Documents Says ex-U.S. Atty Christie Was Bush Loyalist; Could Hurt in His Race for N.J. Gov

These days with the economy still in the dump, with the Justice Department still smarting from the mass U.S. Attorney firings during the Bush era, being a Bush loyalist isn’t something you want on your resume — particularly when your running for governor in a blue state.

Christopher Christie
By Claire Heininger and Josh Margolin
Newark Star-Ledger
TRENTON – As early as 2005, the Bush Administration was ranking federal prosecutors by their allegiance to the president as well as their job skills — and then-U.S. attorney Chris Christie was considered one of most loyal, according to newly released documents.

That determination, Democrats say, further cements the political ties between Christie, now the Republican candidate for governor, and former President George W. Bush, an unpopular figure in New Jersey.

The ranking — disclosed for the first time this week as part of a Congressional investigation into the controversial firings of U.S. attorneys in 2006 — places Christie among prosecutors who “produced, managed well and exhibited loyalty to the President and Attorney General.”