If you want to know why Republicans believe the press is biased, look no further than the kid-glove treatment given Cory Booker.
Though New Jersey’s press and political class have yet to come up with any evidence, they continue to work in overdrive to prove Gov. Chris Christie knew about Bridgegate before he said he did.
Meanwhile, Booker is walking to re-election as a US senator without having to say boo about the biggest scam under his leadership as mayor of Newark: the fleecing of the city by the Newark Watershed Conservation and Development Corp., which he chaired as mayor.
Yes, a handful of newsfolk have raised tough questions: The Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine, National Review’s Eliana Johnson and, of course, The Post. But in Jersey, Newarkgate has not received anything near the relentless coverage given Bridgegate.
Newark, which was the NWCDC’s only customer, paid it $10 million a year. In a 45-page report, the state comptroller found improper payments, no oversight, a no-bid contract and an “abuse of public funds.” It makes for colorful but depressing reading.
The cast of characters includes executive director Linda Watkins-Brashear — a Booker contributor and campaign volunteer.
At a time when Newark was laying off cops and asking for state bailouts, the report says she wrote unreported checks to herself for $500,000 and ended up receiving two severance packages amounting to $700,000. When asked about all this by the state comptroller, she pleaded the Fifth.
Then there’s the NWCDC’s counsel, Elnardo Webster — who also happened to be Booker’s law partner and campaign treasurer.
This is the same law firm, The Post has reported, that paid Booker while he was mayor despite his many assurances he was not working for a law firm with millions in government contracts. Now he says that was just an accountant’s mistake.
The NWCDC findings reek of corruption. But the stench coming from the unwillingness to hold Cory Booker to the same standards of accountability as Chris Christie is just as foul.