White House Assisting Political Dirty Tricks in New Jersey

The Dems are getting nervous about losing the New Jersey governor's seat, so they're going to try and make the GOP candidate look bad to hurt his chances, and the White House is playing along:

Republican New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie was issued a House Judiciary Committee invitation to appear before one of its subcommitees next week, with the knowledge and encouragement of the White House and Democrat leaders in the House of Representatives, according to House Judiciary sources.

According to House as well as state Democrat operatives, Christie received the invitation earlier this week to appear before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law to testify about a bill sponsored by two New Jersey Democrats, Rep. Bill Pascrell and Rep. Frank Pallone, both of whom have ties to various political operatives working on the re-election campaign of New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine. Corzine has been trailing Christie by double digits in the polls and is considered vulnerable for defeat next November.

"They want to smear Christie and try to damage him as much as possible," says one House Judiciary staffer. "We've been told that the Democrats have even given a photographer hired by the Democratic National Committee a press credential so that he can take a picture of Christie taking the oath before testifying. This is a show trial."

In fact, the White House was notified by aides to House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, who sits on the subcommittee chaired by Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen, that Christie was going to be called to testify. "The White House didn't have a problem with it," says a Democratic House leadership aide. "Of course this is political, there's no point in denying it. Everyone understands that if Christie and [Virginia gubernatorial candidate Bob] McDonnell win in the fall, the tide we've been riding shifts a bit, and folks will be smelling blood in the water. Our leaders here have made it clear the White House is watching and wants us to help wherever we can."

Christie has been invited to appear before the subcommittee before, and was aware prior to his primary victory that he might be invited again. But Corzine is a target of Republicans nationally, and Christie, a former U.S. Attorney in the Bush Administration, is considered a strong candidate to knock off the one-term governor, former U.S. Senator and senior executive at Goldman Sachs. Corzine's situation, according to White House sources, has been monitored by presidential chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and senior adviser David Axelrod, both of whom of are indirectly overseeing the political operation in the White House.

Imagine my surprise.