Doing Trump a favor, Chris Christie allowed New Jersey to take a loss of $25 million

According to a report from the New York Times, in 2010 during Chris Christie’s early reign as governor of New Jersey, Donald Trump’s casinos owed the state around $30 million in back taxes.

After 6 years of the state trying to get its money through litigation, Christie, after a just a year of being in office, agreed to a settlement of just $5 million. Trump was off the hook.

Christie, who according to the Times said that he wasn’t aware of the tax dispute and that he wouldn’t comment on the settlement, had been a friend of Trump’s for years before he became governor of NJ, first being introduced to the real state mogul in 2002 by Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, who is a federal judge.

Christie was in attendance at Trump’s third wedding in 2005 and Trump was on hand for Christie’s inauguration in 2010.

Although settlements like the one that saved Trump’s ass aren’t uncommon, the chunk of money that was forgiven in this particular one is.

From the New York Times:

The Trump casinos may not have been able to afford their long overdue taxes, but they did not turn suddenly spartan, either. They continued to rent a helicopter from Mr. Trump for $390,000 a year, until they filed for bankruptcy again in 2014.

After the settlement was finalized in 2012, Trump and Christie were seen double dating with their wives at fancy restaurants across New York.

Featured image: Bob Jagendorf (Flickr)

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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