Former New Jersey U.S. Attorney Chris Christie will testify before the House Judiciary commercial and administrative law subcommittee next week, The Associated Press reported this afternoon.
Chris Christie (gov)
Christie, the Republican candidate in the New Jersey governor race, was asked last week to testify at a hearing next Thursday, June 25 about a court monitoring contract worth up to $52 million that his office awarded former Attorney General John Ashcroft.
Read Christie’s letter to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) accepting the invitation to testify here.
We previously reported that the subcommittee hearing was originally scheduled for May, but was delayed when the Christie campaign said it was intended to embarrass him before the June 2 Republican primary. Christie defeated conservative challenger Steve Lonegan. He is leading in the polls against incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine (D) for the November general election. Democrats consider the lucrative contract Christie’s office gave to Ashcroft’s firm to be one of his biggest political liabilities.
Christie gave a preview to his upcoming testimony during an interview on the Philadelphia Fox affiliate this morning. He said:
“There weren’t any no-bid contracts. What people need to understand is there’s not a dime of taxpayer money spent to bring criminal corporations under control when I was a U.S. Attorney. Not a dime of taxpayer money. All of it paid for by the corporations who committed the crime themselves. I think that’s what people want. No taxpayer money spent, money spent by criminals who have broken the law in order to put things right.”
