When Christie moved his base of operation from the U.S. attorney's office to the governor's mansion, many of his loyal acolytes were rewarded with a trip to Trenton. Among those making the move to Trenton was Michele Brown who served as an AUSA under Christie. Brown had received a $46000 loan from then U.S. Attorney Christie who had failed to list it on tax returns and ethics filings, saying the omission was an "oversight."
Brown was subsequently accused of improperly assisting Christie's run for governor. The New York Times reported that Brown personally interceded to oversee the responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from the campaign of Governor Jon Corzine, Christie's opponent in his initial gubernatorial campaign. Brown took over for and displaced the staff member who normally oversaw FOIA request. She was later hired as Governor Christie's appointments counsel and subsequently appointed CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA). The EDA under Brown administered $460 million of federal funds for Hurricane Sandy relief. These are the same Hurricane Sandy funds at the center of recent Christie scandals.
Michele Brown served as a federal prosecutor under Christie who bestowed upon her an unreported $46,000 loan, and now heads the agency administering improperly withheld Hurricane Sandy relief funds
Brown further aided Christie's run for governor by manipulating the schedule of when a major corruption case was brought, ensuring that credit for the matter would be attributed to Christie and not his successor.
Governor John Corzine, Christie's predecessor, was defeated in his bid for reelection, but did Christie loyalists in the U.S. attorney's office improperly assist their former boss ?
Another Christie supplicant making the move from Newark to Trenton was the aforementioned Michael Drewniak, who has been described as "his boss's alter ego, one of his closest advisers and his most ardent defender." Drewniak's importance to Christie cannot be overstated. Drewniak has long operated largely in the shadows but now finds himself front and center in Christie's spreading scandals. Previously known for deftly controlling the message, Drewniak is now seen as another Christie thug and was recently labeled in the media as a "potty mouth."
A series of profane emails released in response to a subpoena from a legislative committee investigating the bridge scandal has drawn scrutiny to the previously secretive Drewniak. In these emails Drewniak, who has long set the tone for how Christie is perceived by the press, insults various members of the media, offering an interesting insight into how Christie's bullying persona is embedded within his very being and endemic within his organization. Drewniak is now the subject of several official inquiries and is one of the Christie aides to have been subpoenaed by an investigative committee.
Payback, retribution and punishment are recognized hallmarks of federal prosecutors who cavalierly wield near limitless power. Christie has successfully parlayed these abusive prosecutorial tactics into a fruitful political career. In furtherance of his ambition, he has moved his base of operations but changed little else. When viewed in the totality of his career, none of the recent scandalous revelations should come as a surprise. Threatening and barbarously punishing those deemed to be noncompliant is a continuation of an old theme. It is nothing more than new manifestations of an abusive and specious personality that has long been easy to see.
As a federal prosecutor, Christie fit s right in to an office and culture that celebrates threats, bullying and intimidation
What may have ultimately brought about Christie's apparent downfall are his past successes in moving his career forward despite glaring ethical shortcomings. Like most bullies, Christie became increasingly empowered each time his abuse was successfully dispensed. He likely came to believe that he and his accomplices were bulletproof and could literally do as they pleased. While serious and meaningful scrutiny may be regrettably absent from the process through which federal prosecutors ply their trade, Christie is now receiving a crash course into how politics differs from prosecutions. Sadly, it is a lesson Christie has been reticent to learn.
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