New Chris Christie Campaign Ad: I'm Not Looking To Be The Most Popular Guy

NEW JERSEY: SPLC Attorney Shreds Head Of "Ex-Gay" Group During Fraud Trial

The SPLC's fraud lawsuit against the New Jersey-based "ex-gay" group JONAH has been underway since last week. Via New Jersey Jewish News:

On the trial’s second day, the plaintiffs’ lawyer Lina Bensman pointed out that Goldberg was a disbarred attorney who in 1989 was incarcerated for six months on federal tax fraud and conspiracy charges while heading a New York underwriting firm. She asked why he had occasionally identified himself as a “doctor,” although he was not a physician and had no PhD. “I am a JD, a juris doctor,” he explained. Goldberg also acknowledged that he used the title “rabbi” on occasion, although he was not ordained. “I was not a rabbi,” he said. “I have no formal religious training other than going to a yeshiva in grade school.”

Goldberg also testified, “I have never been a licensed counselor. I give advice.” But after being shown a signed document projected on a video screen, Goldberg acknowledged he had applied to the American Psychotherapy Association to become a certified relationship specialist and a certified professional counselor. “But these certifications were revoked?” asked Bensman. “Yes, ma’am” he replied. “And the certifications read, ‘I certify I have not been convicted of a felony’?” “That is correct,” he said. Under questioning by his own attorney, Goldberg said he believed that his felony fraud and conspiracy convictions were essentially nullified more than 20 years after his guilty pleas in 1989, allowing him to check “no” on the application.

More about Goldberg from the Village Voice:

In 1987, prosecutors accused Goldberg of orchestrating a massive municipal-bond fraud scheme, essentially selling more than $2 billion in bogus bonds between 1985 and 1986 to finance public works projects in smaller, rural, and often poor communities in the Midwest. Most of the projects were never completed, and Goldberg was eventually charged with 52 counts of bribery, fraud, and conspiracy, among other things, by a federal grand jury. He later pleaded guilty to three counts of mail fraud in California. The scheme cost the U.S. Treasury millions in lost taxes, and Matthews & Wright Inc. lost its license to sell securities and later dissolved completely.

Goldberg, who testified before a jury on June 8, declined on several occasions to speak on the record for this article. One day at the JONAH offices in Jersey City he confronted a Voice reporter, asking her to leave the building and calling her presence "absolutely inappropriate and out of line." He would later agree to answer a few questions, through his lawyer, via email. "Over 100 people lost their jobs and a good career because of what Arthur did, and that's just pure greed," Goldberg's former colleague says. "And he never apologized to anyone. I hoped he'd get life [in prison]. If I'd run into him on the street, I'd grab him by the throat."

Hit the first link for more about the trial and the second for an excellent and lengthy history of the "ex-gay" movement. Equality Case Files is attending the trial and is posting transcripts of the proceedings. JONAH is being defended by a legal group headed by Maggie Gallagher.

UPDATE: Check out how hate group leader Austin Ruse characterizes Goldberg over at Breitbart:

All his life Arthur Goldberg was a liberal New York Jew, almost stereotypical. He fought for civil rights for African Americans, he fought for better housing for New York’s poor, the whole schmear of respectable liberal causes. And then his son came out as gay and Arthur wanted to help him. When they founded JONAH, neither Goldberg or Berk knew that choice in sexual orientation or choice in psychological counseling would become a third rail in progressive politics. Now they are the target of one of the richest and most powerful left-wing groups in America. The Southern Poverty Law Center — with $340 in the bank and revenues of $50 million a year — is a group with almost limitless money to spend on litigation and it, along with activist Wayne Besen of a group called Truth Wins Out, have spent millions to put JONAH out of business and to punish Goldberg and Berk for trying to help those with unwanted same-sex attraction.

NEW JERSEY: Jury Hears Openings In "Ex-Gay" Fraud Suit Filed by SPLC

Via the Associated Press:

The four plaintiffs sued Jersey City-based JONAH in 2012, claiming the group violated state consumer fraud laws by characterizing homosexuality as a mental disorder and claiming it could successfully change patients' sexual orientation. The plaintiffs say they underwent treatment that included being told to spend more time naked with their fathers and participating in role-playing in which they were subjected to anti-gay slurs in a locker room setting. "My clients needed help but JONAH lied and JONAH made it worse," plaintiffs' attorney David Diniello told jurors. "All they got was junk science and so-called cures."

