At what point should Jon Corzine comment on the testimony of his Deputy Chief of Staff, Javier Inclan, in the federal corruption trial of Guttenberg Mayor David Della Donna? Just after winning election as Governor in 2005, Corzine promised members of his administration would face "intensive vetting and should be prepared to serve an administration with 'zero tolerance' for placing private interests above the public good."

“Hold me accountable,” he told the people of New Jersey in his inaugural address in January 2006.

Inclan, the former Executive Director of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, testified that as Treasurer of the Guttenberg Democrats, he accepted an envelope which he believed to be a cash contribution from a local bar owner, Luisa Medrano.

It’s possible that Inclan broke a state law which requires campaign treasurers to inform law enforcement officials if they believe a contribution was not reported. Inclan said he believed he was passing on a cash contribution, so should he have known later on when he signed the campaign report that there was no contribution listed from Medrano?

Thurman Hart’s blog on this is a must-read.