For Christie at RNC, another day attacking Clinton and explaining Trump

CLEVELAND - Gov. Christie continued to play the role of campaign-trail prosecutor Wednesday, as he contended that FBI Director James Comey "blew it" in his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

The governor, who revved up the Republican National Convention crowd the night before with a speech blasting Clinton, also stayed the course as a top advocate for GOP nominee Donald Trump, defending the political newcomer's ability to handle foreign policy.

Speaking at a national-security event in Cleveland, Christie said he wasn't accusing Comey - whose integrity he praised Wednesday as has in the past - of being "in the tank for the Clintons." But he asserted that the FBI director was "compromised" by Attorney General Loretta Lynch having met with former President Bill Clinton.

Because Lynch had "neutered" her decision-making ability, Comey had "to play two roles at the same time" - FBI director and attorney general, Christie said.

"When I ultimately sit with my friend Jim Comey after all this stuff is over . . . quietly, privately, I'll say to him, 'You just blew it,' " he said.

Comey recommended no charges against Clinton this month over her handling of classified information as secretary of state, though he called her use of a private email server "extremely careless."

Christie has previously emphasized his trust in Comey. As a presidential candidate, he tied his opposition to accepting Syrian refugees to the FBI director's remarks that he couldn't give "absolute assurance" that admitting refugees would carry no risk.

Asked in a December Morning Joe interview whether he trusted Comey to "do the right thing" in the investigation of Clinton, Christie said: "100 percent. Jim Comey is a guy of extraordinary integrity." But he added that Comey couldn't decide to prosecute; "in the end, this is going to be Loretta Lynch's decision."

On Wednesday, Christie said having integrity didn't mean Comey was "foolproof."

Defending Trump's grasp of foreign policy during a national-security event where Christie was interviewd by CNN's Jake Tapper, Christie said the businessman's comments describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as a strong leader had been misconstrued.

"People then extrapolate from that, 'Oh, he thinks Putin's good.' No," said Christie, who is chairman of Trump's White House transition team. "There's been a lot of people in history who have been strong and evil. You can admire that strength, while also respecting it."

"With all due respect . . . Vladimir Putin is an oppressive, murderous thug," Tapper said.

"I agree," Christie said. But being a "strong leader" is "not inconsistent with someone being a despot."

Christie said Trump believes "he's preserving options for himself by not being strident against Putin."

Regarding ISIS, Christie said, "I do think (Trump) will wind up having to commit more troops." But Trump needs more briefings to decide how to address the issue, he said.

"My experience with Donald has been, when you sit with him and talk dispassionately about facts, he listens, he absorbs it, and then it alters his view of particular topics," Christie said.

Tapper asked Christie some questions from audience members, including one that asked why Trump "continues to insult" people instead of uniting them.

"He's got to do better at that. But why don't they shut up, too," Christie said of Trump's opponents. He said it "becomes harder" when former GOP primary rivals don't abide by a pledge to support the party's nominee: "When is everybody else going to rise above it?"

Another question referred to the governor's mock-prosecution of Clinton during his speech Tuesday night: "Sounds like you're hoping to be attorney general. Guilty or not guilty?"

Not guilty, said Christie, who was recently passed over as Trump's vice presidential pick.

Christie weighed in on a different plea while talking with reporters afterward. David Samson, the former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, pleaded guilty last week to a felony corruption charge for pressuring United Airlines to resume a route between the Port Authority-run Newark Airport and an airport in Columbia, S.C., near Samson's vacation home.

"You all know what a dear personal friend he is to me. So it's sad for me," Christie said.

But he said the plea - and a charge filed against Jamie Fox, a Democratic lobbyist whom Christie named state transportation commissioner - didn't reflect on his judgment. Five former Christie aides and appointees have now been charged with crimes in connection to their work at the Port Authority, stemming from investigations of the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal in 2013.

Fox was "unanimously confirmed by a Democratic state Senate. It's not like I was alone in my evaluation of Jamie," Christie said, noting that Fox was "innocent until proven guilty."

He also said Samson, a former state attorney general, had been picked by Democratic governors to play key roles. "I'm not alone in my judgment that David Samson is an extraordinary person, and he is," Christie said.

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