Three of the four plaintiffs were young men from Orthodox Jewish families in Brooklyn, Diniello said, who were grappling with their sexuality in a culture in which "there were no gay people" and there was pressure to marry and have children. The fourth, Michael Ferguson, is a Mormon who sought out JONAH. Attorney Charles LiMandri, representing JONAH, said none of the four asked for their money back at the time. "All four of these men left JONAH on good terms, speaking glowingly" of their experience and referring it to friends, he said. It was only after being contacted by activists that they denounced the organization, he said. "The plaintiffs became aggressors after they left JONAH to destroy JONAH," LiMandri said.

One plaintiff reports that the "therapy" included beating a pillow with a tennis racket while screaming about his mother. (You might remember "ex-gay" nutter Richard Cohen demonstrating this on CNN.) In 2012 plaintiff Chaim Levin told Truth Wins Out that his JONAH treatment included "removing my clothing and touching myself in a locked room" while the counselor watched.

NEW JERSEY: SPLC's Fraud Suit Against "Ex-Gay" Group Begins This Week

Via the SPLC:

Jury selection is underway in the SPLC’s landmark consumer fraud case against a New Jersey provider of conversion therapy, which purports to turn gay people straight. Opening arguments in the Superior Court of New Jersey are expected to begin on either Tuesday, June 2 or Wednesday, June 3. The SPLC filed the suit – Michael Ferguson, et al., v. JONAH – in 2012 against conversion therapy provider JONAH for deceptive practices that lured plaintiffs into the expensive, harmful therapy. The case, brought under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, is the first of its kind nationally. “This case is about exposing the lie that LGBT people are mentally ill and that they need to be cured,” said David Dinielli, SPLC deputy legal director. “Groups like JONAH should not be allowed to use bogus therapy, based on junk science, to scam LGBT people and their families out of thousands of dollars.”

More from Mic.com:

According to the complaint filed at the case's inception, customers of JONAH's services typically paid a minimum of $100 for weekly individual counseling sessions and another $60 for group therapy sessions, with some paying as much as $10,000 a year for the services. The lawsuit describes sessions in which unlicensed therapists ordered them to strip naked and touch their genitals while saying negative things about themselves in front of a mirror, group exercises involving the reenactment of childhood sexual abuse and the use of homophobic slurs while the plaintiffs tried to grab a pair of oranges meant to symbolize testicles.

"Stuck in the past": According to every mainstream mental health authority in the United States, JONAH's practices fall so far outside the mainstream as to be unethical, even dangerous. "It's unethical for counselors to be involved in reparative therapy," David Kaplan, chief professional officer and former president of the American Counseling Association, told Mic. "It's not a mental health intervention — it's a religious practice."

Kaplan is such an outspoken critic of conversion therapy that he dislikes even using the word "therapy" to describe the practice. "A lot of us refer to it as 'sexual orientation change efforts.' 'Therapy' connotes a mental health intervention. This is not a mental health intervention. A mental health intervention relates to the diagnosis and treatment of a mental disorder. Homosexuality is not a mental disorder. There's nothing to fix, there's nothing to repair, there's nothing to convert."

Former NOM chairman Maggie Gallagher heads the legal group defending JONAH. Yesterday Gallagher told CBN that "it will be fun to beat the Southern Poverty Law Center."

City Of Newark: Don't Eat The Sewer Fish

Yesterday's heavy rains caused lakes and rivers in Newark to overflow, sending fish up through nearby sewer grates. And you totally should not eat sewer fish because "it's unclear how exposure to elements outside of their natural domains will affect them."

NEW JERSEY: Archdiocese Fires Priest For Posting Pro-LGBT Facebook Message

Via the New York Daily News:

The director of Seton Hall University’s campus ministry lost his job because he expressed his agreement with a gay marriage equality group, Rev. Warren Hall said Friday on Twitter. The tweet, which has since been taken down, said he got canned for using his Facebook page to back the California-based organization NoH8 Campaign, which rose up in 2008 in response to the state’s Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage. “I’ve been fired from SHU for posting a pic on FB supporting LGBT ‘No H8’.” Hall previously wrote, according to NJ Advance Media. “I'm sorry it was met with this response. I'll miss my work here.” Representatives for the South Orange-based Roman Catholic university told the publication that the director of Seton Hall’s campus ministry is appointed by the Archbishop of Newark and “serves at his discretion.” A spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, Jim Goodness, declined to disclose the reasons for Hall’s dismissal in an interview with NJ Advance Media but said that Hall is being reassigned within the archdiocese, which covers Bergen, Union, Hudson and Essex counties. The move immediately provoked a reaction from alumni and students, who started a change.org petition demanding his reinstatement.

