Posts

Chris Christie’s Death Panels for “Exceptions”

Seven years ago October 16, at the age of 34, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After six rounds of pretty harsh chemo, surgery, radiation, and five years of hormonal treatments, I am still clean of cancer.

I’m almost getting to the point where I believe I won’t have a recurrence.  As I prepare to move my mother into her new retirement home, I’m beginning to believe I might outlive her.

Except.

Except for the fact that twelve years ago, when I was 29, my breast cancer was misdiagnosed. I had a palpable lump that my primary care physician agreed merited concern. But when I went to the referral doctor, he refused to send me for a mammogram. He refused to send me for an ultrasound. He refused to send me to aspirate what he assumed was "just a cyst."

That doctor, like NJ GOP Gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie, believed that women in their twenties just don’t get breast cancer. Or rather, those 5% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age–like both Jane (diagnosed at 32) and me–are "exceptions." Exceptions for whom we should not require insurance companies to offer diagnostic tests like mammograms. Never mind that my insurance company would have had to spend far less than the $75,000 it eventually spent to treat my cancer if we had treated the lump when I first discovered it. Never mind any costs to treat the heart disease that chemo might eventually give me. Never mind the costs if–god forbid–cancer left untreated for five years shows up in the future in a vital organ or something.

Chris Christie thinks it’s smart to end the requirements on NJ insurance companies that they cover things like mammograms for the "exceptions" like me and Jane. He’s a walking death panel for "exceptions" like me and Jane.

And that’s what those of you from NJ can look forward to if he wins the gubernatorial election this November.

Michele Brown Gets the Payoff for her Role in Deferred Prosecution Agreements?

Guess where Michele Brown ended up, after leaving the US Attorney’s office to try to deflect attention both from Chris Christie’s inappropriate relationship with her as well as from Christie’s actions as US Attorney more generally? She’s gone to work for the law firm, McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter.

That’s interesting for two reasons. First, because one of the partners in the firm, Walter Timpone, is buddies with acting US Attorney Ralph Marra. But more importantly, Timpone is the guy who–as the Counsel for  DePuy Orthopaedics, signed the Deferred Prosecution Agreement that Chris Christie put through. And the Monitor who got big money for that DPA? Debra Yang, the woman who mysteriously got a sinecure at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher just as her US Attorney’s office was closing in on the ultra-corrupt Republican Jerry Lewis. 

We know from emails released this year during the House Judiciary’s hearing on Deferred Prosecution Agreements that Brown was intimately involved in the negotiations of these DPAs. 

It’s remarkable, don’t you think, how cozy all these DPAs end up being?

No Investigation of Chris Christie for His Rove Chats

The Office of Special Counsel has announced that it will not investigate Chris Christie’s campaign discussions with Karl Rove since it couldn’t punish Christie even if it found wrong-doing (it’s only available punishment is termination).

The Office of Special Counsel says it won’t investigate because it has no authority to discipline Christie even if a violation were found. Christie resigned last year to run for governor.

I have asked CREW, though, whether they mentioned this little admission from Christie–that he has talked to still-serving AUSAs about working for him once he becomes Governor (presuming he wins).

You know, we’re going to ferret out waste and fraud and abuse in the government. I think you know I’ll do that better than anybody. I’ve got a group of assistant U.S. attorneys sitting down in Newark still doing their job. But let me tell you, they are watching the newspapers. And after we win this election, I’m going to take a whole group of them to Trenton with me and put them in every one of the departments because they saw a lot of waste and abuse being investigated while we were in the U.S. Attorney’s office that didn’t rise to the level of a crime. So I told them, the good news is, when we get to Trenton we don’t have to worry about beyond a reasonable doubt anymore.

It seems to me OSC ought to at least ask which AUSAs Christie spoke about this with–and whether those AUSAs are currently still employed at the US Attorney’s office.

Why Are Jersey Cops Changing Accident Story 7 Years after the Fact?

The latest news from Chris Christie’s crappy driving record is that the story he has told about a second traffic mishap is falling apart. He maintains he was heading to a local prosecutor’s swearing in ceremony.

Christie said he was heading to [Union County Prosecutor Theodore] Romankow’s swearing-in ceremony at the time of the accident, but could not remember where he was coming from. He said he also couldn’t recall how he got to the ceremony after the car was totaled.

But the cops are now saying–after having originally corroborated this story–that Christie was headed away from this swearing-in ceremony.

Elizabeth police today adjusted their account of the July 26, 2002 incident. Police Director James Cosgrove said Christie was on his way from — not on his way to — the swearing-in of Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow when the accident occurred around 5:30 p.m.

Now, it may be this is just real confusion. Or maybe the cops figured out the timing didn’t work out the way the story was originally told. Or maybe there was a reason–back in the day–to claim to be heading to rather than away from these things (do they serve cocktails after prosecutors get sworn in?).

But Christie’s stories do have a way of falling apart. 

