NJ Gov. Christie Calls Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes A Confidential Advisor

[ProfessionalLeftist]

Over the years, Fox News has demonstrated that while it claims to report the "straight news" in reality it acts like a 24 hour political operation. Today, the website Gawker reported that Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has declared Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes as a confidential adviser and argued that his communications with Christie should be protected under New Jersey's executive privilege:

Last month, after New York magazine reported that Ailes met with Christie last summer and called him this year to urge him to run for president, Gawker filed a request under New Jersey's Open Records Act seeking any correspondence between the two men, as well as any records of meetings or phone calls with Ailes from Christie's schedule or call logs.

Last week we received a rather surprising response: While declining to confirm the existence of any such records, Christie's office said they "would be exempt from disclosure...based upon the executive privilege and well-settled case law." In other words, Christie's staff refused to search for any records--which, given the undisputed reports of a dinner and phone call, almost certainly exist--on the basis that Ailes is a confidential adviser whose comments should be shielded from public scrutiny.

<...>

It amounts to a rather bald admission that Ailes provides Christie with political advice.

http://dropfox.com/blog/201106170014

[Walk away]

1. New Jersey really screwed up this time.

This is no Red State (except for the millionaires in upper Bergen County) but every once in a while our Independents get freaked out about taxes (the money that gives us one of the best school systems that keep our property values up and keeps us competitive in business). They insanely vote a Republican into office. They are usually strict corporatist and they always do tax breaks for the rich and big deals with their friends.

I don't think anyone understood what a Wing nut Christie is. He is a bad combination of corporate shill and creepy Tea baggy ideologue. It's going to take decades to fix the crazy shit he is pulling. Soon we can be like the Red States and have terrible school systems and no health care safety nets.

[tabbycat31]

4. There is more red than Bergen County millionaires

I wish I could tell you I was lying, but head down to Monmouth County. We were once a purple county that took at 30 point right turn from one year (2008) to the next (2009). The Bayshore tea party is very popular here and this is a county that almost elected a Bachmann clone (Anna Little) to Congress.

[marmar]

2. Faux and the Republicans go together like Port-a-Potties and filth.

nt

[Angry Dragon]

3. Sounds like a huge conflict of interest for one of them...........