NJ Watchdog: Citizen groups sue Christie over campaign security costs

Three citizen groups are suing Chris Christie in an effort to stop the New Jersey governor from using state funds to pay for the cost of security travel during out-of-state campaign trips as he runs for the White House.

New Jersey Working Families, BlueWaveNJ, New Jersey Citizen Action and six individual plaintiffs filed the suit Friday in Mercer County Superior Court. The complaint alleges Christie violated his fiduciary duty by failing to reimburse the State Treasury for the bills incurred by the state police Executive Protection Unit during his frequent political trips.

Christie press secretary Kevin Roberts did not respond Friday afternoon to a request for comment.

EPU travel costs have soared with Christie’s political ambitions, totaling $1.3 million since he took office in 2010, according to New Jersey Watchdog’s analysis of documents obtained through the Open Public Records Act.

Overall, more than $1.1 million in travel costs were charged to American Express cards issued to the governor’s office. But Christie refused to release the Amex statements or other accounts of the expenditures.

Earlier this month, a court decided Christie can hide those records from the public. Based on secret evidence, Judge Mary C. Jacobson ruled that details of past expenses for food, lodging and transportation requested by New Jersey Watchdog could create a potential security risk for the governor in the future.

The full story is online at http://watchdog.org/234983/christie-campaign-security-costs/.