Christie Sued for Accident with Motorcyclist

I wasn’t all that interested in the news that Chris Christie knocked over a motorcyclist when driving the wrong way up a one way street–I’m more interested in doing the math to figure out whether he used his position to get the later accidents pled down in a successful effort to keep his license.

But the news that the cyclist Christie hit sued is noteworthy. (h/t scribe)

The motorcyclist was riding down Clinton street ( the right way ) and when he saw Christie in the intersection, the bike fell on its side and slid into Christie’s car, according to the accident report filed by the officer on the scene.

Mendonca was injured and taken by ambulance to the hospital. Not nearby Trinitas, but UMDNJ in Newark which has a trauma center. 

[snip]

We asked Christie about the accident in Atlantic City Friday and he was very curt with his answers. NJN South Jersey Bureau Chief Kent St. John asked if there was a lawsuit. Christie said “no” then “nope.”

But actually there was. According to the Superior Court Record Center in Trenton, Mendonca filed suit in 2004. The complaint filed in Essex County was later dismissed, indicating ( according to the Clerk ) an out of court settlement.

Hey, I would sue, too if I were put in the trauma ward by some bozo driving the wrong way down a one way street. I would settle, too, if I were a politico hoping to run for Governor.

But I probably wouldn’t lie about it when asked. 

Confirmed: 7 People, One Kid’s Seat, 4-Door Car

Or at least that’s the story that Chris Christie has settled on to explain away his 2005 traffic stop.

Christie said that he had not identified himself as the U.S. attorney, but that a tow truck driver had recognized him. He was allowed to drive home to Mendham, about 44 miles away, because his four children were in the car, not because of his position, he said. [my emphasis]

But aside from apparently defying the laws of physics (not to mention laws pertaining to child restraints and seat belts), Christie’s story keeps getting muddier. There are the questions about whether Michele Brown was the one big-footing the US Attorney’s office with the traffic cops.

Christie also denied a report that Brown had gotten out of the car during the stop and flashed her badge.  

Add to that the fact that the police director who so helpfully explained, last week, that Christie was let go because his four kids were present has gotten all quiet.

For example, when I spoke to the prosecutor who handled the case for Lambertville he said he did not ever see the words “no deal” printed on the ticket. Well, it is clearly written there since the ticket was posted on politickernj. And normally cops write that when they have had an unpleasant encounter with a motorist.

I have also reached out the Lambertville Police Director. I was told he “wasn’t in” on Friday. And today I was told “he is no longer returning media calls.”

Maybe everyone else is beginning to recognize the rules of physics?

Well, the traffic stop is, in the grand scheme of things, pretty minor. But the Delayed Prosecution Agreements, whereby Christie funneled multi-million dollar contracts to one of the people the Bush Administration would like to keep wealthy and content, are not.

And on Christie’s DPAs too, his answers are not holding up. You’ll recall that Christie attended a rather contentious hearing on these issues in June, where he ultimately got up and walked out on Congress?  Well, now he’s trying to Cheney his way through Questions for the Record. As Congressman Steve Cohen writes in a letter asking for Christie to be more forthcoming regarding issues relating to the DPAs, 

So the manner in which you responded is particularly unsatisfactory. For all but two of the questions, you responded with a general assertion that the questions were answered in your oral and written testimony. At times Read more

Weight: —

picture-129.pngOkay, this may appear to be really catty, but I’m doing it to make a point, so bear with me.

How does a guy who is large enough such that the cops stopping him for multiple traffic violations didn’t write his weight on the ticket fit into what appears to be a sedan with his wife, his four kids (one of whom–now 5–would have been in a car seat in 2005) and one of the AUSAs who works for him? 

Because that appears to be the story Chris Christie is now telling about his traffic stop in 2005.

The reason the cops now give for letting Christie drive away in an uninsured, unregistered vehicle is that he had his kids with him.

[Lambertville Police Director Bruce] Coccuzza says, "He indentified himself."

Why was Christie allowed to drive away despite having no proof of insurance and no valid registration card? Coccuzza says, "He said he had insurance and he’s a person that produced federal I.D. credentials so you could probably assume that what he was saying was the truth……..is it consistent with the policy? No, but you do have special circumstances."

Coccuzza says the "special circumstances" were Christie’s children in the car not his job title. He says the fact that Christie was U.S. Attorney probably didn’t even register with officer at the scene, "From what I recollect I think she (the officer) even said at the time, ‘If wasn’t for the fact that you had a car full of children this car would be towed.’"

Of course, they would presumably have already seen the kids when they called the tow truck, but set that aside for the moment.

I’m more interested in how seven people (presumably including at least one car seat) fit in in a 4-door car.

Now there are several possible explanations. Perhaps only some of Christie’s kids were with him. Perhaps they left the then-one-year old and the then-four-year old at home with a sitter and brought the then-eleven and then-nine year old. Perhaps the car was an SUV–a five door car that fits seven apparently described as a four door. 

Read more

The Prosecutor with Whom Chris Christie Has an “Ongoing Financial Relationship” Resigns

Remember how Chris Christie told a bunch of Republicans that he still had a bunch of AUSAs in NJ? Remember how he had an "ongoing financial relationship" with one of them, Michele Brown, to the tune of $46,000?

