In today's Philadelphia Inquirer, the editors discuss the partisan firing of US attorneys pushed by Carl Rove and Mr. Christie is part of the article. Read for yourself:
U.S. attorneys were loyal to Bush. Chris Christie, the Republican nominee for governor of New Jersey, was listed as “loyal” in 2005 but ended up in 2006 on a list of prosecutors who could be terminated.
Later that year, Christie was involved in an incident that seemed uncharacteristic of his apolitical reputation. His office leaked word of a probe of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Menéndez concerning the rental of a building, two months before the election. Menéndez won; no charges were ever brought.
Rove acknowledged that he counseled Christie about running for governor about two years before Christie resigned his post. U.S. attorneys are prohibited from engaging in politics.
“I talked to him … regarding his interest in running for governor, and he asked me questions about who — who were good people that knew about running for governor that he could talk to,” Rove testified.
It’s not shocking that Christie would discuss career options while he was still a prosecutor. But in the context of Rove’s meddling, it creates the perception that Christie may have been subjected to partisan influences. The Justice Department’s probe and the congressional investigation should pursue these questions wherever they lead. Trying to bend law enforcement toward partisan goals should never be tolerated
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