Disturbing dearth of coverage following BRAD BLOG's exclusive report two days ago...

Brad Friedman Byon 2/24/2011, 3:42pm PT

A full two days after The BRAD BLOG exclusively broke the story of allegations by Yvonne Smith Segars, the chief of the New Jersey Public Defender's office, charging Gov. Chris Christie with "bullying tactics" and violations of state law, as well as both the NJ and U.S. Constitutions, in trying to muscle her out of office and inappropriately attempting to take over hiring there, a NJ newspaper has finally covered the story as well. It is the only one to do so, so far, to our knowledge.

Here's NJ Star-Ledger columnist Bob Braun finally ringing in with smart coverage: "N.J. public defender says Christie is trying to force her to resign," in which he notes:

[T]he issue isn’t Segars. The issue isn’t jobs Christie can’t fill because Democrats won’t confirm his nominations. The issue is the independence and integrity of an office that stands between the power of the state and the powerlessness of the poor.

Other than Braun's report today, and our own from Tuesday, there appears to be virtually no coverage of this story anywhere else, even as it seems to be a very important one --- particularly given the seriousness of the charges leveled by Segars in the letter she sent to the Governor on Monday (linked in our original report); the fact that her attorney has gone on record calling the matter a "power grab," comparing Christie to a "king" who has "tampered with the independence of the judiciary and...the Public Defender" meriting impeachment by the state legislature; and especially as it involves allegations of strong-arming and potential law-breaking by a quickly-rising GOP superstar said to be a future Presidential contender.

But, then again, he's a Republican. So, there ya go. Nothing to see here? Knock, knock, New York Times! Anybody still covering actual news in your NJ Bureau next door?

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UPDATE: It seems the Philadelphia Inquirer also picked up the story today in it's South Jersey News section (though it did not appear in our Google News search, for some reason). Unlike the Inquirer or the Star-Ledger, the online NJ politics outlet PolitickerNJ had the courtesy of crediting us for the scoop in their coverage yesterday by editor Darryl R. Isherwood.



