Frank Lautenberg

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce (R-Parsippany) says that federal prosecutors should probe whether four New Jersey legislators violated any laws when they pushed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve a medical device marketed by campaign contributors.

A New York Times story this morning alleged that U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) and Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park), and U.S. Reps. Steven Rothman (D-Fair Lawn) and Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch), asked the FDA to reverse the recommendation of their scientists and approve a patch for injured knees that had been found to be unsafe.  The manufacturer, ReGen Biologics, Inc., made what the Times called "significant" contributions to their campaigns a few months before they intervened with the FDA.

DeCroce, citing OpenSecrets.org, a website that tracks campaign contributions, the four Democrats received a total of $26,00 from ReGen executives.  He wants the incoming U.S. Attorney, Paul Fishman, to make a probe of the congressional Democrats his first priority.

"This could be one of the worst cases of ‘pay-to-play' perpetrated by any public official in New Jersey," said DeCroce.

Menendez, Lautenberg, Pallone & Rothman Received Donations from ReGen Biologics, Pressured FDA to Approve Company’s Medical Device

Senator Robert Singer (R-30) urged Governor Jon Corzine to join his call for the United States Attorney’s Office to investigate shocking revelations that four New Jersey congressmen exerted pressure on the Food and Drug Administration to force the approval of a medical device after receiving campaign donations from several executives of ReGen Biologics, the producer of the device.

In a published report, the New York Times stated: “The agency has never before publicly questioned the process behind one of its approvals, never admitted that a regulatory decision was influenced by politics, and never accused a former commissioner of questionable conduct.”

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If these allegations are true, then it is very important that New Jersey find and aid any state patients victimized by political failures, Kean said. Governor Corzine should order the health commissioner to start her inquiry today.

Today's must-read story comes from the New York Times, which reports that after scientists for the Food and Drug Administration ruled that a medical device was unsafe and often failed, U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, and U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone and Steven Rothman successfully exerted pressure on the FDA to change their decision.  The manufacturer of Menaflex, a patch for injured knees, ReGen Biologics, Inc., made what the Times called "significant" contributions to their campaigns a few months before they intervened with the FDA.

As the campaign for governor intensifies, both Governor Corzine and Republican gubernatorial nominee Chris Christie have begun throwing some not-so-subtle personal jabs.

The latest example is a television ad Governor Corzine released yesterday.  More than a few observers and bloggers noticed the double entendre – whether intentional or not --when the voiceover says that Christie “threw his weight around” as U.S. Attorney to avoid traffic tickets and points on his license.  

Corzine spokesman Sean Darcy indicated today that the campaign did not intend for the comment to be taken literally.   But state Sen. Bill Baroni, who grew up overweight and lost 130 pounds 15 years ago, said that he “immediately” recognized a reference to Christie’s girth in the Corzine ad.

“Tens of thousands of New Jerseyans like me battle weight,” he said.   “To make reference to that in such a blatant way to distract from a discussion about the issues? We’re better than that.”

Corzine also got personal by launching a web ad accusing Christie of doing a favor for a fellow former U.S. Attorney who declined to prosecute his brother.  

But it has cut both ways.  Throughout the campaign, Christie has focused on portraying Corzine – who grew up in rural Illinois and moved to New Jersey in 1975 -- as not just out-of-touch, but out-of-town.  His campaign released a Web ad replaying a Corzine statement about the “Garden State Expressway”, which does not exist. 

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) turns 86 in January. His term is up four years after that.

Massachusetts Legislature has passed a bill that will allow the Democratic governor to appoint an interim United States Senator to replace the late Ted Kennedy.  Five years ago, when there was a good chance that Democrat John Kerry might get elected president, the Democratic-controlled Legislature changed the law so that Republican Gov. Mitt Romney could not appoint Kerry's successor.  The state now has no Senator as voters await a special election.