Here's the petition.

Headline Of The Day

From New Jersey Watchdog:

Chris Christie’s expense account tells a story of appetite and ambition, one that pits government waste versus the New Jersey governor’s waistline. Christie spent $360,000 from his state allowance during his five years in office. More than 80 percent of that money, or $300,000, was used to buy food, alcohol and desserts, according to a New Jersey Watchdog analysis of records released by the governor’s office.

In addition to his $175,000 a year salary, the governor receives $95,000 a year in expense advances, paid quarterly by the state. In the state budget, it is listed as “an allowance of funds not otherwise appropriated and used for official receptions on behalf of the state, the operation of an official residence, for other expenses.” Christie’s most notable spending spree occurred during the 2010 and 2011 NFL football seasons at MetLife Stadium, where the New York’s Giants and Jets play their home games. New Jersey’s governor traditionally enjoys free use of luxury boxes for games and other events at the government-owned venue, but food and beverages cost extra.

On 58 occasions, Christie used a debit card to pay a total of $82,594 to Delaware North Sportservice, which operates the concessions at MetLife. The governor’s office did not provide any receipts, business reasons or names of individuals entertained, but defended the expense. “The official nature and business purpose of the event remains the case regardless of whether the event is at the State House, Drumthwacket or a sporting venue,” said Christie’s press secretary Kevin Roberts in a prepared statement.

The state GOP has repaid the purchases made at the stadium, which averaged about $1500 per game. New Jersey Watchdog is suing Christie to provide itemization of nearly $1M spent on personal security since taking office.

COURT: Twin Girls Have Two Fathers

But this isn't a case involving gay men. Via CNN:

A New Jersey father has been ordered to pay child support for one girl in a set of twins after DNA tests proved he is not the father of both, according to court documents. The mother testified in a paternity case that, within a week's time, she had sexual intercourse with two men -- the man genetic tests confirmed as the father and another unidentified man. The judge acknowledged the unusual circumstances of the case in a ruling this week. "This is a case of first impression in New Jersey and only a handful of reported cases exist nationwide," Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed said in his ruling. The ruling cited a 1997 article published by DNA expert Dr. Karl-Hanz Wurzinger that said one in every 13,000 reported paternity cases involving twins have different fathers.

It's called heteropaternal superfecundation and is common for dogs and cats. The phenomenon's incidence among humans is somewhat greater than the reported cases indicate because of the relative rarity of paternity tests.

SCOTUS Rejects Liberty Counsel's Appeal Of New Jersey's "Ex-Gay" Torture Ban

Via Yahoo News:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left intact New Jersey's ban on counseling intended to change the sexual orientation of gay children. The court declined to hear a challenge to the law, meaning that a September ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the ban is the final word on the matter. The appeals court said the ban, which Republican Governor Chris Christie signed into law in August 2013, did not violate the free speech or religious rights of counselors offering "gay conversion therapy" to convert homosexual minors into heterosexuals. The panel also said the plaintiffs, who included licensed therapists and a Christian counseling group, lacked standing to pursue claims on behalf of their minor clients.

This is the sixth consecutive "ex-gay" loss for the Liberty Counsel. (Tipped by JMG reader Tristam)

NEW JERSEY: Liberty Counsel Appeals "Ex-Gay" Torture Ban To SCOTUS

On Monday the Third Circuit Court handed the Liberty Counsel their fifth consecutive loss in their battle to repeal bans on "ex-gay" torture. And because they are gluttons for punishment, here comes the inevitable appeal to SCOTUS, which smacked them down on California's ban just a few months ago.

