Christie's Next Job Move Could Make Him Rich

Gov. Chris Christie has found an opportunity to earn lots of money — and he's reportedly coaxing lawmakers to change a law so he can do it.

Christie reportedly is working with New Jersey legislators to revise a state law that bars him on cashing in on a book deal while in office.

Christie is in talks with top Democratic and Republican lawmakers to change a law this month to allow him to cash in with an undisclosed book deal, according to The Record, citing sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The deal would let Christie profit from a book while also pushing forward a plan to increase lawmakers' staff salaries, according to the report.

New Jersey state law says a sitting governor is barred from receiving or agreeing to receive "any compensation, salary, honorarium, fee, or other form of income from any source, other than the compensation paid or reimbursed to him/her by the state for the performance of official duties."

NJ Advance Media noted two years ago that the same proposal was quietly being discussed.

"It's being talked about. I'm not going to deny it's being talked about," Assemblyman Declan O'Scanlon, a Republican from Monmouth, told reporters. Earlier that same year, Assemblyman John Burzichelli, a Democrat from Gloucester, sponsored a similar bill that stalled.

Christie and First Lady Mary Pat Christie reported earning just more than $900,000 in income in 2015, according to their tax statements released last week. Christie earns $175,000 a year as governor.

The news comes after revelations that President-elect Donald Trump offered Christie at least three positions in his new administration. But he turned them all down.

Read more: Chris Christie Got Offered 3 Donald Trump Jobs He Didn't Want. So Is He Staying?

It now looks entirely conceivable the governor will indeed remain in New Jersey to finish out his second and final term, which ends in January 2018.

Christie has been dogged by the "Bridgegate" George Washington Bridge lane-closing political payback scheme, and he could be appearing in court as early as January to respond to a citizen's complaint of official misconduct in connection with the scandal.

Even with these personal crises, Christie has campaigned heavily for the RNC job, according to NJ Advance Media, but he and Trump last week came to the decision mutually to remove the governor from consideration.

Just days after announcing during a press conference last week that he's "not going anywhere," Politico reported that Christie had engaged in a "full-court press" with senior members of Trump's presidential transition team in hopes of getting the chairmanship of the RNC.

He would have succeeded Reince Priebus, who is leaving the chairmanship to serve as Trump's chief of staff.

The question would have been, if he were to accept the post, would he serve full time and resign as governor, or would he do it while serving as New Jersey's chief executive - just as Debbie Wasserman Schultz did when she served as chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee while also working as a member of Congress?

Some, like former DNC Chair Howard Dean, have said the position of party leader is no longer a part-time position - which is why he has campaigned for himself to succeed Schultz in the DNC post full-time.

Efforts to obtain comment from Christie or his spokesman were unsuccessful at press time. You can read the full Politico article by clicking here.

During an earlier press conference, Christie practically ended speculation that he would be leaving office to serve in the Trump administration, telling a press gathering: "I am not going anywhere."

"For those of you looking forward to me leaving before January 2018, sorry to disappoint you," the governor told a press gathering Tuesday (see video below), where he took no questions.

Christie, however, made the announcement after a list of grievances and failures regarding his leadership performance were made public, possibly dooming his chances in the Trump administration, according to an expansive New York Times analysis.

Christie already lost his job as Trump's transition chairman earlier this month, and some of his appointments drew criticism from people outside and inside Trump's inner circle. Christie also met with Trump for about 20 minutes last week in what was viewed as one of the shortest transition meetings Trump has had.

Read more: Christie's Chances With Trump May Be Doomed: List of Grievances, Failures Reported

"Bridgegate" troubles have also resurfaced. Christie has agreed to appear in court after getting a criminal summons for official misconduct allegations connected to the scandal, according to court documents.

Christie was scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Hackensack, Bergen County, on Nov. 23, but Judge Bonnie Mizdol signed an order setting oral arguments for Jan. 11.

Here is a video of the Tuesday press conference:

Patch file photo