TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie, already mired in a scandal over whether his aides caused a traffic jam in Fort Lee as political retribution, is being investigated by federal officials about his use of Hurricane Sandy relief money, a New Jersey congressman announced today.

UPDATE:

Chris Christie calls federal Sandy money probe 'routine and standard'

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.) said that the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will audit New Jersey's use of $25 million of federal Sandy aid funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore, including a television ad that featured Christie and his family prominently during his re-election campaign.



The firm chosen by the state to put together tourism advertisements that featured Christie and his family, MWW, submitted a bid of $4.7 million. Another bid that was not selected would have cost $2.5 million, but the governor wouldn't have appeared in the ads.

“I commend the HUD Office of the Inspector General for investigating whether the state properly utilized taxpayer funds for this marketing campaign,” Pallone said in a press release. “Working with my New Jersey colleagues, we had to fight hard to get the Sandy aid package passed by assuring others in Congress the funding was desperately needed and would be spent responsibly. I also raised concerns that Governor Christie and his family appeared in taxpayer-funded advertisements during an election year.”

The investigation grew out of a letter Pallone wrote to the department's inspector general in August, in which he said it was "inappropriate for taxpayer-funded dollars that are critical to our state’s recovery from this natural disaster to fund commercials that could potentially benefit a political campaign."

Pallone was informed last week that after an initial review of the spending, the office found "enough evidence to justify a full-scale audit of the state’s usage of the federal funds." Pallone said the audit will take several months, after which the inspector general will issue a report.

Ian O'Connor, a spokesman for the HUD's Office of the Inspector General, said his office would neither confirm or deny an investigation is underway.

He would not comment further.

The East-Rutherford based MWW is a "prolific" political contributor, according to an August story published by the Asbury Park Press, which initially reported the controversy. The firm it beat out, the Sigma Group, has not donated to campaigns, that report said. The Department of Housing and Urban Development's investigation was first reported by CNN this morning.

Christie's office and MWW did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The news about the Sandy investigation comes days after the governor fired two aides who had knowledge of the George Washington Bridge lane access lane closures that snarled traffic in Fort Lee for four days in September.

Christie repeatedly denied he was involved or knew of the plan.

The two aides, Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Stepien, are expected to be subpeaoned by a state Assembly committee investigating the lanes closures.

Star-Ledger staff writers Erin O'Neill and Jenna Portnoy contributed to this report.

RELATED COVERAGE

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