While Everyone Was Stuck On The Bridge.....

[Laxman]

out in sleepy Hunterdon County NJ a real cesspool of trouble for Mr. Christie was quietly bubbling. Christie's penchant for retribution and bullying tactics has churned a lot of people under and intimidated many into silence. Using those tactics on an honest and capable career prosecutor was probably a bad idea. In the last two days it has become apparent that Ben Barlyn, the Hunterdon County assistant prosecutor who was fired for going after a couple of political allies of Christie and his Lt. Governor, Kim Guadagno has been patiently building a case and is about to ensnare Christie and his cronies in a web of lies, deceit and misconduct. His civil case for wrongful discharge may have done a better job at exposing the Christie Administration's shameful and likely illegal conduct than anything Mr. Fishman may be cooking up at the U.S. Attorney's office.

If you don't know anything about Mr. Barlyn's case, you can catch up here: The Quashing of a Case Against a Christie Ally the very first entry in the Christie Crime Digest. Since then Mr. Barlyn has been waging a brave and very lonely battle for justice. Luckily, what made him good at his job as a prosecutor is serving him very well in his quest to set the record straight and hopefully hold the Christie Administration accountable.

Yesterday, he won a big battle to obtain access to the Grand Jury transcripts from his attempted prosecution (and successful indictment of) three close allies of Christie and Guadagno. Ex-prosecutor who claims Christie had allies' charges dropped wins battle for records He had to already know what those transcripts contained since he presented the case. Now he can use them in his civil case and bring these facts into the public light.

In the latest chapter of a lengthy, expensive court battle, a former Hunterdon County assistant prosecutor who claims he was fired for objecting to the dismissal of indictments against supporters of Gov. Chris Christie has been granted access to secret documents that he says will help prove his case.

A state Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that the state must provide the former prosecutor, Bennett Barlyn, access to sealed grand jury transcripts related to the indictments.

Today, the IBTimes reports that Mr. Barlyn is about to let the other shoe drop: Gov. Chris Christie's Office Made Inquiries In Hunterdon County Scandal, According To Documents. He will be filing a collection of e-mails from Christie Administration operatives that show they were involved in the cover up of the Hunterdon County sheriff's wrongdoing, the dismissal of Barlyn's hard won indictments and the firing of all the prosecutors involved in the case as punishment/retribution for doing their jobs. Including this one:

"The governor's office...called me and indicated that Michelle Brown [sic] may have some questions concerning Barlyn," O'Grady wrote in the email, dated Sept. 17, 2010, and sent to his supervisor, Stephen Taylor of the New Jersey Attorney General’s Division of Criminal Justice in Trenton. O'Grady no longer works at the attorney general's office and could not be reached for comment. Michele Brown did not respond to a request for comment.

but more damning, this one:

“When I came here, I had three things to do: Dismiss the sheriff’s case, and get rid of the other two,” O’Grady is quoted as saying in notes kept by the lead investigator on the probe, Detective Sergeant Kenneth Rowe. His notes record that the “other two” referred to Barlyn and and another assistant prosecutor, Charles Ouslander. “They were both problems," O'Grady said, according to Rowe's notes. "They [Trenton] are tired of hearing from and about Hunterdon County.”

So while everyone has been waiting on Mr. Fishman and the saga of Bridget Kelly, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni up at the GWB, the kind of prosecution that Christie was never familiar with-competent, quiet, professional and relentless- has been wrapping a noose around Christie's close allies, Paula Dow, Michelle Brown, Dr. Hariari, Kim Guadagno and others. Keep campaigning in NH Mr. Christie, I want to see your face on national t.v. when the chickens all come home to roost.

[riversedge]

1. I am glad he finally got the records.

[Laxman]

4. He Has To Know....

what's in those transcripts already. He has the e-mails and notes. I've got to believe that he was waiting for access to the grand jury testimony to release those e-mails to show that it all comes together. This would be a slam dunk state level prosecution for official misconduct-except Christie's puppet controls the state attorney general's office as a non-confirmed temporary appointment. Little chance of the appropriate authority stepping in to prosecute these criminals.

[CTyankee]

2. I want to see this guy twist slowly in the wind...

um, sorry for the mental image that might bring up...

