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UPDATED
Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign Thursday filed legal challenges under the Freedom of Information Act in an attempt to obtain what it describes as basic public records regarding Republican Chris Christie's seven-year tenure as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.
The campaign, Corzine '09, filed eight administrative challenges – representing 18 separate requests – with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Information and Privacy.
In repeated requests by the campaign to obtain the information, beginning in March, it has repeatedly been told that any delays in fulfilling the requests rest with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, which is headed by Ralph J. Marra Jr.
The records the campaign is seeking from Christie's tenure as U.S. Attorney include: budgets, travel expenses and office and public schedules."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."
State Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-Morris) responded to the Corzine campaign's action on behalf of Christie.
"Today, Jon Corzine and his campaign have stretched the bounds of credibility even beyond their typically low standards for attack,'' Bucco said. "Not only have they accused the Obama administration's Department of Justice of being ineffective and unresponsive, but they fail to see the irony of their righteous indignation over the timely release of internal personal communications."
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, the campaign is seeking Christie's communications with Rove and communications between Christie and current officials in the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark since Christie resigned in December.
Christie last week acknowledged that while he was still U.S. Attorney Rove sent him an email directing him to hire specific personnel when he ran for governor. Christie later followed the directive.
Of the numerous freedom of information requests that Corzine's campaign has filed since March, the Executive Office of United States Attorneys has failed to issue any decision as to many of them. Even assuming these requests did not immediately reach the office, the requests appealed Thursday have been outstanding for months, and campaign officials said it appears there is no statutorily permissible reason for the delay.
All of the freedom of information requests appealed Thursday were originally filed with the Executive Office of the U.S. Attorneys, which processed the requests and then forwarded them to the U.S. Attorney's office in Newark to be fulfilled.
The Office of Information and Privacy now has 30 days to issue a decision on the appeals filed by Corzine '09. If the campaign's appeals are dismissed, Corzine '09 has the option of bringing an action in federal court challenging the agency's decision.
– TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
