Frank Lautenberg

Cash on hand for candidates for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from New Jersey.

Eight years ago, the last time the two United States Senators from New Jersey signed off on a candidate for U.S. Attorney, the appointment of a First Assistant U.S. Attorney was part of the deal.  That was when the new Republican President, George W. Bush, wanted to name Christopher Christie as the new federal prosecutor.  Because Christie had no criminal law or prosecutorial experience, Democratic Senators Robert Torricelli and Jon Corzine only agree to sign off on his appointment if they had input into the selection of Christie's number two.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Walter Timpone was widely expected to get the First Assistant post; he was the one Torricelli and Corzine (mostly Torricelli; Corzine was a freshman) had been pushing.  He also became Christie's choice, and the new U.S. Attorney went to Washington to lobby on his behalf.  But Timpone's chances faded after FBI surveillance revealed that while acting as the defense attorney for former Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski, who had allegedly been recruited by federal prosecutors to be a witness against Torricelli, was visiting Torricelli at his home.  There was a feeling that Timpone had tipped off the senior Senator, and while he avoided prosecution for tampering, his prospects of becoming First Assistant were over. 

Paul Fishman is expected to become the next U.S. Attorney after receiving the support of U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez.

Paul Fishman is likely to become New Jersey's next United States Attorney after receiving the endorsements of New Jersey's two U.S. Senators today.

In a joint letter to President Obama, Frank R. Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) and Robert Menendez (D-Hoboken) are recommending the appointment of Fishman, a former federal prosecutor and Justice Department official.  

The post has been vacant since Republican Christopher J. Christie resigned on December 1.  Ralph Marra, Jr. is now the Acting U.S. Attorney.

"With so many critical issues facing our state, Paul Fishman will be a terrific U.S. Attorney.  He has the knowledge, expertise and judgment to protect the people of New Jersey in the years ahead," said Lautenberg, who has been advocating Fishman's appointment since last fall.

Menendez said that "New Jersey families deserve a U.S. Attorney who makes protecting them from economic crimes, the spreading gang activity, as well as gun and drug trafficking a priority of the office."

"I am confident that Paul Fishman will work with integrity and effectiveness to do just that," Menendez said.

Lautenberg pushed hard for Fishman to get the U.S. Attorney post when Faith Hochberg was nominated to a federal judgeship in 1999.  But Fishman got in the middle of a rather extraordinary public feud between Lautenberg and U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli.  The Clinton administration sided with Torricelli, and when Hochberg resigned to take her seat on the bench (after a lengthy delay in the confirmation process), Attorney General Janet Reno elevated Torricelli's preferred choice, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Cleary, as New Jersey's interim federal prosecutor.  

The 52-year-old Fishman, a Princeton University graduate and editor of the Harvard Law Review, worked in the U.S. Attorney's office as Chief of the Criminal Division and as First Assistant before going to Washington as a senior advisor to Reno and as a Deputy U.S. Attorney General.  Fishman is a partner at Friedman, Kaplan, Seiler and Adelman, where he specializes in white collar criminal matters.  Fishman has represented several public officials prosecuted by Christie, and is currently an attorney for former CWA Local 1034 President Carla Katz, who is seeking to keep her e-mail correspondence with Governor Jon Corzine private.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) says that United States Senators won’t “have the chance” to read the final version of the $790 billion economic stimulus bill before they vote on it, according to a published report.

“No, I don’t think anyone will have the chance to [read the entire bill],” Lautenberg told conservative website CNSNews.com of the 1,071 page bill.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg will chair a Senate Environment and Public Works subcommittee that has jurisdiction over the Superfund.

U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-Cliffside Park) has been named Chairman of the Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health Subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. 

"We need to leave our children with a cleaner, safer environment," Lautenberg said.  "New Jersey has more Superfund sites that any state in the nation and - like many environmental programs - Superfund was neglected and underfunded for the last eight years.  Our subcommittee will get these programs back on track and better protect our environment.  I also intend to reform how we regulate chemicals in everyday household products so they are safe before winding up in the hands of consumers."

Lautenberg says he intends to reintroduce the Kids Safe Chemicals Act, and legislation to force polluters to pay for Superfund cleanups.  

Newark Mayor Cory Booker

NEWARK – Television star Oprah Winfrey’s decision this month to drop a $500,000 gift on Steve Adubato’s North Ward Center effectively stamps out the fuse on a standoff between the North Ward Democratic leader and Winfrey confidante Mayor Cory Booker, in a resolution that underscores the political strengths of the two main combatants.

If Adubato, native Newarker and a grizzled guru now in his seventies, proved his relevance by waging a war in the streets and alleys he has known since childhood, Booker the Bergen County outsider turned Newark activist and statewide star, proved his manna from Heaven connections. 

And the community won in the end, according to sources from both camps, as Adubato’s Blue Ribbon charter school, the Robert Treat Academy - whose students consistently rate higher math and science test scores than students in schools in all of urban New Jersey and all of Essex County - stands to get an unprecedented infusion of funds.

The contribution came with a back story.  

For almost as long as Booker’s been in office, Adubato poked, prodded, cajoled, and chest-thumped in the face of the young star’s particular power, and now sources close to the North Ward leader say he intends to endorse the first term mayor for reelection next year.

It’s been an odd relationship.

U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg is trying to help Paul Fishman become the next U.S. Attorney from New Jersey.

Paul Fishman was fairy close to becoming New Jersey's U.S. Attorney in 1999, and as Democrats prepare for their first opportunity to fill the post since then, there is increasing speculation that 2009 may be his year. 

U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg pushed hard for Fishman to get the U.S. Attorney post when Faith Hochberg was nominated to a federal judgeship in 1999.  But Fishman got in the middle of a rather extraordinary public feud between Lautenberg and U.S. Senator Robert Torricelli.  The Clinton administration sided with Torricelli, and when Hochberg resigned to take her seat on the bench (after a lengthy delay in the confirmation process), Attorney General Janet Reno elevated Torricelli's preferred choice, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Cleary, as New Jersey's interim federal prosecutor.  Cleary served until George W. Bush's nominee, Christopher Christie, took office in January 2002.

PolitickerNJ.com reported last October that Fishman would be Lautenberg's top choice if Barack Obama won the presidency.  With other potential contenders asking not to be considered, including attorney Joseph Hayden and Attorney General Anne Milgram, Fishman has moved to the top of the list in a campaign that essentially needs just two votes: Lautenberg and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez. 

Politico is reporting today that U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg and U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews are not on speaking terms after Andrews challenged Lautenberg in the 2008 Democratic primary.  “It’s going to take some time to get over this because how do you know that his word is his word?” U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. said of his House colleague, who reportedly had agreed not to run. 

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U.S. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez

It's good news for New Jersey's two United States Senators: both have positive job approval ratings, according to today's Quinnipiac University poll.  Frank Lautenberg is at 45%-38%, and Bob Menendez is at 42%-30% -- his highest mark since taking office in January 2006.  Menendez is up for re-election in 2012 and Lautenberg in 2014.

U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman, left, is backing Bergen County Sheriff Leo McGuire for U.S. Marshal over another Bergen candidate, Freeholder Director Tomas Padilla, right.

In a letter to New Jersey's two United States Senators, U.S. Rep. Steven Rothman today endorsed Bergen County Sheriff Leo McGuire for U.S. Marshal.  This is significant because Rothman has chosen McGuire over another candidate for the post, Bergen County Freeholder Director Tomas Padilla.  It will be hard for Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez to ignore the Rothman endorsement since he is the Democratic Congressman from Bergen County.