Chris Christie delivered what he called an “indictment” of Hilary Clinton Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention, walking the crowd of delegates through a list of what conservatives perceive as shortcomings and scandals during Clinton’s time as secretary of state.
The New Jersey governor and former federal prosecutor warmed the boisterous crowd up with some boilerplate conservative talking points about Clinton as they chanted “lock her up!”
“Give me a few more minutes, we’ll get there,” Christie assured them.
One of the moments in the Christie’s Clinton lowlight reel was her delivering of a reset button to Russia.
“The next year, she said our goal was to strengthen Russia,” Christie said. “Strengthen an adversary led by a dictator who dreams of reassembling the old Soviet empire? What a dangerous lack of judgment.”
This came just one day after a convention committee softened language in defense of the Ukraine in the GOP platform under direction from Trump staffers.
“Once again, as a flawed evaluator of dictators and failed strategist who has permitted Russia back in as a major player in the Middle East, is Hillary Clinton guilty or not guilty?” a zealous Christie asked the audience in the style of a game show host.
“Guilty!” the crowd screamed.
Christie also referenced the #bringbackourgirls social media campaign and the kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram. He blamed Clinton for not placing Boko Haram, which he did not name and incorrectly referred to as an “Al-Qaeda affiliate,” on the terrorist watch list during her tenure as secretary of state.
But according to Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler, Clinton didn’t have a part in the discussions about Boko Haram’s designation, as the decision was made below her level in the State Department. While the agency initially declined to designate Boko Haram as a terror group, it reversed that decision in 2013—well before the kidnappings in 2014.
The governor went on to claim that Clinton got a raw deal in ending the Cuban embargo, arguing she gave concessions to the Castro brothers. He didn’t note that the embargo is still in place today, but Christie did blame Clinton for allowing a man who killed a New Jersey state trooper to escape to Cuba.
