D.C. watchdog group seeks ethics investigation of Christie

TRENTON - A watchdog group led by a Democratic operative on Thursday asked the New Jersey State Ethics Commission to investigate whether Gov. Christie broke the law by allegedly accepting "gifts of foreign travel and lavish lodgings and entertainment" on his 2012 trip to Israel.

The complaint comes after the New York Times reported Monday that Christie and his family flew to Israel on a private jet provided by the billionaire Sheldon Adelson while the Las Vegas casino magnate was lobbying against legislation that would ultimately legalize online gambling in New Jersey.

The Times report also said King Abdullah of Jordan paid for a weekend stay at the end of the Israel trip for Christie's family and two staff members. The hotel stays cost about $30,000, according to the newspaper.

A spokesman for Christie declined to comment Thursday.

Taxpayers paid $40,000 in security costs for the Israel trip. Choose New Jersey, a nonprofit economic development group, listed $53,000 in travel expenses for public officials in 2012, according to an IRS filing; it is unclear how much of that was spent on the Israel trip.

The watchdog group, Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW), said the use of Adelson's private jet appeared to violate New Jersey's ethics laws.

The group is chaired by David Brock, an ally of Hillary Rodham Clinton and founder of the liberal super PAC American Bridge 21st Century. Before Brock joined the organization in August, CREW also aggressively criticized former Rep. Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.) for using campaign funds for a family trip to Scotland in 2011. Andrews later repaid the money.

Its latest complaint follows others, filed by the Campaign Legal Center in Washington and another group led by a Democratic operative, which alleged Christie's acceptance of tickets and air travel to Dallas Cowboys games from team owner Jerry Jones violated state ethics laws.

The Cowboys are part owners of a company that signed a 15-year lease agreement in March 2013 with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to operate the observation deck at the top of One World Trade Center.

Christie has said he befriended Jones later that year.

The Governor's Code of Conduct, outlined in an executive order Christie signed in 2010, prohibits the governor from accepting gifts "intended to influence him in the conduct of his public duties."

CREW said Christie's trade mission to Israel "clearly was related to his official duties." The group also alleged that even if Adelson didn't personally lobby Christie, as his spokeswoman told the Times, the billionaire's "aggressive campaign" against online gambling and other discussions with the governor about the bill show that "Mr. Adelson sought to influence Gov. Christie to oppose the legislation."

Christie told Adelson that had he vetoed the bill, it would have been overridden by the Legislature, the Times reported.

Every attempt by the Legislature to override a Christie veto has failed since he took office in 2010.

Christie signed the bill in February 2013, saying it would help boost Atlantic City.

CREW also said Christie's weekend stay on Abdullah's tab in Jordan at the end of the Israel trip raised ethics questions.

Christie first met Abdullah at a "salon-style" dinner in New York hosted by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Christie's spokeswoman told the Times. She described Abdullah as a friend of Christie's.

The Governor's Code of Conduct permits Christie to accept gifts from relatives or "personal friends" that are paid for with "personal funds."

The code does not define friend, but CREW said that "extending that term to a foreign head of state based on a single prior meeting would distort the term into something unrecognizable, and allow Gov. Christie to make an end-run around the gift rules by labeling every gift as coming from a friend, no matter how remote the relationship."