The New York Times this morning reports an alarming story of
systemic corruption in the Hunterdon County, New Jersey sheriff’s office,
with a trail leading straight to the New Jersey Attorney General and other
appointees of Governor Chris Christie.
I’m not going to recapitulate the whole tangled spider’s web
of sleazy and corrupt interlocking acts by Christie appointees. Just go here
and read the lengthy and very well-reported New York Times horror story by
Michael Powell.
But I can’t resist a few highlights:
• A Hunterdon County Grand Jury indicts a Christie-appointed sheriff on 43 counts
of what comes down to downright abuse of power worthy of a police state. So
what happens?
• The state takes over the county prosecutor’s office and
fires three veteran prosecutors
• A deputy state attorney general walks into a state court
and asks that the case be dismissed, insisting that the case was full of
“legal and factual deficiencies,” but enumerating not one of them. Does the judge ask the deputy attorney general what the heck he's talking about, or for evidence of those "deficiencies?" Nah! The judge simply dismisses the case.
• When one of the dismissed prosecutors sues, “claiming that
the attorney general killed the indictment to protect prominent supporters of
the governor,” the records of the indictment get spirited away to the state
capital, where the state has now has them hidden while it resists and appeals court
orders to release them.
There’s more. Powell learned of so called “law enforcement” officials doing
the backgrounds checks on…themselves! There were threats from law enforcement against
someone whose website reported on the matter. Police IDs get issued to friendly
campaign contributors. Explanations from the attorney general’s
spokesman about what’s going on and why change with the wind.
I urge you to read this, and keep in mind that Governor
Christie is a potential Republican candidate for president. Given his police
state tactics in New Jersey, that’s not just worrisome. It’s terrifying.
2 comments:
Glad you're on the job!
Keep cranking.
C
There's plenty of people who know how corrupt Christie is. The biggest problem is that there is so much corruption, cronyism and nepotism from the local town government straight to the top there's no place that corruption hasn't touched. Christie co-opted millions in Sandy funds to advertise his face all over, money that should have gone to the victims of the disaster. There are even more people who have been convinced he's some kind of hero. They have no idea that he's been groomed by Karl Rove. He's going to win and win big here in Jersey, home of the stupid.
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