Well, he’s "got" one fewer AUSAs now.

The federal prosecutor at the center of the controversy over a loan made by New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie has resigned.

In her resignation letter dated today, Michele Brown, the acting first assistant U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, said it has been an "honor and privilege" to serve, but she does not want to be "a distraction" for the office.

I wonder if she really resigned, or got resigned, when it became clear that it’s not cool for federal prosecutors to accept loans from their boss. Or maybe she didn’t want to be a distraction from Christie’s campaign?

Though I suspect we haven’t heard the last of this scandal.

Update: Nope, we haven’t. It appears that Brown was getting some bonuses.

The office has not disclosed Brown’s salary or raises, but Christie said she was at the top of the pay scale, so she got no salary bumps along with her recent promotions. She and others in the office did receive undisclosed bonuses, however.

Can someone explain how this is different from Margaret Chiara, who was fired because she allegedly gave bonuses to her favorite AUSA?

Christie’s AUSAs Still Won’t Respond to Corzine’s FOIA Requests

Jon Corzine’s campaign wants some more information about just what Chris Christie was doing at the US Attorney’s office while he was handing out multi-million dollar deals to his friends. 

So the Corzine campaign has submitted 18 FOIA requests for information on Christie’s tenure as US Attorney. They have submitted them, each time, to the Executive Office of US Attorneys, which keeps kicking the FOIAs down to the NJ US Attorney’s office, where they appear to be routinely ignored. So today, the Corzine took the next step in its attempts to figure out just what Christie was doing at the US Attorney office.

The campaign filed eight administrative challenges – representing 18 separate requests – with the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Information and Privacy. Despite repeated efforts by the campaign to obtain the information, beginning in March 2009, it has repeatedly been told that the failures to fulfill its requests lie with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. The records the campaign is seeking from Christie’s tenure as U.S. Attorney include: budgets, travel expenses and schedules – even public ones.

"The United States Attorney’s office has many fine, dedicated, professional lawyers," said Corzine ’09 campaign strategist, Tom Shea. "But, in light of recent reports that Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra is under investigation to determine if he has used the office to help further the Christie campaign, Second Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Brown has an ongoing financial relationship with Christie and Christie was communicating with Karl Rove about his run for governor from that office, we feel it is even more important we receive the information requested."

The campaign is also seeking details of no-bid contracts Christie awarded while U.S. Attorney, including a $52 million contract to his former boss, ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft. In addition it has demanded Mr. Christie’s communications with former Bush political advisor Karl Rove, and communications between Mr. Christie and current officials in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey since Mr. Christie resigned as U.S. Attorney.

I’m actually somewhat agnostic on this. Perhaps DOJ is not turning over the requested materials for the same reasons DOJ is protecting Dick Cheney’s PatFitz interview–because they’re trying to avoid any appearance of political taint by letting Republicans avoid any scrutiny after the fact. Or it could just be that the Read more

Chris Christie, Former US Attorney, Claims He’s Still “Got” Federal Prosecutors, Talked with Them about State Jobs

Chris Christie’s ongoing ties with his old friends at the US Attorney’s office just got much worse.

First we learned that Chris Christie gave a highly inappropriate loan to one of his Assistant US Attorneys, Michele Brown, when he was her boss. Given his seeming magical coordination of campaign events with high profile busts by his former office, that "ongoing financial relationship" is highly suspect. Then we learned that DOJ’s Office of Public Responsibility is already investigating whether acting US Attorney Ralph Marra made inappropriate politicized comments when he announced the politicos, rabbis, and kidney busts last month.

In other words, there’s already growing evidence that Chris Christie is mobilizing ongoing relationships with friends at the US Attorney’s office to help his campaign against Governor Corzine.

But that was before we learned that Christie was filmed on February 28 at the Breakfast Bagels with Baroni event in West Windsor, promising to give his former AUSAs jobs throughout state government, speaking of them as if they were still "his" AUSAs, and admitting that he had already had a conversation about this with them about those jobs.

You know, we’re going to ferret out waste and fraud and abuse in the government. I think you know I’ll do that better than anybody. I’ve got a group of assistant U.S. attorneys sitting down in Newark still doing their job. But let me tell you, they are watching the newspapers. And after we win this election, I’m going to take a whole group of them to Trenton with me and put them in every one of the departments because they saw a lot of waste and abuse being investigated while we were in the U.S. Attorney’s office that didn’t rise to the level of a crime. So I told them, the good news is, when we get to Trenton we don’t have to worry about beyond a reasonable doubt anymore.

So here’s a poll. Which of the following Christie statements do you find the most damning?

  1. I’ve got AUSAs in Newark
  2. I’m going to take a whole group of them to Trenton
  3. I told them I was going to take them to Trenton
  4. We’ve agreed to do away with “beyond a reasonable doubt” when we get there 

Enter your pick for most damning in the comments.