Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce

DeCROCE ASKS FOR EMERGENCY COMMISSION MEETING
TO DISCUSS U.S. ATTORNEY'S SUBPOENA

Republican Leader Says Meeting Should be Open to the Public

Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce today formally requested an emergency meeting of the Legislative Services Commission on Thursday to find out why the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services decided to challenge a subpoena from U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie seeking access to documents related to the authorization and expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars on political "pork" projects by the Legislature.

The request was contained in a letter to Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, D-Camden, and Senate President Richard J. Codey, D-Essex, who chair the commission that oversees the Office of Legislative Services.
DeCroce also wants to know why Republicans were not alerted or consulted in advance of the decision not to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney.

"Even for a state that is infamous for widespread misconduct by public officials, this has got to be a new low," said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. "The U.S. Attorney is trying to combat political corruption. The Legislature should be cooperating with this effort, not going to court to block it."

A hearing is scheduled Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper in Trenton over whether he Legislature can be forced to turn over records it considers confidential.

"Regardless of what happens in court, an emergency meeting of the Legislative Services Commission is appropriate because many questions demand answers," DeCroce asserted.

DeCroce said Republicans want to know:

* Who approved the hiring of an outside counsel?
* Who directed the Office of Legislative Services not to respond to the U.S. Attorney's request?
* Which legislative members were briefed on the U.S. Attorney's investigation?
* Why were Assembly Republicans not informed of the probe?
* Have any other outside counsels been hired to represent legislative offices or officers?

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A copy of the letter follows:
February 13, 2007

Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr.
Chairman, Legislative Services Commission
State House, P.O. Box 098
Trenton, New Jersey 08625

Dear Assembly Speaker Roberts:

I am calling on you, as the Chairman of the Legislative Services Commission, to convene an emergency meeting of the Commission for this Thursday, February 15, 2007, in order for the members to receive information from the Commission staff pertaining to the ongoing political corruption investigation of certain members of the New Jersey Legislature by the U.S. Attorney. It is unfortunate that Commission members were not briefed prior to learning through newspaper articles that independent legal counsel has been hired to fight a federal subpoena seeking documents connected to the U.S. Attorney's investigation.

I look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

Sincerely,
Alex DeCroce
Assembly Republican Leader

c: Senate President Richard J. Codey
Members, Legislative Services Commission
Albert Porroni, Executive Directory, Office of Legislative Services

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For more information, contact:
Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce/973-984-0922
Assemblyman Republican Press Office/609-292-5339