Hoboken Mayor Releases ‘Bully’ Chris Christie Journal Pages

FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009 file photograph, Hoboken Mayor, Dawn Zimmer speaks to the media as she stands near the Hudson River in Hoboken, N.J. Zimmer, mayor of a New Jersey city that sustained severe floo... FILE - In this Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009 file photograph, Hoboken Mayor, Dawn Zimmer speaks to the media as she stands near the Hudson River in Hoboken, N.J. Zimmer, mayor of a New Jersey city that sustained severe flooding from Hurricane Sandy claims the Christie administration withheld millions of dollars in recovery grants because she refused to sign off on a politically connected development. MSNBC first reported her comments Saturday. (AP Photo/Mel Evans,file) MORE LESS
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New pages from the personal journal of the Hoboken, N.J. Mayor Dawn Zimmer became public this week, after she included them in a letter to New Jersey lawmakers.

The letter, sent Monday, concerned Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) plan to introduce legislation making it a crime for elected officials to fail to promptly report misconduct.

Earlier this year, Zimmer publicly accused the Christie administration of threatening to withhold Hurricane Sandy relief money if she did not support a development project in her city. In her letter, Zimmer worried that “a law that threatens those who do not come forward immediately with criminal penalties for coming forward later could be more likely to result in the covering up of misconduct rather than the exposing of it,” according to a copy obtained by New Jersey Public Radio.

To support her case, she included pages from her journal where she discusses the fear that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey was friendly with Christie. The pages, Zimmer said, help show why she did not come forward with her accusations back in May 2013, when she now says the threats occurred. Here’s what the pages say:

I have now heard it from Lt. Gov & Com. Constable. Yes — this is illegal. I debated with Joe Maraziti whether or not to go to US Attorney — we decided that Christie has friends throughout US Attorney’s office — not much chance in getting help from them & it could create a nightmare for us. A little bit scary to realize that there’s nowhere to turn for help against this threat from Gov Christie — my best defense is to stand up to the bully — my beloved Gov who wants to run for president.

Earlier this year, when she went public, Zimmer provided other journal entries to MSNBC. She later met with federal prosecutors and provided them with documents, including a copy of her journal. The legal team representing Christie’s office has dismissed Zimmer’s accusations and denied any wrongdoing by the administration.

Here’s the letter, via New Jersey Public Radio:

Letter from Dawn Zimmer to NJ Democratic Leaders

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