By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
This is a LOT to digest, Save Jerseyans:
Two criminal investigators from the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday interviewed the man who leveled those charges, Bennett Barlyn. He was fired from the Hunterdon County prosecutor’s office in August 2010, and subsequently brought a whistleblower lawsuit against the Christie administration, claiming he had been punished for objecting to the dismissal of the indictments of the governor’s supporters for a range of corrupt activities.
For the record, the Governor has denied involvement in Barlyn’s sacking AND the allegations are old (it’s the investigation(s) that are allegedly new); but…
Barlyn told IBTimes that he met with the federal investigators at his Pennsylvania home for more than an hour on Wednesday afternoon. He said they specifically focused on why Christie’s then-attorney general, Paula Dow, had moved to expunge the indictments. The investigators are examining what state and federal laws may have been broken in the process. Barlyn said the investigators appeared to be at an exploratory stage, with no certainty that criminal charges would ultimately be filed. The meeting followed a June letter to Barlyn from New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney, Paul Fishman, instructing Barlyn to be in touch with his office’s investigative team about the case.
Click here to read the story via the International Business Times. You can also check out this piece over at APP.com for more coverage.
My take? Facts matter little in a presidential feed frenzy; one wonders how much more of this he can take…
Matt, I always wondered why Christie, when he was a U.S. Attorney, didn’t pursue George Norcross more aggressively. I recall that the investigation into George offering bribes and making threats to a Palmyra officeholder – all caught on audiotapes – was thrown out on a series of technicalities. Wasn’t there some other way that Chris could have pursued a conviction? And if not, knowing that George was guilty of a felony but not able to prosecute him for it, why has the governor become so cozy with George?
Exactly Matt. This about playing “gotcha’ style politics. Can’t win on facts and ideas? Destroy the opposition. Happened with Romney, it’s happening with Christie and it will happen to Walker real soon. Rush has a saying “it’s not about the facts behind a charge, it’s about the seriousness of the charge.”
Wasting money again. What they do best. Besides seeking a means to justify their jobs….
been going after him ever since they thought he was a viable presidential candidate. I ignore them. That is both the NJ Dems (don’t they have better things to do???) and the feds.
As if Governor Zeppelin ever had a snowball’s chance in hell being nominated. He spent the past few weeks hitting the ground harder than the Hindenburg at Lakehurst and what we’re seeing now is nothing more than a feeding frenzy of hyenas on a wounded elephant.
Christie is lucky. If the 2013 GOP primary was held today Seth Grossman would beat him by a country mile.
Christie for President
Oh please no…