The governor questioned the sanity of a Democratic state senator pursuing an official misconduct investigation against him, but defended a GOP senator doing the same. Watch video
TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie used his monthly radio show Monda night to publicly question the mental health of a state senator's call for a special prosecutor to handle a criminal complaint alleging official misconduct by the governor in Bergen County.
"I know it disappoints a lunatic like Ray Lesniak," Christie said, referring to the end of the recently concluded Fort Lee lane closure trial in federal court.
Two weeks ago, Lesniak (D-Union) penned a letter to state Attorney General Christopher Porrino, calling for a special prosecutor to be appointed by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner to investigate a criminal complaint filed in Bergen municipal court by a citizen activist.
The attorney general subsequently denied Lesniak's request, but the senator has taken up the call for an independent counsel within the Legislature.
"He is a crazy quack," Christie said of Lesniak during the radio show on 101.5-FM. "And everybody in the statehouse knows that Ray Lesniak's crazy. And they put up with him because he's nuts. ... Talk to anyone in the Legislature privately, and they will tell you that he is not 'with it,' not of right mind. And they don't know when they're going to get the next lunatic email from him at 2 o'clock in the morning."
Lesniak, reached by NJ Advance Media on Monday night, laughed off the governor's criticism.
"Obviously, I struck a raw nerve when I called for a special prosecutor," Lesniak said.
"No wonder Trump isn't giving him anything," he added. I never thought I'd have something in common with Donald Trump, but here we are."
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An hour after "Ask the Governor" concluded, Lesniak had taken to Twitter to use Christie's attacks to further his petition seeking a special prosecutor, which had already received some 5,000 signatures.
No better time than now to sign my petition at http://raymondlesniak.com/specialprosecutor/
-- Senator Ray Lesniak (@SenatorLesniak) November 22, 2016
On Monday, state Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Monmouth) signed on to Lesniak's bill that would require the attorney general to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Christie.
But the governor noted she was up for re-election.
"She's running for re-election in a tough district where she intends to be challenged by Democrats, and she wants to do everything she can to distinguish herself from her party," Christie said.
"That may be a wise decision on her part, or an unwise one," he added. "I think it's unwise."
Beck did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.
Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.