Liberty Counsel asked the Court to grant review to resolve the divergent decisions among the circuit courts of appeal concerning the appropriate level of scrutiny that regulations of speech between a counselor and client or doctor and patient receive. A3371 barges into the counselor’s office to declare that only counseling and discussion affirming or encouraging same-sex attractions, behavior, or identity is permissible in New Jersey, regardless of the client’s sincerely held religious beliefs to the contrary. “The State has no authority to silence only one viewpoint on same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity,” said Staver. “Laws restricting what counseling a minor can receive based solely on its content or viewpoint concerning same-sex attractions, behaviors, or identity are simply unconstitutional and should be struck down,” Staver concluded. “The Third Circuit’s decision ran roughshod over the First Amendment, and the Supreme Court needs to review and reverse that decision,” said Staver.

See the full brief.

NEW JERSEY: Liberty Counsel Loses Yet Another "Ex-Gay" Torture Ban Challenge

Via Reuters:

A federal appeals court on Monday rejected a fresh challenge to New Jersey’s ban on so-called gay conversion therapy for minors, saying the prohibition does not violate the rights of either children or their parents. By a 3-0 vote, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the ban did not infringe the First Amendment rights of minors and their parents to receive information and exercise religion, or the rights of parents to decide how to raise their children. The challenge came from a 15-year-old boy known as John Doe, who claimed to suffer from anxiety, panic attacks, self-hatred and suicidal thoughts as he struggled with his sexual identity, and his parents, who said they had sincere religious beliefs that homosexuality was sinful and harmful. The family plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, said their lawyer, Mathew Staver. “It is a tragedy when people who are not in the counseling room try to dictate what the client wants to receive and what the counselor is allowed to offer,” Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel, said in a phone interview.

In addition to now having lost twice in New Jersey, Liberty Counsel has failed in three attempts to overturn California's ban, including before the US Supreme Court last summer. So naturally, they are looking to extend their streak to 0-6.

Court Rejects Lawsuit Against Grindr Filed By Man Busted In Underage Hook-Up

A New Jersey federal court has rejected a lawsuit filed against Grindr by a man who claims the hook-up app should have prevented a 13 year-old boy from accessing the service.

William Saponaro Jr. was arrested in 2012 after an encounter involving him, the 13-year-old boy and another man who knew Saponaro and had met the boy on the Grindr app. Saponaro, who owns a construction company in Cape May, sued Grindr for negligence and infliction of emotional distress, saying it allowed the boy to subscribe to it and present himself as being over the age of consent. A federal judge in Camden, in an opinion published on Friday, dismissed Saponaro's lawsuit. The judge cited federal law that protects online service providers from being held liable for content that users post on their sites. "If social network hosts are faced with liability every time third-party communications on their networks result in harm, they are left with two extreme courses of action if they wish to ensure insulation from liability," U.S. District Judge Jerome Simandle wrote. "Either over-police their networks, taking down communications that might ultimately be harmless; or, strip users of the ability to post communications altogether."

In my first post on the case last summer, I reported that Saponaro claims that it was the other adult who actually met the boy on Grindr and that Saponaro believed that having a Grindr account meant one must be at least 18 years old. At that time Grindr had filed a motion to dismiss, citing the Communications Decency Act, which they claim immunizes companies from bad acts resulting from misinformation provided by other parties. Charges of sexual assault and child endangerment remain pending against Saponaro.

Today In NOM Hypocrisy

"A New Jersey school teacher needs your help right away. Patricia Januzzi, a teacher at the Catholic Immaculata High School in New Jersey, is under fire and in danger of losing her job because she posted her opinions (which are not, in fact, contrary to the professed beliefs of the Catholic Church) about marriage and family on her Facebook page. In other words, activists are trying to pressure a Catholic School to fire a teacher for simply being a good Catholic! Contradicting same-sex 'marriage' orthodoxy means retaliation, we've seen it time and again. Apparently, these radical activists believe so much in their moral superiority that they believe they can dictate what a religion 2,000 years old and followed by over a billion people worldwide can and cannot say in public.  Joe, this is the true end-game of same-sex 'marriage' activists! They want to silence people like you and me and prevent us from being able to voice any opposition whatsoever to their radical agenda!" - Hate group leader Brian Brown, who very curiously said nothing two months ago when the Miami Archdiocese announced that they will fire any employee who uses social media to express support for LGBT rights.

