YOUR DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE IN ACTION – AT 9:07 A.M. ET:  If President Obama wants to save himself, he might consider finding a private-sector job for Attorney General Eric Holder.  Under Holder, the Justice Department is becoming a bad joke.

The department is already at work disparaging possible 2012 Republican presidential candidates.  If you think this report is just coincidence, you're on another planet:

Tough-talking, budget-busting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has a new nickname: "Attorney C."

The fiscally conservative governor and former U.S. attorney faced accusations during his 2009 campaign that he often stayed in expensive hotels that exceeded the government's approved reimbursement rates.

In a report released Monday, Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine confirmed that five unnamed former U.S. attorneys, including Christie, routinely exceeded government lodging rates "by large amounts, with insufficient, inaccurate, or no justification."

Government lodging rates vary depending on location and dates of travel. In 2009, the government rate in New York City ranged from $360 during the busy holiday season and $259 during summer months. The government rate for Peoria, Ill. in 2009 was $70 per night for the entire year.

Though the report does not use names, three of the former U.S. attorneys were men, two were women, and the description of hotel bills submitted by "Attorney C" match news reports about Christie's hotel bills published in the final weeks of the 2009 campaign. Christie was one of two former U.S. attorneys who declined to be interviewed by Fine's office.

COMMENT:  Chris Christie is a great governor, and a possible presidential candidate.  The Dems fear him.

Look, if Christie did anything wrong, he should reimburse the government.  But this issue was dealt with in his campaign, and his explanations for exceeding government guidelines seemed reasonable and practical.  Sometimes, rooms at government rates just weren't available, and he was on official business.

The report is an attempt to discredit Christie, just as the 2012 president sweepstakes begin.  I'd imagine other Republican candidates will suddenly find themselves under scrutiny by government agencies, or by the ever-vigilant (hah) media.  It's the same media that never quite developed the interest to ask questions about one John Edwards.  Or, for that matter, about one Barack Obama.

If I were Marco Rubio, I'd watch my back.

November 9, 2010