[Laxman]

3. The Consequences Of Hubris.....

they never thought anyone would ever hold them accountable. They always thought they were smarter than anyone else. They never thought anyone would have the guts to stand up to them. They never thought anyone would be able to connect the dots. Well, it looks like they thought wrong! Here's to Ben Barlyn and his fight to make things right.

[Shrike47]

8. Sounds like the Enron guys, doesn't it?

[Laxman]

9. They're Like A Horde Of Locusts....

who descended on the state to consume everything in their path. But you're right, there are a lot of similarities with the Enron gang.

[malaise]

5. Get thee to the greatest page

Rec Rec Rec

[Laxman]

6. I Hope I'm Not Misreading This....

but I think this guy just sprung a trap. I think he let Christie and his people keep making statements that weren't true and all along he was the only one who knew for certain they were lies. Now he has access to information that he knew existed but couldn't make public-until today. The problem is that this conduct was likely illegal-but under state law. Christie controls the AG's office and what is likely a very strong case of illegal conduct will probably not be prosecuted.

[annabanana]

7. delicious

(watching this space)

[jaxind]

10. Children

These republicans all act like children....Trump, Christie, etc....it's always about retaliation!

[Laxman]

12. You Said It.....

this part is about as ugly as it gets:

Barlyn quotes in his motion papers a December 2009 email exchange in which Russo asked if he and Trout could drop by Hariri's office and Hariri replied he was out of town and would call when he got back, also saying, "'I already raised like 15K for [yo]ur campaign. I have lots more coming.'"

Barlyn also claims in his motion papers that Hariri told Rowe he did not converse often with Russo, a characterization Barlyn said was "belied by numerous emails between [them], which demonstrate a much closer connection."

Barlyn further alleges in his motion papers that, like Hariri, Russo "supported Christie's campaign efforts" through monetary contributions and appearances with Trout on behalf of Christie running mate Kim Guadagno, now lieutenant governor.

Barlyn refers in his motion papers to a May 2010 news report, right after the indictments were made public, that quoted Russo as saying Christie "'would step in [and] have this whole thing thrown out,'" a prediction Barlyn claims "ultimately proved correct."

Barlyn alleges in his motion papers that Rowe also supplied information that Dermot O'Grady, who took over the Hunterdon office, told Rowe that his superiors in Trenton specifically assigned him the task of dismissing the indictments and finding a reason to fire Barlyn.

The motion papers say another subpoenaed source, William McGovern, who was in charge of the sheriff case, supplied a document saying O'Grady advised him and others it would be "'in the best interests of their families not to drag up the sheriffs' case'" and went so far as to threaten his job, saying, "'I'm sure there's a Mrs. McGovern who appreciates your paycheck.'"

According to Barlyn's motion papers, a subpoenaed October 2010 memorandum from McGovern to then-Attorney General Paula Dow and others provided details of the grand jury presentation and characterized the DAG letter asking for dismissal of the charges as a "'transparent ruse intended specifically to mislead the trial court into dismissing an otherwise pristine indictment'" and a "'peerless example of unethical conduct, and at worst official misconduct, even by New Jersey standards.'"

I'm sure there's a Mrs. McGovern who appreciates your paycheck What kind of person engages in that kind of behavior?

[Beach Rat]

11. This seems like a real miscalculation!

I wonder if they had offered Barlyn the $2 million they paid to Christie's buddy's law firm on the condition that he sign a gag order if he would have taken it and all this would have gone away. They'd rather punch him in the nose and say "what are you going to do about it?" Looks like they punched the wrong guy in the nose.

[ChiciB1]

13. Wonder How Long It Will Take For Them

to make this GO AWAY!!! I'm cynical and really have no hope ANYMORE!

[Laxman]

14. Everyone Has Their Price...

and the last few years can't have been very easy for Mr. Barlyn- financially or mentally. I hope he's gotten to the point where it just doesn't matter anymore and he's just going to keep going. Ultimately, he's got to look out for himself, but there is a much greater good at stake in this case.

[ChiciB1]

16. I Would Love To See Him Triumphant...

but I'm a Boomer and wonder if our country can be saved from TPTB! Sure, corruption has been here forever in some form, but NEVER have I seen it run as rampant and mow down as many people as I see now. Can NOT tell you how many times I get ATTACKED for trying to make people aware of what is happening! Mostly I'm told I'm some sort of "Janey, ONE NOTE" who is simply making myself miserable by trying to be an informed citizen! What makes me crazy is that THEY prefer I just SHUT UP because I should enjoy my so-called "golden years" even though I'm not that OLD OR DRIED UP yet! I'm more physically active than so many younger people I know who walk around with their gadgets all day long like it's part of their anatomy! Any they're not getting informed, they're checking what their social circle is gossiping about!