DOJ To File Multiple Corruption Charges Against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ)

Via USA Today:

The Justice Department is expected to bring criminal charges against Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., involving his relationship with wealthy donor Salomon Melgen and accusations that the senator improperly advocated for the business interests of the Florida eye doctor in return for gifts, according to a person familiar with the matter. The charges are expected within the next few weeks, said the person who is not authorized to comment publicly. Menendez has previously denied wrongdoing. Asked Friday whether he authorized corruption charges against the New Jersey senator, Attorney General Eric Holder said: "I can't comment on that." CNN first reported the development Friday afternoon. News of a federal investigation first surfaced in 2013. In 2012, Melgen gave $700,000 to Democratic senators, including Menendez. Additionally, Menendez received free flights to the Dominican Republic in 2010. Menendez has been accused of assisting Melgen in a dispute the Florida ophthalmologist was engaged in with health care officials in the U.S. regarding Medicare payments, as well as urging Dominican Republic authorities to make good on a contract with a port security company of Melgen's.

Breitbart horcrux Matthew Boyle, whose 2013 claims about Menendez hiring Dominican prostitutes were thoroughly debunked, is taking credit.

NEW JERSEY: Appellate Court Dismisses "Prayer" Suit Against Applebee's

From the New York Daily News:

A New Jersey man who suffered burns to his face and legs from a sizzling-hot steak fajita skillet while praying had his suit against Applebee's thrown out. Divine intervention doesn't trump common sense, the state appellate court in Camden, N.J. ruled Wednesday. Hiram Jimenez claimed a waitress at the Westampton, N.J., restaurant did not tell him the skillet was hot during a 2010 visit with his brother, NJ.com reported. When the order arrived, he bowed his head in prayer over the entrée and the skillet splashed him with grease in the left eye and face, according to the suit. Jimenez then knocked the plate onto his lap. A lower court dismissed the case and a two-judge panel agreed. Applebee's was not negligent, they ruled.

The court ruled that it was "self-evident" that a sizzling plate of food would be hot.

Jersey City: America's Most Diverse Town

Via NJ.com:

From the gateway days of nearby Ellis Island to today, Jersey City has long been a true American melting pot. It's no surprise, then, that Jersey City is the most diverse city in the country, according to a new survey. After looking at 350 of the most populated cities in the United States, finance website WalletHub found that Jersey City came in No. 1 in ethno-racial and linguistic diversity. The study analyzed information from the U.S. Census Bureau in three categories: racial and ethnic diversity, which weighed the most, as well as language diversity and region of birth diversity. Jersey City got outstanding marks in all three, coming in at No. 3 for racial and ethnic diversity (bested only by Oakland and Vallejo, Calif.), No. 4 for language diversity and No. 7 for region of birth diversity. According to 2010 Census information, more Jersey City residents identified as white (32.7 percent), but other major ethnic groups also each made up a sizable portion of the population, with Black or African American at 25.8 percent, Asian at 23.7 and Hispanic or Latino at 27.6.

See the full study here.

Court Rules "Ex-Gay" Groups Can't Claim That Homosexuality Is A Disorder

The Southern Poverty Law Center has won a landmark battle in its consumer fraud lawsuit against the New Jersey-based "ex-gay" group JONAH.

A New Jersey Superior Court judge has ruled misrepresenting homosexuality as a disorder in marketing conversion therapy services violates the state’s consumer protection laws – a devastating ruling for the conversion therapy industry, which claims to “convert” people from gay to straight, the Southern Poverty Law Center announced today. The ruling marks the first time a court in the United States has found that homosexuality is not a disease or a disorder and that it is fraudulent for conversion therapists to make such a claim. Superior Court Judge Peter F. Barsio Jr. found that it “is a misrepresentation in violation of [New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act], in advertising or selling conversion therapy services, to describe homosexuality, not as being a normal variation of human sexuality, but as being a mental illness, disease, disorder, or equivalent thereof.” The ruling is part of the consumer fraud lawsuit filed by the SPLC against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), a New Jersey-based conversion therapy provider. The suit claims the group used deceptive practices to lure plaintiffs into their costly services for gay-to-straight therapy that can cost in excess of $10,000 a year.

Last week the same court ruled that JONAH could not call "ex-gay experts" as witnesses as their testimony would be mere "incestuous validation" of each others' research. Hit the first link and read much more about today's win. See the full ruling here. Maggie Gallagher is the chairperson of the legal group defending JONAH.

