Governor Corzine’s campaign today continued to insinuate that there is an improper relationship between Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie and members of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which he ran until December of last year.
State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who is running as the Democrats’ candidate for lieutenant governor, said that First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Brown – who is currently paying Christie back for a $46,000 mortgage he took out on her house two years ago – should be removed from the task of retrieving the Corzine campaign’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
"The United States Attorney's office is filled with qualified professionals," said Weinberg. "Based on what we already know and on today's report by the Associated Press that Christie is refusing to answer who he's still in contact with at the U.S. attorney's office and how informed he is about day-to-day activities there, we are simply saying we need someone not caught up in this controversy to work on the FOIA requests."
Christie’s relationship with Brown, a personal friend and longtime U.S. Attorney staffer who he promoted to the office’s number two spot shortly before resigning, has been at the center of Corzine’s attacks over Christie failing to report the loan on his income taxes and federal employee disclosure forms. On Tuesday, Christie owned up to the mistake and answered reporters’ questions, but refused to take further questions from an Associated Press reporter yesterday.
Corzine’s top advisor, Tom Shea, yesterday filed legal challenges with the Justice Department to break what they say is a delay in the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office in fulfilling the campaign’s FOIA requests.
In response to Weinberg’s statement, U.S. Attorney spokesman J. Gregory Reinert pointed to Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra’s statement yesterday to the Star-Ledger that Brown has a role in fulfilling the requests because some of the records sought are her own, but that she was “not in charge of the process.”
Yesterday, Reinert issued a statement reading "The suggestion that someone from outside our office or our law enforcement partners has any input into or knowledge of ongoing cases or investigations demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about how this office operates and how seriously everyone in this office strives to make certain that justice is served."
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. ...
“We will work harder and smarter to protect consumers, to preserve civil rights, to effectively regulate the alcoholic beverage industry, to ensure that the integrity of New Jersey’s casino gaming industry continues, to keep drives, passengers and pedestrians safe on our streets, to assist victims of crimes, and to remember always the importance of juvenile justice on issues affecting the state." -- Attorney General-designate Paula Dow, at her Senate confirmation hearing.
- PolitickerNJ.com, 02/08/10Press releases are submitted by PolitickerNJ users, not by staff. They do not represent the viewpoint of PolitickerNJ.com.
'there is an improper relationship ...
between Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie and'... whom exactly?
I have to admire the Corzine
I have to admire the Corzine campaign. They're trying REALLY hard to make this sound like a bigger controversy then it actually is.
I love how these democrats are furious and 'troubled" by Christie's 46k loan to a friend, but are completely cool with Corzine paying out a 470K "loan" to a union leader and then fighting for the right to hide the e-mail's between him and her.
let me get this straight
they are complaining that the procees is taking too long and then demanding that manpower be pulled off the project?
This is political grandstanding at its worst. The fact that the Corzine campaign continually tries to sinisterize this non-issue is a telling sign of how truly desperate and concerned they are.
The man loaned money to a friend in need at a time when they were colleagues.
This criticism is coming from the guy who made a personal gift of almost half a million dollars to the head of the largest state employee union, refuses to release his commnications with her at a time when the union contract was being re-negotiated, and also gave her brother a state job and some spending money.
I believe the appropriate term is PULLEEEZE
Loretta must have NO PRIDE
Only in "Corzine World" could an 17 year career prosecutor with a spotless reputation be dragged through the mud for Corzines political gain. Michelle Brown is public servant of the highest caliber...I guess it's no stunner that Corzine is attacking one of the "good guys" but defended scum like Sharpe James and Wayne Bryant. It's still amazing that he was silent as they both sat in the Senate and collected state paychecks while under indictment.
Loretta is proving herself to be a bitter old woman willing to be a puppet for her runningmate. It's not Browns fault that Weinberg was one of the greedy ones who believed that Bernie Madoff's 20% returns could possibly be real. Then again, she believes that the other Wizard of Wall Streets numbers are real too.
If transparency is what Corzine/Weinberg seek then lets have them release:
1. Katz e-mails
2. Corzine's FULL Tax returns----so the public can see all monetary "gifts", loans( amazing how the same people seem to get loans every year, probably a coincidence).
3. ALL charitable contributions----Corzine's money has been thrown everywhere...to buy votes and keep unhappy old friends/girlfriends quiet/employed.
4. All papers, phone records, etc dealing with the latest settlement with the CWA---when he gave away any furlough concessions by giving them personal days and a locked in raise for 2011--all so VP Joe Biden would appear with him---incredible.
5. ALL papers detailing the amount of time that Dick Codey has been Acting Gov while Jon was out of state vacationing, promoting himself for that Washington job he didn't get, etc. Corzine has spent more time out of state than ANY Governor in NJ's history.
Lets start there Mr Transparency....
"Don't let facts get in the way"....Corzine '09
I actually agree with Loretta
Brown should remove herself from this situation because there is a chance of a conflict of interest. However, unlike Loretta, I would like to see full disclosure of Corzine's expenses, his schedules, his tax returns. Let's start from his first year in the Senate and work our way up.
you must be kidding!!!
Are you all insane? this type of loan is called "corruption" and is illegal. furthermore, to "forget" to include it on his disclosures is almost as basd if not worse than anything he prosecuted anyone else on. This is Dick Cheney and Karl Rove all over again. Enough is enough!!!
bergenlawyer
your post makes no logical sense....enjoy your higher taxes for less services?
Loretta Weinberg Is 100% Correct
Brown needs to recuse and to come clean on all of the matters in question.
Brown should have to testify under oath before a congressional panel (at the minimum) as to any discussions she may have ever had with Chris Christie relating to his candidacy.
The loan and the interest are peanuts. The real issue here is the nature and extent of Christie's relationship with Brown.
Frankly, it strains credulity to believe that they never colluded in any way or never discussed his political ambitions.
Obviously, neither Christie nor Brown will simply confess to having violated the Hatch act....but there sure is a lot of smoke here and a full investigation is warranted, especially given that he's running for governor.
Even if there isn't enough proof to obtain indictments and/or convictions; no one can dispute that there is an extremely strong APPEARANCE of impropriety here.
So these two are either both corrupt or both have had the same total collapse in good judgment; either way Brown should recuse and Christie should lose.