Christie Crime Digest-Vol. II

[Laxman]

142. As We Prepare To Leave Volume II....

and move on to Volume III-I couldn't have asked for a better article as an epilogue/prologue than this piece from the Bergen Record on U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman:

Is a defining moment near for U.S. attorney Fishman?

He has a gold-plated résumé, a roster of high-profile friends and one of the highest-ranking law enforcement jobs in the state.

Now, the legal legacy and professional reputation of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman could be, in large part, determined by one case.

A year and three months has passed since Fishman’s office began investigating the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge. It is among the few criminal investigations to reach into the governor’s office in New Jersey history and the most closely watched case out of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in years. More than $9 million of taxpayer money has been spent on law firms representing public officials embroiled in the scandal. And multiple players have put their lives and careers on hold as they wait for a result.

But Fishman’s office has given little clue about its intentions beyond a trail of subpoenas.

The silence has engendered intense speculation. Every passing week sees a flurry of new rumors about pending indictments. Every subpoena issued sparks another round of questions about the scope and potential targets of the case.

“People are getting understandably very antsy,” said Carl Golden, a Republican strategist who worked for Govs. Thomas H. Kean and Christie Whitman. “He understands the anxiety and the angst that is out there. He also understands that if ever there is a case where everything has to be exactly right, it’s this one.”

Fishman, 58 and originally from River Edge, is so revered by his colleagues that it is rare to hear a negative word about him beyond a passing joke about his small stature — which is often the subject of Fishman’s own self-deprecating humor.

Otherwise, they describe him as a firebrand and a passionate public servant. He is known for his meticulousness and sense of historical responsibility. In private, some wonder if those traits have lengthened the George Washington Bridge lane closure investigation.

“This has been Paul Fishman’s modus operandi as U.S. attorney,” said Sen. Raymond Lesniak, D-Union. “He does take his time; I don’t say that to be critical. He takes his time because he wants to get it right all the time.”

Lesniak, one of the first state lawmakers to call for the federal investigation, said lawmakers are waiting to see what Fishman does before instituting reforms of the Port Authority, the bi-state agency that oversees the bridge.

“Sure, I think it’s taking too long, but that’s from my perspective, not from his.”

No matter what Fishman does with the case, the George Washington Bridge inquiry will become a part of his legacy, legal experts said.

“It’s actually noteworthy that, despite New Jersey’s reputation, most of the criminal charges levied against politicians in recent decades have been aimed at municipal officials, and very few have alleged wrongdoing by state officials,” said John Weingart, associate director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. “Even if he goes on to win the Nobel Prize, his obituary will say, ‘Paul Fishman, who investigated the George Washington Bridge scandal in 2015.’”

Fishman declined a request for an interview.

The bridge investigation also has national implications because Christie’s presidential ambitions could hang in the balance. The high stakes mean that Fishman’s decisions will be the subject of debate.

“If there are no charges against the governor, there will be those who write that it’s a travesty. If there are charges, people will write that it was blatantly political and a travesty,” said Gil Childers, former first assistant prosecutor under Fishman in the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Read the rest here: http://www.northjersey.com/news/is-a-defining-moment-near-for-u-s-attorney-fishman-1.1307587