The high-powered attorney hired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) office to defend it in the bridge scandal will be giving the administration a big break on his bill.
The Bergen Record reported Thursday that the attorney, Randy Mastro, will be paid $650 — a 40 percent discount off his normal rate.
According to a retention letter obtained by the Record, Mastro will help the governor’s office with an internal review of the lane closures, as well as with “document retention and production in connection with the United States Attorney inquiry, and other appropriate inquires and requests for information.”
Earlier this month, a lawyer for Christie’s re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican Party confirmed to TPM that both groups had received subpoenas from federal prosecutors. But the governor’s office has not publicly confirmed receiving any request for documents from the state’s U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Mastro is a partner in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He signed the governor’s office’s retention letter on Thursday.
Christie announced he was hiring Mastro on Jan. 16, but details of the agreement were not then made public. The documents obtained by the Record do not indicate whether Mastro will also represent individual staffers in Christie’s office, many of which have received subpoenas from an investigation being led by state lawmakers. The documents say only that Mastro will represent “the Office of the Governor.”
