Christopher Christie, the Bush-appointed former U.S. Attorney in New Jersey now running for governor, has been asked to testify at a hearing on Capitol Hill about a controversial court-monitoring contract he steered to his former boss, ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft. The May 19 hearing before a House Judiciary subcommittee will take place two weeks before New Jersey’s June 2 GOP primary.
Chris Christie (gov)
House Democrats have been investigating the so-called deferred prosecution process under which Ashcroft and other court monitors have been awarded lucrative contracts for some time. But the timing of the hearing reeks of political hardball.
Allies of embattled Democratic incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine are trying to knock Christie out of the race by helping boost the former prosecutor’s more GOP conservative challenger, Steve Lonegan. Christie is considered a serious threat to Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs chairman whose popularity has been battered by the recession.
New Jersey Democratic Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr. and Frank Pallone, who have co-sponsored legislation to reform the deferred prosecution process, will also testify at the May 19 hearing before Judiciary’s commercial and administrative law subcommittee. A Government Accountability Office investigative report on the court-monitoring contracts is expected to be unveiled at or shortly before the hearing.
Ashcroft’s contract to monitor an Indiana medical supply company as part of an out-of-court settlement was worth between $28 and $52 million. The company, Zimmer Holdings, had been under criminal investigation by the Christie-led U.S. Attorney office. The company hired Ashcroft’s consulting firm in 2007 at the direction of Christie to monitor its compliance with the settlement.
At a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing last year, Rep. Linda T. Sanchez (D-Calif.) blasted Ashcroft’s contract as a “back-room sweetheart deal.”
“There is not a conflict; there is not an appearance of a conflict,” Ashcroft fired back, according to the New York Times account. Christie was asked to appear at the same 2008 hearing but declined, saying he would do so only under direction of the Justice Department.
Christie called the upcoming hearing ”a concerted Democratic effort to try to affect our primary.” In a conference call with reporters, he added: ”When and if I get some type of formal invitation from the group I’ll consider it in light of my schedule and respond appropriately,”according to the Newark Star-Ledger.
The Star-Ledger reported:
However, a copy of the letter sent to Christie by Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan) is dated May 5. In the letter, Conyers invites Christie to testify May 19 and to provide the committee with an advance copy of his written testimony.
Christie wouldn’t say whether he would testify if a subpoena was issued, the Star-Ledger added.
