It was revealed that Christie had failed to reveal in his state and federal financial disclosure forms that he'd made a $46,000 loan to an assistant in the U.S. attorney's office, Michele Brown, who still works in the U.S. Attorney's office and is still paying off the loan to him in regular installments. The loan was secured by a second mortgage on Brown's home.
Now the Times has discovered that Christie failed to report income from the loan on his tax returns. Christie aides told the Times that Christie will file an amended tax return.
I thought (and still think) that his having had a discussion about running for something with Karl Rove is not the sort of silver bullet that Corzine would need to win another term. I actually think it's a little hypocritical of Democrats to make that sort of attack. I mean, please, practically everyone who serves as a D.A. or a U.S. Attorney is in it to jump start a political or legal career. I think the politicization of the Justice Department (and everything else) during the Bush years was terrible, but I don't think this is that and I don't see this particular conversation as necessarily disqualifying for office.
But how much of an idiot do you have to be to do something like this? If you throw around huge clumps of money like this, people will find out and will start to ask questions. Was there an affair? Blackmail? Hush money? And not reporting it makes it look like a cover-up. Game, set, and match, as they say. This could all have been perfectly innocent, and there is always the presumption of innocence, but the whole thing positively reeks.
My hunch is that Christie has just thrown away his chances of getting elected governor, especially if there are a few more shoes to drop that could keep this story alive for another few months. Those Bushies sure thought they were invincible, didn't they?
