practitioners to offer their best ideas on improving the... more »
 I grew up in a neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey where gambling was part of every day life.  Many of my relatives gambled.  The guys gambled on games, and... more »
Due to a highly inappropriate breach of etiquette by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union Address, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United... more »
When life is bad---natural disasters, families losing homes or jobs, an attack on our country, health crises--people come together and do things that are inspiringly good.  After the... more »
Our new Governor suffers from no lack of advice.  Much of it, contained in the transition reports, deserves prompt attention.  Obviously, economic prosperity benefits everyone, and – as... more »
The agenda has been ambitious.Jobs.  Homeland security.  Iraq.  Afghanistan.  Healthcare.  Energy.  Banking.   Taken together, the Obama Presidency has all the makings of a compelling story -- action, adventure, emotion,... more »
The new regime pushes the only conservative off the Budget Committee.   This is a direct result of pressure from a certain Republican County Chairperson who was hired by Garden... more »
Now that  the dust has finally settled after the grueling campaign for governor, there are a number of lessons that we can draw from this election. First and... more »
A  few years ago, my brother Paul gave me a birthday present of Tim Russert’s book, The Wisdom of Our Fathers. Great book. Read it cover to cover. Or skim... more »
New Jersey's spending and borrowing spree over the past three decades is coming home to roost.  State debt has increased 700% under both Republican and Democratic administrations, and spending... more »
On January 11th New Jersey’s 213th Legislature ended its session, followed the next day by the commencement of the 214th Legislature, with newly elected officials being sworn into office,... more »
On January 6, 2010, several newspapers published articles with titles like “no more aid for struggling cities”, “Christie will cut state aid” and the like; furthermore, in the body... more »
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, you target teachers. That’s not a positive note to start your tenure. You forget that the Teachers’ Union makes decisions on its own, such... more »