March 11, 2008 - 11:44am
Ashcroft in heated exchange with Sanchez
By Matt Friedman
Tags: Christopher Christie, Chris Christie, U.S. Attorney, Bill Pascrell, John Ashcroft, federal monitors, deferred prosecution agreements, House Judiciary, Linda Sanchez, hearing
John Ashcroft displays copies of The Record to defend Chris Christie's corruption-busting record: Getty Images Photo
WASHINGTON -- In a combative exchange with Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), former Attorney General John Ashcroft jumped to U.S. Attorney Chris Christie’s defense.
After Sanchez asked whether the selection process complied with the type of guidelines the Justice Department laid out yesterday, Ashcroft said that she was implying that Christie was a “law violator.”
“I really don’t believe that Mr. Christie is a law violator. His record as a prosecutor is an outstanding record,” Ashcroft said.
Ashcroft then held up two copies of Bergen Record headlines about Christie’s public corruption convictions and insinuated that there were partisan motivations behind today’s hearing.
“He’s made a major reputation attacking public corruption, and for this committee to attack him is inappropriate,” said Ashcroft. “Here’s Mr. Christie’s record in the newspaper. 140 convictions. No wonder New Jersey’s politicians are nervous.”
Ashcroft also reinforced that his monitorship is paid completely by private corporations, not taxpayers.
"This hearing costs far more in tax dollars than my monitorship will cost in tax dollars, because not a thin dime is public money," he said.
Ashcroft stayed through the first hour of the hearing before leaving to catch a flight to a speaking engagement.
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Syndicate
What do you expect?
He's being paid record fees for his PR services to Chris Christie.
Disgrace
This smokescreen by the House Democrats is going to backfire on them big time. The actions by Pascrell and Pallone in pushing for this kind of partisan interference, are completely disgraceful.
by Trochilus
Disgraceful?
Disgraceful? Yes you are right, awarding a multi million dollar no bid contract to a former boss, no matter who is paying the bill, is certainly disgraceful!
Why Is It?
Why is it that people are making a big deal of this appointment and not to the billions of dollars that our governor and legislature grant to private law firms, union contract concessions and to other businesses?
Granted this looks fishy, but is it any more fishy than the ten or so million that was spent for the toll road plan, just in legal fees?
I'm not saying this appointment was right or wrong, but it seems no more wrong than all of the other bunk going on.
What's Your Answer
Cute, Natty.
But the fact is that the Democrats in this state have taken what used to be instances of garden-variety corruption -- one or two people on the take -- and have turned it into their standard operating procedure.
They have corrupted institution after institution, turning them into cash cows for the sleaziest among them. That takes more than an indictment or two -- it takes going in and actually wresting control from the crooks.
Case in point, UMDNJ.
So what's your answer? Let corruption be corruption?
by Trochilus
La Daddy Pallone
Time to get this Spitzer look alike out of office
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ...snort!
I forgot how funny Ascroft could be!
How's this for idiocy: because this US Prosecutor puts a lot of people in jail, anyone questioning his integrity must be doing it for political reasons!
This is idiotic because just yesterday we learned that former NY Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, known for putting the bad guys in jail and nailing corporate crooks, got caught with his_______ in the _________ and will have to resign.
And because just a few months ago we learned that former US Attorney Rudy Giuliani used NYC Police and tax dollars to ferry the woman he was cheating on his wife with around for years, a clear illegal use of public resources.
The evidence is clear from two examples just in the past couple months that prosecutors who put bad guys away aren't gaining their incredible powers from the angels on their shoulders, but also from ambition and desire.
Just 'cause you took down some crooks doesn't mean you aren't one yourself. Christie may be clean as a whistle, but if the best defense you can come up with is a newspaper article about his courtroom record then you've accomplished nothing.
Cute? nahh just a Reality Check.
Last I checked, there were a lot of Republican names on that corruption list too. Some have said the prosecutions have be more one sided, but either way corruption is not only endemic to one party so no one should pretend one side is not soiled or not tainted with political corruption.
But don't you think at least once the thought may have crossed Mr Christie's mind that this hiring may have been questioned and just might rise to a level where people may have called it a conflict?
Democrats for corruption
Congresswoman Brixey, who used the last name Sanchez to get elected, has shown shown she is just another attack dog for the democrats...who are obviously against corruption.
Does this look fishy? Of course, but some firm has to be awarded this contract, and as long as they are qualified, what's the beef?
More Slease Natty?
So, as was prompted by a news report in the Washington Times, the American Spectator has now posted that, no less an authority that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appears to be preparing to serve up members of her own caucus, possibly including the "Jersey Boys," a.k.a., the "P. Pals" -- Messrs. Pascrell and Pallone -- who, as it turns out, over the years both have nurtured rather substantial financial "connections" to the medical equipment industry and lobby.
No wonder the P. Pals are making such a big fat stink about the appointment of former Attorney General Ashcroft as the federal monitor who will be overseeing the Stryker Corporation corruption. Makes sense now why they have sought to get John Conyers' committee involved. And, it is apparently Conyers who, over the years, has been generously distributing Stryker-connected largess to his Democrat House colleagues.
As Pelosi's aide points out in the American Spectator piece, this does not just look like an appearance of a conflict -- this is a direct "conflict of interest."
Read for yourself! Frank? Bill? Comments? Who did you two clowns think you were messing with? And Natty, are the scales beginning to fall away from the eyes?
by Trochilus
Reprisal
This attempt to impugn Chris Christie is nothing more than a covert attempt at reprisal by democrats who are still bitter about being held accountable to the same constitution they use to blame Bush and emaciate national security pro-activity. After the 1990s, and their incredible pass they got, blaming it all on the current President, I refuse to vote Democrat for any office and have left that party as a matter of principle and patriotic duty. Remember Chinagate? probably not, they ram Watergate down out throats every year as some psychological warfare to forget Chinagate.
Motive: “Here’s Mr.
Motive: “Here’s Mr. Christie’s record in the newspaper. 140 convictions. No wonder New Jersey’s politicians are nervous.” I think we are done here:)
Rep. Linda Sanchez
Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA)...isn't she the woman who belittled and character assassinated Bob Dornan? Doesn't surprise me she is going for the throat here as well. I will tell you this, the developments in the current Democrat campaign for President are the tip of the iceburg. They are dirty, responsible for the emaciation of national security and fully responsible for decades of neglect and appeasement in the immigration nightmare. You want the sequel to the "Road to 9/11"? Vote for more of their kind.