NEWARK: City Stresses That Real Estate Sale Is Open To Same-Sex Couples

A curious press release from the city of Newark:

Newark, NJ – Mayor Ras J. Baraka, the Newark Municipal Council, and Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Baye Adofo-Wilson announced today that the City of Newark will sell municipally-owned vacant lots city-wide for $1,000 each to couples seeking to construct homes on them, in a “Valentine’s Land Sale Day.” The sale will take place at Newark City Hall on Saturday, February 14 from 9 a.m. through 12 p.m.

WHAT: Newark Valentine’s Day Land Sale, in which municipally-owned vacant lots will be sold to couples—straight or LGBT—for $1,000 each as part of the City’s “Live Newark” program.

As part of the City’s “Live Newark” program, the lots will be sold for $1,000 each, with buyers required to make a $500 down payment and pay the additional $500 at closing. They are responsible for all closing costs, and must submit a City Planning Board approved site plan to close on the property, have a commitment letter from a financial institution and/or proof of cash to cover the cost of the infill new construction to close on the property, and complete that construction within 18 months of closing.

The lots are available for purchase for any couple, straight or LGBT, from anywhere. The couple must live in the property for five years after issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy. All sales must be approved by the Municipal Council.

I'm not aware of same-sex couples having been denied the right to buy property in Newark, so this seems like an odd way to promote urban redevelopment. Is there a backstory here that I'm missing?

NEW JERSEY: Judge Bars Key "Ex-Gay" Witnesses From SPLC Case Against JONAH

The Southern Poverty Law Center won a key victory yesterday in their consumer fraud suit against New Jersey-based JONAH, Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality. From the SPLC:

Superior Court Judge Peter F. Bariso Jr. excluded Joseph Nicolosi [PHOTO], Christopher Doyle, Dr. James Phelan and Dr. John Diggs as witnesses for the defense, holding that their opinions are based on the false premise that homosexuality is a disorder. Bariso wrote that “the theory that homosexuality is a disorder is not novel but – like the notion that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it – instead is outdated and refuted.” In New Jersey, scientific expert opinions must be based on premises and methodology generally accepted within the relevant professional field. Trial in the lawsuit against the New Jersey-based Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) is scheduled to begin in the early summer of 2015. The judge’s ruling shows that much of the JONAH experts’ planned testimony is irrelevant.

Nicolosi is the founder of NARTH. Equality Case Files provides some quotes from the judge's ruling:

"The overwhelming weight of scientific authority concludes that homosexuality is not a disorder or abnormal. The universal acceptance of that scientific conclusion -- save for outliers such as JONAH -- requires that any expert opinions to the contrary must be barred."

"[T]he theory that homosexuality is a disorder is not novel but -- like the notion that the earth is flat and the sun revolves around it -- instead is outdated and refuted. Homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder in the DSM until its removal in 1973. Although the DSM has added newly recognized disorders as a result of evolving understandings of the medical field, this case presents the opposite situation: the APA removed homosexuality from the DSM upon concluding that it was not a disorder. JONAH has not identified any case that provides a standard for the admission of obsolete and discredited scientific theories. By definition, such theories are unreliable and can offer no assistance to the jury, but rather present only confusion and prejudice."

"The existence of a minority of conversion therapy proponents does not and cannot negate the fact that the DSM and its exclusion of homosexuality are generally accepted in the mental health field. Furthermore, a group of a few closely associated experts cannot incestuously validate one another as a means of establishing the reliability of their shared theories."

BOOM. Maggie Gallagher is the chairperson of the legal group defending JONAH.

Chris Christie Launches 2016 PAC

Via the Associated Press:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has taken his firmest step yet toward running for president, launching an organization that allows him to raise money for a potential 2016 campaign. While not a formal entry into the race, opening the political action committee will allow Christie to begin to hire staffers, build the foundations of a campaign operation and travel across the country as he weighs a final decision on a run. The creation of the political action committee — called Leadership Matters for America — was widely expected, and comes not long after former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush announced in December he was launching a similar organization, which kicked off an aggressive race to lock down establishment donors and may have drawn 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney into the race. A mission statement on the organization's website echoes themes that Christie has focused in recent speeches, including remarks on Saturday in Iowa in front of conservative activists.

A recent poll showed Christie losing a potential matchup with Hillary Clinton by 13 points.