Christie Didn't Disclose Free Cowboys Tickets on State Form
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Chris Christie may be a Dallas Cowboys fan, to the consternation of his New Jersey constituents, but the governor makes no mention of the free games on his official financial disclosure form filed with the state last week.
Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones provided the tickets to three games last season for free, as well as a private jet to Texas for a playoff game.
The New Jersey Ethics Commission asked the state attorney general for an opinion on how far Christie's executive order requiring financial disclosure actually goes. The six-page opinion does not address the tickets specifically, but goes into detail on defining "gifts and other gratuities."
Bottom line, according to the attorney general's opinion: a gift would have to be linked to "services rendered" to be reportable.
But some suggest the tickets represented more than a mere gift on Jones' part to a fellow sports fan, given that the Cowboys are part owners in a company doing business with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Christie's financial report was filed the day after the attorney general's opinion was issued.