Sassenach wrote:The other thing Rand Paul has of course is access to his father's political operation, which has spent the last 10 years building up a massive network of activists and donors who should logically all switch over to Rand en masse if he runs. It's a big advantage over the other candidates.

A lawyer who deposed Hoboken, New Jersey, Mayor Dawn Zimmer told a local news outlet this week that the mayor told attorneys under oath that she did not keep a diary. Zimmer, who is accusing Governor Chris Christie of sending associates to extort her using Hurricane Sandy funding, has given the press a diary as proof of the incident.
Louis Zayas, a Hudson County attorney who represented a former Hoboken official in a case against the city, says that he heard Zimmer personally deny the existence of any notes chronicling the comings and goings at city hall. Zayas represented Angel Alicea, a former Hoboken Public Safety Director awarded $440,000 against the city of Hoboken after being fired from his job. The jury found that his dismissal amounted to discrimination against Alicea for his Latino heritage. The jury did not find that Mayor Zimmer personally discriminated against Alicia, but she too was on trial and was required to testify to attorneys.
"When we asked for her diary during the course of discovery," Zayas said of the case to Hudson County TV, "it turned out that she didn't have a diary, that she didn't keep one – which I found very odd for a high-ranking government official." He noted that attorneys had simply assumed she kept a diary because his client "observed the mayor write in a book of some sort" during meetings. She also testified "that she did not maintain such a calendar or memo pad," Zayas noted. Zayas also provided Hudson County TV with documents of a transcript of the deposition in which Zimmer denies that she keeps a calendar, notebook, or any other type of chronicle.

danivon wrote:If you don't care, why post it?

It is not a particularly strong allegation against Christie anyway as far as I can tell, certainly in comparison to others, and not the same mayor who was allegedly being punished with the lane closures. If Mayor Zimmer lied about diaries under oath, that is serious but a bit seperate.

dag hammarsjkold wrote:Interesting article in today's NY Times on Christie and his team...


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/nyregion/even-before-fort-lee-lane-closings-port-authority-was-a-christie-tool.html?hp&_r=0

Ray Jay wrote:Good article. The more I learn the more it seems that this is standard operating procedure for both political parties.

danivon wrote:

Ray Jay wrote:Good article. The more I learn the more it seems that this is standard operating procedure for both political parties.

All the more reason for people to get angry when it does happen (ideally in a non-partisan way). I'd be interested to see a recent/current example on the scale of this from Democrats. I would guess Chicago would be a favourite as location.

It is a US problem, really, and it's not even new. You had Tammany Hall, of course, which dominated NY and Democrat politics in the late 19th and early 20th C. You had Garfield and Harding appointing corrupt officials. At a state level it goes all the way back to Georgia's Yazoo land sales (which involved two Governors, a Supreme Court judge (James Wilson, who signed the US Declaration of Independence) and Patrick Henry.

geojanes wrote:This is fun: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convicted_of_crimes

But that's just Federal and wouldn't included any of this.

In bond documents describing the Skyway reconstruction and other repairs, the Port Authority has called the projects “Lincoln Tunnel Access Infrastructure Improvements.”

The accuracy of this characterization is now a major focus of the investigations, according to several people briefed on the matter. Under a New York State law known as the Martin Act, prosecutors can bring felony charges for intentionally deceiving bond holders

geojanes wrote:And the hits just keep coming for Christie:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/nyregion/2nd-bridge-inquiry-said-to-be-linked-to-christie.html?smid=tw-share

In bond documents describing the Skyway reconstruction and other repairs, the Port Authority has called the projects “Lincoln Tunnel Access Infrastructure Improvements.”

The accuracy of this characterization is now a major focus of the investigations, according to several people briefed on the matter. Under a New York State law known as the Martin Act, prosecutors can bring felony charges for intentionally deceiving bond holders

So New Jersey canceled the extra rail tunnel under the Hudson, took money from the Port Authority that would have been used for that tunnel and fixed a state owned road with it, which appears to be not legal, especially if you have to lie to investors. D'oh! What does Christie understand about laws, it's not like he's a lawyer or former prosecutor or anything. Oh, wait . . .