Has Tom broken up with Chris? Will he go back to Jon? Or does he have eyes for Dick or Rob? Coming soon on “As Moran Turns.”
By Wally EdgeHas Tom broken up with Chris? Will he go back to Jon? Or does he have eyes for Dick or Rob? Coming soon on “As Moran Turns.”
The news of the day is a Tom Moran’s Star-Ledger column slamming U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie for giving his onetime boss, former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, a huge piece of a no-bid contract as a court monitor that will pay between $29 million and $52 million over the next two years. Moran, widely viewed as an unabashed fan of Christie, the front runner for the 2009 Republican nomination for Governor, says that this particular deal “has an odor to it.”
From Moran: “But this is just the sort of conflict he has warned about for years. He gives speeches these days that come about a half-inch from being campaign stump speeches. The theme is that voters must show zero tolerance toward politicians with conflicts of interest. Only then, he says, will the state really clean itself up.”
Christie, Moran says, acted a little hurt by the close questioning. "You either trust me to have integrity or you don't," Moran says Christie told him.
Still, nearly two months after the news of Ashcroft’s contract broke, there is no comment from Democrats.
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Quote of the Day
"The confidential agreement with Riccio completed in September and recently exposed by The Star-Ledger of Newark should spur U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie to assign top staffers to uncover the whole story before Christie leaves office. Corzine's settlement is another attempt to sweep the problems from his overlapping personal and public life under the rug. Christie should pull the rug out, and soon." -- An Asbury Park Press editorial run in this morning's newspaper, apparently unaware that Christie's last day was Monday.
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Read the expanded Wake Up Call, our summary of today’s news media coverage.
Today’s Must Reads:
James R. Lambert: Convicted Felon, Head of Authority― ONLY IN NEW JERSEY...AND PENNSYLVANIA
Why can't we find a role for Christie in Washington? ― MIKE KELLY
Christie Gives Notice, and G.O.P. Gains Hope ― DAVID KOCIENIEWSKI
Christie's legcy― THE BERGEN RECORD
Corzine for Treasury? Don't Bet on It.― WASHINGTON POST
Immigrants still in New Jersey― THE BERGEN RECORD
Syndicate
Maybe Dems aren't getting in the way...
...of Christie shooting himself in the foot.
It is obscene for any person in public life (and the public's employ) to ever utter the words, "you either trust me or you don't." Who in hell does he think he is, that he is above public scrutiny?
Tin ear, blind eye, whatever you want to call it. Christie owes his job to a man that he just gave a winning PowerBall lottery ticket. It stinks to high heaven, and if he can't smell it, that just proves his lack of fitness for any position of public trust.
Christie Bought The Office, and Is Still Paying Favors
Wally Edge reported in 2000 that Christie had been told there was no place for him in the new administration despite raising $100,000 for Bush.
So Christie and his brother donated upwards of a million dollars to state and national Republican organizations over the next 10 months. He worked to get his old friend Joe Kyrillos elected state Republican Chair, and gave a ton of money to the state party after Kyrillos took power.
Then in the fall of 2001 Bush named Christie US Attorney for NJ and took office in 2002.
How did that pass the smell test for so long?