Gov. Christie Has 128th Town Hall Meeting at Moorestown Recreation Center

Gov. Chris Christie file photo.

(Aris Economopoulos/NJ Advance Media)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Gov. Chris Christie didn't have any interest tonight in discussing the controversial Exxon Mobil settlement.

The governor, who gave a keynote address at a Republican Party event in Florida, brushed off questions about the settlement before heading into a closed-door reception here at the beachfront estate that hosted the event.

"You have to talk to the attorney general," Christie said when asked about the state's $8.9 billion lawsuit against the oil giant settling for $225 million.

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"The attorney general's office is the one that made that deal and I think they put a statement out on it," he said.

Christie's resistance to discuss the settlement came after his office issued a scathing attack on Thursday on former state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bradley Campbell, who charged a top gubernatorial staffer with having "elbowed" his way into the settlement negotiations.

Campbell claimed the administration's move to quietly settle an $8.9 billion lawsuit with Exxon over the pollution at two industrial sites came after a top Christie staffer took over the settlement agreement. Campbell, who leveled the claim in an op-ed published in The New York Times, said Christie's chief counsel, Christopher Porrino, "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."

In a note to reporters by Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts, the governor's office called Campbell's claims "baseless allegations" made by a "many-time Democratic appointee."

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