I just heard that The Ed Schultz Show got canceled AGAIN! I'm thankful I can watch FSTV, but too many other citizens aren't even aware it exists!

ENOUGH of this rant! Gotta clean out my freezer, guess I've worked up a good head of steam!!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

15. If you could run Christie's mouth for him ,what would it say ?

?itok=u4UH15IC


It's not the crime that takes you down than gets you caught, it's the cover up.

[d_legendary1]

17. We'll have to ask the Kock Brothers for that one.

For some reason they know definately know the answer.

[Stuart G]

18. k and r..nt

[Laxman]

19. I Still Can't Understand...

why this doesn't get the attention it deserves. I think the next post I do will be on Michelle Brown, his improper aide whose specialty seems to be improper aid. How you parley leaving a job under a cloud of scandal into a $450,000/year gig is beyond me, but hey, America is the land of opportunity!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

20. Who Me ?

Last edited Fri Jul 24, 2015, 06:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Yes, why it is I do not receive the kind of attention I truly feel I am entitled to in my opinion is a crime . As to the reason why it is that way, I cannot say. It seemed everything was going my way and when Obama came calling after the hurricane I managed to capture the moment ,I believed I became unstoppable. I did it my way, I was at the top of the heap. But somehow suddenly the whole thing imploded or the bottom fell out or something. It's a nightmare folks ,really it is !

?itok=u4UH15IC


http://www.trbimg.com/img-55b16613/turbine/la-na-gop-presidential-govs-20150724-001/850/850x478


But don't give up on me, I've got a plan.


You know I have told you all I consider Donald Trump my friend. But listen folks, it's a well known fact that billionaires only really like other billionaires , I learned that at law school !

What I am going to do is take off the gloves ,turn on Trump and fire his ass . But wait there's more, I will rob him of his thunder and make it my own.
That's right folks, Trump's towering over it alls days are soon to end. And my grand outstanding performance I can assure you all, I will out do my self when I gave president Obama my Jersey husky hug for all the world to see. By the way, it's a tactic I perfected in the very early days of law practice.

Some young lawyers start out as ambulance chasers,but I raised the bar on that and made it a deceptively honest seeming way about political maneuvering.

And it worked.
And thats straight talk, straight out of the horses mouth.

[Laxman]

21. A Star-Ledger Editorial....

opining that this might yet blow up in Christie's face:

Christie's sleeper scandal: A whistleblower prosecutor claims Gov protected criminal pals

During the first year of the Christie administration, a team of prosecutors in Hunterdon County was pursuing a criminal investigation of some of the governor's political pals.

It was not a huge case. The local sheriff was accused of hiring deputies without conducting proper background checks and making employees sign loyalty oaths. Her deputies were accused of manufacturing fake police badges for a prominent donor to the governor, and threatening one of their critics. By Jersey standards, this case was low-volume sleaze.

The bigger problem is what happened next. On the day the 43-page indictment was unsealed, the Christie administration swooped in and took over the Hunterdon prosecutor's office. Not long after, a state deputy attorney general told a judge that the indictment was fatally flawed, and the judge dismissed the case. That's unusual.

Then the attorney general's office took all the grand jury records to Trenton, and has since waged a long legal fight to keep them secret.

It gets worse. Because three assisted county prosecutors protested the state action, and one of them, Ben Barlyn, was fired for taking his protest public. He then filed a lawsuit claiming that the attorney general at the time, Paula Dow, killed the indictment for political reasons to protect the governors' supporters.

Last Friday, Barlyn finally got his first big break when a superior court judge ordered the state to give him access to the grand jury records that Barlyn believes will prove his case. He is no hot-head. He's a respected career prosecutor, and a former deputy attorney general.

Will this one blow up in a full-blown scandal? That's not clear yet. But you don't have to be a conspiracy buff to be concerned about another abuse of power by this administration. Call it a sleeper scandal, for now.

read it here: http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/07/christies_sleeper_scandal_a_whistleblower_prosecut.html#incart_river