It has been a bad start to the New Year for New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. And it may have just gotten worse. CNN is now reporting Christie is under federal investigation for a potential misuse of Superstorm Sandy relief funds. CNN has learned federal officials are looking into whether Christie improperly used a portion of the aid to produce tourism ads starring him and his family.
“The other thing that's interesting about the Christie situation is the feds, who, you know, should love him because [he’s] the guy that helped re-elect Barack Obama to his second term,” Pat said on radio this morning. “Well, they launched a federal investigation into his spending in the Superstorm Sandy situation and what he's doing with federal funds.”
In the new probe, federal auditors will examine New Jersey's use of $25 million in Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone told CNN
In an August letter, Pallone asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general to look into how Christie chose to spend the marketing money approved by the department.
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Pallone wrote that he was concerned about the bidding process for the firm awarded the marketing plan; the winning firm is charging the state about $2 million more than the next lowest bidder.
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Democrats slammed Christie over the summer for starring in taxpayer-funded ads as he was running for re-election in November, arguing it gave him an unfair advantage.
“That is the exact same thing John McCain learned when he ran for president,” Stu said. “Who your friends really are.”
While it is easy to say Christie was just beaten at his own political game, Glenn took a slightly different approach. Unlike progressive Republicans like Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Glenn thinks Christie actually seems to really believe what he says.
“But see I don't think that Chris Christie is playing games… I think Chris Christie actually came into this thing still believing what he believes. I don't think he's doing it because, you know, he thinks it's the way to get power or anything else. I think he really believes it,” Glenn countered. “It's like Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich is a world-class progressive… Barack Obama is just a speech giver. That's all he is. He can read a teleprompter. He's not a giant intellectually. I would contend the bigger intellectuals in the space are Republicans.”
“I think that Newt Gingrich has the progressive argument down, absolutely down. And so does Chris Christie,” Glenn concluded. “And they can speak from the heart. They don't need a teleprompter. I mean a lot of people don't need a teleprompter to be wrong but to be wrong and eloquent is difficult.”
Front page image courtesy of the AP
Corey Comperatore's firefighting gear outside the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. The Washington Post / Contributor | Getty Images
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