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Serious Allegations against Chris Christie

U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who should be commended for indicting several corrupt politicians across the state of New Jersey, has been accused of intimidating witnesses and hampering the defense in a high-profile case against state senator Wayne Bryant. This doesn't surprise me at all and speaks once again to Christie's blurring of the line between his rabid, self-serving brand of partisan politics -- he's a Republican who raised over 100k for the Bush administration -- and his role as a nonpartisan U.S. attorney. These allegations from Bryant are a less credible since they are coming from a state senator who has engaged in corrupt activity. But they point to a larger problem that Christie, widely viewed as a Republican gubernatorial candidate in 2009, has only created for himself. In September 2006, just before the election, Christie issued a subpoena against Bob Menendez while he was in a tight race against Tom Kean Jr. -- nothing whatsoever has come of this subpoena. He has gone on speaking tours with Republicans, did a candidate forum with Republican state senator Joseph Kyrillos that was banned from television, has implored voters to support Republican candidates, and almost exclusively focused his corruption probes on New Jersey Democrats rather than pay attention to any possible Republican corruption.

posted by Michael Martin @ 5:13 AM