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A Democratic lawmaker is calling on the N.J. Acting Attorney General John Hoffman, pictured in this file photo, to resign.

(O'Boyle, John/NJ Advance Media)

TRENTON — A Democratic state lawmaker is calling on New Jersey's acting attorney general to resign amid accusations from a former government official that a top Gov. Chris Christie aide drove a settlement deal with Exxon Mobil.

State Sen. Raymond Lesniak (D-Union) said today acting Attorney General John Hoffman "must resign" if statements made by former state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell are true.

UPDATE:

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Campbell penned an op-ed on Wednesday that charged Christie's chief counsel of having "elbowed" his way into a multi-billion-dollar settlement negotiation with Exxon. The op-ed, published by The New York Times, came after the newspaper reported Christie administration's is quietly moving to settle the $8.9 billion lawsuit with Exxon over the pollution at two industrial sites for $250 million.

"Apparently, this administration took it out of the hands of the career attorneys handling toxic contamination cases for the attorney general and the Department of Environmental Protection and had the governor's office engineer a depleted settlement," Lesniak said in a statement.

"If former Commissioner Campbell's information is accurate, Acting Attorney General Hoffman has abdicated his responsibility as the chief law enforcement officer of the state by allowing the governor's office to interfere in the litigation, resulting in sweetheart deal for Exxon but a bad deal for New Jersey," he said.

Campbell charged Christie's chief counsel, Christopher Porrino, with having "inserted himself into the case, elbowed aside the attorney general and career employees who had developed and prosecuted the litigation, and cut the deal favorable to Exxon."



"The decision by the administration of Gov. Chris Christie to settle an environmental lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corporation for roughly three cents on the dollar after more than a decade of litigation is an embarrassment to law enforcement and good government," Campbell wrote.

A lawmaker on the other side of the aisle, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Union), quickly came to Hoffman's defense today, saying Lesniak's comments are "off base."

"Sen. Lesniak's call for the attorney general to resign is unfair," he said. "The facts of the proposed settlement and the issues have not been examined yet."

He added: "John Hoffman is an attorney with the utmost personal integrity and character."

The alleged intervention by Christie's office at the Attorney General's Office may again raise concern that the current attorney general, John Hoffman, continues to serve in an acting capacity, working at the governor's discretion with none of the constitutional protections, intended to provide a measure of independence, of a confirmed attorney general.

The attorney general's office didn't immediately respond to a request seeking comment.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.