In New Jersey, where polls show Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine trailing in his re-election bid, some Democratic leaders are talking about a contingency plan that might prevent Republican Christopher Christie from appointing a U.S. Senator, if Democrat Frank Lautenberg, who turns 86 in January, leaves office without finishing the final four years of his term.  If Corzine loses, one plan that will receive consideration, Democratic sources say, would be legislation passed during the lame duck session later this year taking the appointment away from the governor and forcing a quick special election.  Corzine could sign that bill before he leaves office in January.

The GOP's best hope of electing a Republican U.S. Senator could come with the election of a Republican governor.  Democrats, anxious to mainatin their filibuster-proof 60-vote majority, may not want to chance it.  And New Jersey's junior Senator, Robert Menendez, is the Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

U.S. Attorney-designate Paul Fishman

The postponement of the Senate Judiciary Committee's consideration of Paul Fishman as the next U.S. Attorney from New Jersey is indeed curious.  It makes you wonder if the nominee's chief patron, U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park), doesn't have the clout to keep Fishman on the agenda.  Is there a problem because Fishman represented the embattled EnCap project from 2007 to 2009?  Or is it more sinister: do Democrats want to keep Fishman out until after the gubernatorial election so they can continue to blame Republican Christopher Christie's allies for delays in fulfilling document requests? 

President Barack Obama nominated Paul Fishman on June 4.  Five of the seven federal prosecutors nominated that day won Senate confirmation before they recessed in August, but Fishman, who was in the original group of Obama U.S. Attorney appointments, was not one of them.   Fishman was on the Judiciary Committee's agenda as recently as 10AM this morning, but the committee chairman announced that discussion of his nomination would be rescheduled.

A spokeswoman for the Senate panel told PolitickerNJ.com that committee rules permit any item listed on the agenda for the first time can be held over at the request of any Senator for one week.

Democrats have criticized Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra, a Democrat, for delaying the release of documents requested by Gov. Jon Corzine's campaign under the Freedom of Information Act.  Democrats have accused the Office of the U.S. Attorney of deliberately delaying the release of the requested FOIA documents, inferring that they are trying to help Christie.  Marra has said the request involves considerable work, including the removal of legal papers that are not public, and says he's working with the FOIA office at the Department of Justice.  Once Fishman takes over, the decision to release documents related to Christie will be is.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet at 10AM today to consider the nomination of Paul Fishman as the U.S. Attorney from New Jersey.  Fishman was nominated earlier this year by President Barack Obama after winning the recommendation of New Jersey's two U.S. Senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW FISHMAN'S JUDICIARY COMMITTEE QUESTIONAIRE

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIVE WEBCAST

Democrats have a real problem in New Jersey, if a new poll released by Public Policy Polling, a North Carolina-based firm that polls mostly for Democratic candidates and Democratic-leaning interest groups, is correct.  The poll has President Barack Obama’s favorables upside-down among N.J. voters, 45%-48%.

The poll has New Jersey’s two Democratic United States Senators also upside-down: Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) has approvals of 38%-44%, and Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) has approvals of 27%-40%. 

“There are more Obama voters in New Jersey now who don’t approve of him than there are (John) McCain voters who believe he’s doing a good job,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “This is the first time we’ve found that anywhere and it makes you wonder how effective Obama’s really going to be on behalf of Jon Corzine.”

The weirdest part of the poll: 21% of New Jerseyans believe Obama is not a natural born citizen, 19% say George W. Bush had advance knowledge of 9/11, and 8% say Obama is the Anti-Christ.

It's not likely that the courts will toss Dawn Zimmer or Beth Mason off the ballot just because they were a little late filing their petitions for the Hoboken mayoral special election.  The whole concept of strict interpretations of election law were pretty much thrown out seven years ago when the New Jersey Supreme Court, citing voter choice, allowed Democrats to switch U.S. Senate candidates long after the deadline had passed.  Ironically, the candidate who had no problem filing petitions was Nathan Brinkman, who is running as a Republican in this heavily Democratic city.  Brinkman's political consultant is Bill Pascoe, who was Douglas Forrester's campaign manager in 2002 when Robert Torricelli ended his re-election bid and was replaced on the ballot by Frank Lautenberg.  The big question is why Zimmer, the Acting Mayor, and Mason, a Councilwoman, needed to push the deadline.