Christie calls it 'fake hysteria' over loan

A week after word got out that Republican gubernatorial candidate Christopher J. Christie and his wife had lent $46,000 to a subordinate of Christie's who had fallen on hard times, the former U.S. attorney said he didn't think he did anything wrong in lending money to a friend.

Christie, in a conference call with reporters yesterday, said he had already admitted failing to disclose the loan properly on state and federal disclosure forms and pay taxes on the interest. He said he had corrected the paperwork.

Christie accused Democrats of "manufacturing fake outrage" and engaging in "fake hysteria" over the incident.

"This kind of continued drumbeat on this, in terms of the propriety of it, is incredibly overdone," Christie said. "This was done as friend to friend. There are no long-term ramifications for it."

Christie, who has been leading Democratic Gov. Corzine in the polls since the start of the year, has been running on a platform of bringing ethics to New Jersey. He has called for more detailed financial disclosures for public officials.

So, when Christie's misstep was revealed, Democrats seized the opportunity to call the former prosecutor a hypocrite, pointing out that Christie had prosecuted people for as much.

Christie said his failure to disclose the loan properly was merely an oversight. He noted that he documented the loan publicly by filing a mortgage with the Morris County Clerk's Office and even charged an interest rate of 5.5 percent.

And yesterday, Christie said that the only raises Michele Brown received while Christie was her boss were not at his discretion but simply cost-of-living adjustments, which are governed by U.S. Department of Justice rules. She received the same bonuses as everyone else in the front office of the prosecutor's office, Christie said.

Corzine, a multimillionaire, has given loans and gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to numerous friends and associates, including, most famously, onetime girlfriend Carla Katz, who once headed the largest state employee union.

"This loan was disclosed. It was filed public," Christie said. "That's more than we can say about a lot of the governor's transactions."

Democrats argue that it is inappropriate for Christie to have a continuing financial relationship with someone in the U.S. Attorney's Office as he campaigns for governor.

Since last week, Christie's campaign has attempted - with little success - to steer public attention to other subjects, from the state's relatively high unemployment numbers to Corzine's efforts while at Goldman Sachs to help Enron.

Yesterday, the prosecutor who was known for his zealous denouncements of public officials sounded as if he were growing increasingly irritated by questions about the loan.

"This is a loan between friends," he said. "I understand you all want to continue to talk about it as a problem, but I don't see it as a problem.

"This is really hypocrisy, and it's over the top," he added.