Going Waaay Back
Ex-U.S. Atty Chris Christie (R) hoped to bring the NJ GOV conversation back to the economy today by trying to connect the dots between the Enron scandal and Gov. Jon Corzine (D).
"The governor, as CEO of Goldman Sachs, personally lobbied to get a tax break for Enron -- a tax loophole that would allow them to make debt look like equity," Christie said on a conference call with reporters. This contributed to the "precipitous fall" of Enron and a loss of $61M to the state's pension fund. "He's got to answer questions about that kind of conduct," Christie added, accusing Corzine of having a "trader's mentality." Christie also called for the release of a letter Corzine sent the Clinton WH regarding the "special tax loophole" for Enron.
Asked why he was bringing up the eight-year-old scandal, Christie said: "I don't think that this thing has been fully vetted. ... We need to see it in the context of his conduct as governor." In response to Christie, Corzine spokesperson Elisabeth Smith said in a statement: "Instead of re-hashing questions that were answered four years ago, Christie should worry about standing in front of the press and answering for his conversations with Karl Rove, his loan to a subordinate and subsequent failure to disclose it, and his refusal to release the most basic of documents from his time as United States Attorney."
Reporters didn't seem interested in turning back the clock. The second question on the call, coming from the AP's Delli Santi, was about the $46K loan Christie made to a subordinate. Christie again defended the loan, saying: "There is nothing that prohibits a supervisor from giving a subordinate a loan." He pushed back against the "drumbeat" of coverage of the loan, calling it "over done." Christie: "This was done as friends to friends. And there are no long-term ramifications for it. ... I don't see it as a problem."
Christie then complained about a lack of "fair treatment" from reporters.
"We're not having the same kind of conversation from the people who are pushing this story in the governor's campaign," he said. "This is really hypocrisy and it's over the top. ... This loan was disclosed, it was filed publicly, that's more than we can say for a lot of the governor's financial transactions that he's had. If we want to do this, you should all be going back and asking the governor those questions."
But he later stepped back from his earlier comments, saying he felt the press would conduct a "fair examination" of the loans he and Corzine have made.
"I think the kind of fake hysteria and fake outrage that the other side is showing is really kind of crazy," he said. "My criticism is not of all of you [reporters]; my criticism is of them and their fake outrage."
The Christie camp, which last went up on TV two weeks ago, might be better served using paid advertising as a means of moving the debate away from his loan. Christie adviser Maria Comella said there's no plan "right now" to put together an Enron TV ad; she declined to discuss when the campaign will release its next TV spot.
[SEAN J. MILLER]
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