Political Wire

Trump Accused Christie of ‘Stealing’ from Him

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USA Today: “In one passage from Fear: Trump in the White House, Woodward described a scene in which then-candidate Trump summoned Christie to Trump Tower along with campaign CEO Steve Bannon. Trump was angry to learn that Christie, whom he made head of his transition team in May 2016, was raising money for the team’s operations.”

Said Trump: “Where the fuck is the money? I need money for my campaign. I’m putting money in my campaign and you’re fucking stealing from me.”

“Christie explained the money was necessary for the transition team to do its job of preparing Trump to smoothly take over the executive branch of the government should he defeat his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.”

Responded Trump: “You’re jinxing me. I don’t want a transition. I’m shutting down the transition. I told you from day one it was just an honorary title. You’re jinxing me. I’m not going to spend a second on it.”

U.S. Probes Whether Fugitive Laundered Money to Pay Christie

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“The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether a fugitive Malaysian financier laundered tens of millions of dollars through two associates and used the funds to pay a U.S. legal team that includes former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and a lawyer who represents President Trump,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Christie’s Portrait Will Cost Taxpayers $85K

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Bergen County Record: “To most people, the image that sums up Chris Christie’s time as governor is the picture of him on that beach closed to everyone else, in that chair with his family and friends while the public was shut out of state parks on a holiday weekend during a government shutdown.”

“The image that Christie wants to officially mark his time as governor and the one that the public is paying for will be painted by an Australian artist… At a total of $85,000, Christie’s portrait will cost more than what his three predecessors combined paid to have their images hang in commemoration of their political service.”

Christie Says Trump Would Probably Perjure Himself

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Former Gov. Chris Christie (R) was rather blunt in making the case for President Trump to refuse an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, the Washington Post reports.

Said Christie: “He should never walk into that room with Robert Mueller. Because in the end, one of the things that makes the president who he is, is that he’s a salesman. And salesman, at times, tend to be hyperbolic. Right, and this president certainly has tended to do that.”

He added: “That’s okay when you’re on the campaign hustle. That’s okay when you’re working on Congress. It is not okay when you’re sitting talking to federal agents because, you know, 18 USC 1001 is false statements to federal agents. That’s a crime. That can send you to jail.”

Christie Slams Scott Pruitt

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Former Gov. Chris Christie told ABC News that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt likely faces trouble over reports of his living in a condo co-owned by the wife of a top lobbyist for energy firms.

Said Christie: “I don’t know how you survive this one, and if he has to go, it’s because he never should have been there in the first place.”

Christie Says Kushner Should Resign

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Former Gov. Chris Christie (R) told ABC News that it’s time for Jared Kushner to leave the White House.

He said Kushner should follow the example set by a “noble” Hope Hicks, who announced her resignation as communications director last week.

Said Christie: “I think what the staff has to do is in fact what Hope Hicks I think did. I think Hope Hicks saw that between the Rob Porter situation and some of the other things that were going on, that she was becoming a distraction for the president and less of an asset in her mind, and she did the noble thing in my view, which was to say, you know what, if I’m not 100 percent an asset for the president, I’m going to back away.”

VIP No More

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Former Gov. Chris Christie (R) was blocked from a VIP entrance he had used for eight years at Newark International Airport and directed to stand in Transportation Security Administration screening lines like anyone else, Bloomberg reports.

Almost No One Will Miss Christie

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A new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll finds that just 5% of New Jersey residents said they are going to miss Gov. Chris Christie (R) when he leaves office later this month.

The margin of error is +/- 3%.

“Christie will end his second term as the most disapproved and disliked since Eagleton began surveying the public almost five decades ago. Thirteen percent have a favorable impression of him (a new low for this
final measurement of his likability), compared to 68% who are unfavorable.”

Christie Said He Would Be President If Not for Trump

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Gov. Chris Christie (R) told the Newark Star Ledger that he would be in the White House if President Trump hadn’t entered the 2016 presidential race.

Said Christie: “It’s incredibly frustrating to think to yourself, ‘Wow, if this guy were not in the race, we’d win this thing.’ And I absolutely believe if Trump had not gotten into the race I think we would have won.”

Christie Says It Was a Mistake to Dump His Transition Plan

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As chaos continues in Washington, Gov. Chris Christie (R) told the Newark Star Ledger that the decision to dump him as Trump’s transition chair — and throw his plans in the trash can — was a dumb one.

Said Christie: “I can only tell you who ultimately executed on it and that was Bannon, Priebus and Kushner, They were the three guys in charge and they were the ones who ultimately made that recommendation to the president. And I think they ill-served him by doing it.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

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“I got home about 4:30 a.m. And Mary Pat, who is the soundest sleeper I’ve ever met in my life, who can sleep through anything, was straight up in bed waiting for me. And she looked at me and said, ‘Are we going to Washington?’ And I said, I really don’t know, but get ready.”

— Gov. Chris Christie (R), in a New York Times interview, remembering election night in 2016.

Christie Says Kushner ‘Deserves the Scrutiny’

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Gov. Chris Christie (R), who helped put Jared Kushner’s father in prison, “showed no mercy toward the senior White House adviser, encouraging Russia probe investigators to closely examine any hand he may have had in potential wrongdoings by the Trump campaign,” Newsweek reports.

Christie said Kushner “deserves the scrutiny, you know why? Because he was involved in the transition and involved in meetings that call into question his role. Well then if he’s innocent of that, then that will come out as Mueller examines all the facts. And if he’s not, that will come out too.”

Christie Says Opposing Flynn Was Why He Was Booted

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said he was ousted as head of President Trump’s transition due in part to his opposition to the hiring of Michael Flynn as national security adviser, Politico reports.

Said Christie: “I thought it was a significant reason… Suffice to say, I had serious misgivings, which I think have been confirmed by the fact that he pled guilty to a felony in federal court.”

Christie Didn’t Tell Staff of Plans to Endorse Trump

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Politico: “Before Christie flew to Dallas to endorse Donald Trump two weeks later, he didn’t tell some of his most senior aides. They learned about it from his secretary while he was in the air. Christie had assured aides after New Hampshire that he didn’t plan to endorse in the race, and they looked forward to trying to salvage his legacy in New Jersey.”

“After he learned the news, Kevin Roberts, then communications director, called his team into an emergency meeting and told them. He was met with silence.”

“‘We’re fucked,’ Roberts said, according to attendees. The decision was widely loathed in his circle. DuHaime, his top political adviser, declined to follow his lead. Maria Comella, his top aide for years, later came out with a statement endorsing Hillary Clinton.”

About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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