Congress is looking into the decision by the United States attorney for New Jersey, Christopher Christie, to hand former Attorney General John Ashcroft a hugely lucrative job monitoring a wayward company.
In this particular case, Mr. Christie arranged for a medical supply company accused of fraud to hire his former boss to monitor its activities for a payment between $28 million and $52 million. There was no competitive bidding. If Mr. Christie runs for elected office in the future, Mr. Ashcroft could be an important supporter and fund-raiser. This isn’t the only time Mr. Christie’s appointment of a monitor has raised questions.
The Ashcroft appointment came in a “deferred prosecution agreement,” a fast-growing arrangement ripe for abuse. Rather than file criminal charges against corporations, federal prosecutors — looking to dispose of cases efficiently and to avoid damaging companies needlessly — increasingly are striking deals. These agreements are done without court supervision and sometimes in secret.
United States attorneys have traditionally played an important role in rooting out patronage and corruption. Congress has to ensure that the prosecutors charged with stamping out these practices do not engage in them.
New York Times Editorial (excerpt)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
page A18
additional information:
Ashcroft agrees to testify on his role in no-bid contracts