Christopher Christie

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that the Justice Department’s regarding the hiring of monitors federal oversight contracts are encouraging, but he doesn’t think they go far enough.

“The Department's new policies regarding the selection and use of monitors is an overdue step to make sure that lucrative contracts are not funneled to insiders, including former political office-holders and appointees,” he said in a statement.

John Ashcroft displays copies of The Record to defend Chris Christie's corruption-busting record: Getty Images Photo
WASHINGTON -- In a combative exchange with Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), former Attorney General John Ashcroft jumped to U.S. Attorney Chris Christie’s defense.

After Sanchez asked whether the selection process complied with the type of guidelines the Justice Department laid out yesterday, Ashcroft said that she was implying that Christie was a “law violator.”

“I really don’t believe that Mr. Christie is a law violator. His record as a prosecutor is an outstanding record,” Ashcroft said.

Ashcroft then held up two copies of Bergen Record headlines about Christie’s public corruption convictions and insinuated that there were partisan motivations behind today’s hearing.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie with U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft at a Justice Department news conference in 2003
WASHINGTON - Testifying at today, former Attorney General John Ashcroft mainly explained why he’s qualified to be a federal monitor, but had some combative words for his critics.

Ashcroft compared the type of criticism he’s faced for being assigned a lucrative federal monitor contract by U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie to the political attacks he faced during his term as Attorney General. He did not single out any of his critics by name.

“As you may or may not recall there were many people who attacked me in the way that I chose to defend America from terrorists. Those assaults did not shake my commitment to protecting American lives from terrorism attacks,” he said. “Similarly, a monitor should be immune to pressure and should not allow attacks from whatever sources that contaminate the cause of justice. I will not allow external pressures to compromise my responsibilities as a monitor.”

WASHINGTON -- If the Justice Department hoped to allay Democrats’ concerns about deferred prosecution agreements by changing their guidelines yesterday, they weren’t successful.

At hearings today that were first for called by Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Democrats said they weren’t satisfied with the proposed rule changes that would take some power out of the hands of U.S. Attorneys in deciding who gets assigned monitoring contracts.

Pascrell called for hearings after it was reported that U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie gave an oversight contract to former Attorney General John Ashcroft worth $28-52 million.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie in Vineland today 

VINELAND - Addressing the Greater Vineland Chamber of Commerce at the Ramada Inn today, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie said he has no intention of lifting his foot off the accelerator in what is likely to be his last 11 months in office as the feds’ top cop in New Jersey.

"One hundred and twenty-five times we have charged people and 125 times we have met the burden," said Christie of his prosecution of public corruption since 2002. "The people who criticize our office can’t back it up. Our record speaks for itself."

Sen. Orrin Hatch and then U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2001
U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch today defended U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie’s decision to award former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft a federal monitor contract worth up to $52 million.

“I don’t know anyone better than Ashcroft to do it, because if it’s not done right, that could severely damage the company,” Hatch told PolitickerNJ.com today.

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that the Justice Department continues to look into how federal oversight contracts are assigned, according to a report from the Star-Ledger.

The controversy over deferred prosecution agreements was touched off after U.S. Attorney Chris Christie assigned his former boss, John Ashcroft, to a federal monitoring contract with anywhere from $27 to $52 million.

Mukasey acknowledged that deferred prosecution agreements had recently become more common, and said that he was offered one before becoming Attorney General.

"Yes, we are looking at the phenomenon," the article quotes Mukasey as saying. "Yes, we are going to see if there should be standards."

Attorney General Michael Mukasey has ignored letters from Reps. Frank Pallone and Bill Pascrell on John Ashcroft's contract
Rep. Frank Pallone said that he hoped the days of a politicized Department of Justice were over when Alberto Gonzales resigned.

But so far, he has not been pleased with Gonzales’s successor, Michael Mukasey – at least not based on his response to Pallone’s concerns about deferred prosecution agreements, like the one that allowed U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie to give his former boss, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, an oversight contract worth up to $52 million.

Pallone wrote two letters to the Justice Department – one in December and one in January—and has still not received a response to either.  He’s already introduced legislation regulating the practice of dolling out deferred prosecution agreements.  

“It’s no surprise to me that the Department of Justice is stonewalling,” said Pallone.  “Bush has had three Attorney Generals now -- all political.  I don’t think they uphold the law and they just can’t be trusted to do the right thing.”

Chalk up another prominent New Jersey politician who thinks Bob Menendez would be a fine vice-presidential pick in the extremely improbable event that Hillary Clinton chooses him as a running mate.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said state Sen. Loretta Weinberg.

Weinberg, who supports Barack Obama, praised Menendez for his recent work on causes like Iraq, the economy and health care. 

“I think that the more time he spends on that as opposed to other areas, I think the better US Senator he’s become, and I think that people in New Jersey should be very proud of him,” said Weinberg. 

Weinberg said that the U.S. Attorney’s investigation into Menendez in 2006 should not hurt his prospects.

U.S. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wants congressional hearings on deferred prosecution agreements, like the one that netted former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft a federal monitor agreement worth as much as $52 million over the next eighteen months.

“I think that’s absolutely essential.  I think this administration has played fast and loose with the public dollars,” said Hoyer.

At the request of Rep. Bill Pascrell, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers said earlier this month that he was likely to hold hearings on U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie’s decision to award lucrative no-bid monitor contracts to Ashcroft and others.