Christie's International plc

Not a single public official accused of corruption has won an acquittal since Christopher James Christie became United States Attorney for New Jersey in December 2001. So far, Christie's office has won jury verdicts against those accused politicians who preferred a trial to a guilty plea.

DeCROCE STATEMENT ON DECISION BY THE
U.S. ATTORNEY REGARDING BRYANT INVESTIGATION

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce release the following statement in response to a letter issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office saying it had not objection to an investigation into the conduct of state Sen. Wayne Bryant, D-Camden, by the Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards:

"The ethics committee has a lot of work to do. Let's get to it. The committee should reconvene as soon as possible and begin an immediate inquiry into the Bryant matter."

The Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards on Monday asked U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie if the panel's investigation of Bryant might interfere with any investigations being carried out by Christie's office.

According to the Associated Press, in a two-sentence letter issued Friday, Christie said he had no objection.

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The federal investigation of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez's role as the landlord for a non-profit organization in Hudson County that received federal funding with Menendez's help has led some Democrats to infer that the timing of U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie's probe was designed to help Republican Thomas Kean, Jr. Last week, Governor Jon Corzine told reporters that Christie's investigation "has the appearance of being less than objective."

Christie is a Republican who served as a Morris County Freeholder and as a leader of George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign in New Jersey, but accusing the corruption-busting federal prosecutor of playing partisan politics is a tough sell. Christie authorized an FBI raid of Essex County Executive James Treffinger's office while Treffinger was a Republican U.S. Senate candidate, and investigations of public officials over the last five years includes prominent members of both parties. Since Christie took office, no public officials accused of corruption has been acquitted -- a record that might make Corzine a little nervous as Republicans talk about Christie as their candidate for Governor in 2009.

Republicans have a chance to effectively arbitrate this conflict next Monday when Stuart Rabner, Corzine's nominee for state Attorney General, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rabner is a career federal prosecutor who spent four years working for Christie and for Christie's Democratic predecessors. One of the four Republican Senators on the panel -- which is likely to unanimously recommend his confirmation -- can simply ask Rabner his views on whether the timing of the Menendez investigation was tied to the upcoming election.

But will one of the Senate Republicans (Kean serves on the Judiciary Committee) actually ask the question? "I could see something like that happening," says Republican State Chairman Tom Wilson.

This day-old blog has one official policy: Respect any and all communications from the United States Attorney. Here then is Christopher J. Christie's take on the Election Day festivities:

"Things have been relatively quiet on the U.S. Attorney's hotline today. About a dozen and a half complaints, all of which have been dealt with successfully. No real allegations of fraud or intimidation as of yet."

That might mean some of the reports I got from Newark were a little exaggerated. But beyond that, I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering how different today might feel if Christie had decided to get in this thing.

If you take Jon Corzine at his word that he'll consult U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie on his choice of a state Attorney General, then it is fair to assume that Corzine has decided against keeping Peter Harvey if he takes office as Governor next year. It would be tough to find a insider who believes Christie would ever recommend Harvey, whom he reportedly considers not at all aggressive on political corruption issues. Republican Doug Forrester has already called for Harvey's resignation.

One top Democrat opined that if Corzine really does seek Christie's counsel, then Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow would have to be considered a possible candidate. Dow, the first African American woman to serve as a county prosecutor, spent most of her legal career as an Assistant United States Attorney. That would, of course, be yet another twist to Corzine's war on party bosses: Dow is no favorite of Newark Mayor/State Senator Sharpe James, who is up for re-election next year.