Curious what a post-Obama Republican candidacy looks like? Fairly
similar to a pre-Obama one. That is, riddled with the same sort
of ethical lapses that made the GOP look incompetent enough to
suck the wind out of its supporters. From the
Philly Inquirer:
The Securities and Exchange Commission in April 2005 accused
Christie's brother, Todd, of making a series of improper trades
of America Online Inc. and International Business Machines
Corp. stock between 1999 and 2003. In October 2008, Todd
Christie settled with the SEC, admitting no wrongdoing but
agreeing to stop improper trading practices, according to a
copy of the settlement.
The company Todd Christie headed, Spear, Leeds & Kellogg
Specialists L.L.C., settled with the SEC and agreed to pay a
$16.4 million civil fine, according to a March 2004 SEC news
release.
Yesterday, the Mendham Observer-Tribune published a story
noting that Christie, as U.S. attorney, he [sic] gave a
lucrative no-bid contract to David Kelly in September 2007.
Kelly was the U.S. attorney who investigated the stock fraud
case that included Todd Christie.
Kelly, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New
York, was out of the office yesterday and did not return a
message left with his secretary.
Christie said yesterday that he had never had a conversation
with Kelly about his brother's SEC problems. He said he gave
Kelly the monitoring contract because "he was a great
prosecutor who ran one of the biggest offices in the country
and I needed a tough guy."
Long story short: Christie's brother gets in trouble. The
prosecutor doesn't pursue him. But later, Christie gives the
prosecutor a big financial pat on the back. Even if it's all a
happy coincidence that the toughest guy is the one who wasn't
particularly tough on Christie's brother, it's still stupid.
The question is whether supporters are concerned about this
opening Christie up to a Democratic bludgeoning. Getting these
issues out of the way early is the the best option if unseating
Corzine is the goal.
