Oct 27, 2006 2:57 pm US/Eastern
Feds: State Ethics Panel Can Investigate Bryant
NEWARK (AP) ―
New Jersey's top federal law enforcement official has no objection to a state ethics investigation of state Sen. Wayne Bryant, whose activities are the subjects of criminal probes.
The Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards on Monday asked U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie if the panel's investigation of Bryant might interfere with any investigations being carried out by Christie's office.
In a two-sentence letter issued Friday, Christie said he had no objection. The letter did not confirm that federal investigators are looking into Bryant.
Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for Christie, said the office would have no further comment on the matter.
Bryant, a Camden County Democrat, resigned as chairman of the Senate's budget committee last month after a report said he took a no-work job at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and then helped the state school get $4.7 million in new state funding.
The Gloucester County Board of Social Services and Rutgers University's Camden campus, both of which have employed Bryant, have received federal subpoenas for records related to him. The state Department of Children and Families and the Camden Redevelopment Agency also have received subpoenas.
Bryant did not immediately return calls to his law or legislative offices. He has refused comment on the investigations into him, only describing the report on his university job as inaccurate.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
