The state of New Jersey is sitting on $300 million dollars that were meant to help struggling homeowners stave off foreclosure. Eighteen states were awarded funds in this program, and New Jersey is last among them in processing and awarding help. Just 498 claims have been approved, whereas almost 2,000 have been denied. And less than $4MM of the allocated $300MM has been used.
At a press conference the honorable Gov. Chris Christie was asked by a reporter why that is. He stated that the federal government put a moratorium on the program, yet no other state was stopped from following through with processing and awarding claims. He rips into the reporter who is not satisfied with this answer, telling him to 'get his facts right' and blows him off because he doesn't recognize him as one of the usual reporters who dutifully follow him around on his beat without challenging him. As if, Christie recognizing a reporter is a qualification for being allowed to ask a question.
The following report was made by Jim Hoffer and presented by the local ABC news channel. So, he did, in fact, 'get his facts' right as Christie demanded. He spent over a month getting the facts right and presented them in this report, and then followed up by giving Christie a chance to respond.
Christie, speaking in Long Branch, got into the confrontation when Jim Hoffer, an investigative reporter with WABC-TV in New York, asked questions following-up a Christie answer on foreclosure, according to video captured by PolitickerNJ.com. Hoffer had been suggesting that Christie's facts were not in order, which Christie disputed.
When Hoffer persisted, Christie tore into the reporter, who is not part of the Trenton press corps that regularly covers the Garden State leader. Hoffer and Christie both tried to talk over each other at one point.
“Don’t show up once in every blue moon and think you’re going to dominate my press conference," Christie said on the PolitickerNJ.com video. "Get your facts correct and ask. Thank you very much.”
This is just one in a long string of abuses heaped on the press and even New Jerseyans for daring to challenge the Governor. This is his usual method of dealing with issues he does not want to confront. New Jersey is in financial trouble despite the fact that Christie brags about lowering taxes and balancing the state budget. Perhaps that $300MM has gone into the same money pool as the millions from the ARC tunnel that Christie arbitrarily and unilaterally cancelled, to try and shore up New Jersey's budgetary woes.
Not to mention, that this is more of the usual Republican obstruction of an Obama administration program that might just help people, and thus insure Obama's reelection.