New Jersey Governor Chris Christie arrives for the 'An Evening
at the Fair' event with Scott County Republicans in the Starlight
Ballroom at The Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds on July 17, 2014 in
Davenport, Iowa. In addition to the event at the fairgrounds, Christie
attended two fundraisers for Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant
Governor Kim Reynolds and greeted patrons with them at MJ's Restaurant
in Marion, Iowa. With this four-city Iowa tour many suggest Christie may
be testing his support in the state with hopes of a 2016 Republican
presidential nomination.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Chris
Christie is traveling around the country in advance of a possible 2016
presidential run. Who's picking up the tab for all these trips? He
doesn't have to tell. The New Jersey governor's office this week won a
court ruling allowing it to exempt itself from disclosure rules, and
it's permitted to conceal state records documenting which private
interests are financing his nationwide political tour.
The case against Christie revolved around New Jersey Watchdog's
request for records about more than "60 unofficial out-of-state trips
Christie has taken since 2012." New Jersey Watchdog is a journalism
project of the
conservative Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.
According to
New Jersey rules,
private third parties "may agree to pay for participation at an event
by state employees," but documentation of those payments must be
"retained with the department's or agency's records."
When he took office in 2010, Christie pledged to usher in "a new era of accountability and transparency," and he signed an
executive order
declaring that "the Governor shall not solicit, receive, or agree to
receive, directly or indirectly, any ... meals, lodging, travel expenses
or anything of monetary value intended to influence him
http://www.ibtimes.com/chris-christie-wins-lawsuit-exempt-himself-new-jerseys-open-records-laws-1646518
