With Trump's help, N.J. GOP pays off Bridgegate debt
The New Jersey Republican Party has paid off the half-million dollars in debt it owed to creditors in the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal, according to a filing made public by state campaign-finance regulators Tuesday.
The New Jersey Republican Party has paid off the half-million dollars in debt it owed to creditors in the aftermath of the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal, according to a filing made public by state campaign-finance regulators Tuesday.
A fund-raiser held by Donald Trump in May appeared to help considerably. The party's filing with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission shows that seven individuals, companies, and PACs made $25,000 contributions last quarter - the price of a ticket to the May fund-raiser in Lawrenceville.
That accounts for $175,000 of the approximately $500,000 the state GOP paid off between April 1 and June 30.
"Gov. Chris Christie continued his long tradition of raising record amounts for the NJGOP," executive director Pete Sheridan said in a statement. "Thanks to his efforts this quarter, our state party is debt-free of all past legal bills and with a strong financial footing to help support Republican candidates across New Jersey to win in November."
In May, officials declined to say how much money the Trump event had raised for the party.
The party raised nearly $400,000 last quarter and had about $61,000 in cash remaining, according to the filing. (Those figures do not include the party's fund-raising through its federal campaign account.)
It paid $274,000 it owed to Stroz Friedberg L.L.C., a New York-based data recovery firm the party hired to produce documents to federal prosecutors investigating the lane closures.
The party also paid about $150,000 in legal fees to Squire Patton Boggs L.L.P. and Drinker Biddle & Reath L.L.P. for help responding to subpoenas.
The state GOP still owes more than $22,000 to Jamestown Associates, an advertising firm. Those bills are unrelated to the bridge investigation.
Prosecutors charged three of Christie's former allies in an alleged scheme to cause traffic gridlock near the bridge in September 2013 in an attempt to punish a local mayor because he had refused to endorse Christie's reelection campaign.
One pleaded guilty and two face trial in September.
Trump also raised money at the May event for Christie to pay off debt from his failed White House campaign. Tickets were $200.
Christie's most recent campaign-finance filing with the Federal Election Commission, made public last week, showed he still owed creditors $170,505 as of June 30.
However, the campaign also filed a debt settlement plan with the FEC, and Christie adviser Bill Palatucci told the Associated Press last week that the campaign had reached agreements with six of the seven companies owed money.
Palatucci told the AP that pending FEC approval, the campaign's only remaining debt would be to his own law firm.
Christie's campaign raised $257,000 between May and the end of June, according to its filing.
856-779-3846
@AndrewSeidman