Documents Show Millions in Spending on Pro-Christie Ads
Documents from New York area television stations show millions of dollars have been spent on pro-Chris Christie ads through a largely secret group called Committee for Our Children's Future. Federal regulations say local television stations need to make information about local ad buys available.
Last week, WNYC reported that a total of $6 million have been spent on the ads, which some experts say is indistinguishable from a Christie campaign ad, even though Christie doesn't run for re-election until 2013.
Committee For Our Children's Future is a 501(c)(4) non-profit issue advocacy. Under the law, such groups don't have to make their donors public - unlike candidate committees and PACs - if their purpose is an educational one.
The documents, attached here, are from five television stations - WNYC/Channel 4, WCBS/Channel 2, WABC/Channel 5, Fox 5 New York, and WPIX channel 11.
Copies of the checks, also attached, show the ad buyer is Jamestown associates, the same ad buyers Christie used for his 2009 campaign for governor.
And a contact address, also on the forms, can be traced back Kevin F. Feeley, a Christie donor whose son has worked for Christie as an intern. A separate address links back to the Blackstone Group, which has done political campaign consulting for former GOP nominee John McCain.
Christie has distanced himself from the group. The documents are attached here.
Additional Reporting by Colby Hamilton
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