ALL LOVEY 'GOV'Y
Rudy: Christie’s ‘my No. 1’ for AG
Chris Christie has Rudy Giuliani’s vote — even if he’s not asking for it.
The former New York City mayor said Saturday he wants the ex-governor of New Jersey to become US attorney general.
“He’s my No. 1 candidate,” Giuliani, now a lawyer for President Trump, said in an interview with the Bergen Record.
Giuliani said that Christie would be a “viable guy for a lot of things” in the administration, but thinks Christie is especially wellsuited to take over the Justice Department given Trump’s open disdain for current Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Christie did not immediately comment on Giuliani’s statements. But he’s had a mixed history with Trump.
He was reportedly considered as a vice presidential candidate after dropping out of the 2016 Republican primary and supporting Trump. Christie initially ran Trump’s transition team. But he was unceremoniously bounced just days after Trump’s surprise win in November.
Trump was “so disgusted with Chris Christie’s handling of the Bridgegate scandal” that he kicked the then-governor out of his inner circle, The Post reported at the time.
Other factors may have included the fact that Christie put presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner’s dad in jail when Christie was a US attorney.
After he was ousted, Christie called the transition “brutally unprofessional.”
In recent months, Christie’s relationship with Trump appears to have thawed. The president named Christie to lead a White House commission on addiction and the opioid crisis, and Christie delivered recommendations for action in November.
Christie has reportedly opened a new law firm in his hometown of Mendham, NJ.
Giuliani, also a former federal prosecutor, told the Record that he has referred two former clients to Christie’s firm. Giuliani worked for the law firm Greenberg Traurig before becoming Trump’s lawyer.
Christie rejected Giuliani’s claim.
“Gov. Christie has not been referred any clients from Mayor Giuliani,” Christie spokesman Pete Sheridan told the paper.
That marked the second time Christie’s camp shot down a comment from Giuliani in the past week.
On Monday, Giuliani told the Washington Post that Trump wanted to bring in Christie to prep him for a sit-down with special counsel Robert Mueller.
He added that Christie would “be willing to do it as [a] volunteer,” and that as a lawyer, Christie would have “attorney-client privilege.”
Christie refuted the claim on Twitter.
“The WaPo story tonight saying I have been asked to help prepare @realDonaldTrump for any interview with Bob Mueller is dead wrong,” he said. “I have not been asked by anyone to do anything of the sort. The story is wrong.”