Fitzgerald Case News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Attorney, this could be the garden state trail that federal agents are now pursuing. our question tonight, when does hardball politics become a crime? and is the behavior of the new jersey governor and his tainted political crew such a case? michael isikoff, cnbc news investigative correspondent, and stanley brand, current public corruption lawyer. he was general counsel to the u.s. house of representatives. michael isikoff, what do you make of? what has been said by del tufo about a possible rico statute investigation? >> things in the last few days have gotten much more serious for governor ...

Possible. they're also disputing there was any evidence of sexual assault. >> i know you've been following this case before this court session. thank you very much for joining us tonight. when does political hardball cross the line? let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews out in san francisco. let me ignite things tonight with this statement by the former new jersey attorney general and former u.s. attorney, robert del tufo, that prosecutors may be looking at a rico charge against the office of governor chris christie. is this real? is there a case that the pattern of polit...

Attorney, robert deltufo, that prosecutors may be looking at a rico charge against the office of governor chris christie. is this real? is there a case that the pattern of politics here evident in the bridge closings, the possible denial of hurricane relief money to hoboken, the accusations by a democratic of interfering with a judicial proceedings in huntingdon county constitutes evidence of a criminal enterprise? is this what led federal authorities to interview mayor dawn zimmer? would this hold up to jury scrutiny, even a grand jury? is playing rough to redevelop your reelection vote possi...

Governor, guadagno, to mayor zimmer that if she didn't play ball on the rockefeller project on the waterfront there she wouldn't get any more federal money from the state, i mean more state money. would that be if that were determined to be a fact, you're saying that wouldn't be criminal? >> right. i would defend that the same way i defended on your show when they promised joe sestak a job to get him out of the race against arlen specter. it's political maneuvering. not every political maneuver, not every hardball political threat is a crime. >> but how about denial of appropriate federal fund...

Schar, who is this top flight guy coming in from the fitzgerald case -- or actually the blagojevich case out in illinois which he won that prosecution. let me go to stan brand. does this look like an important development that they've combined their legislative forces here? >> big-time. because you know, chris, from working in the congress, when you have competition and rivalries between two chambers' investigative committees you have problems. it's much better for them to try to coordinate and get together on this than be rival groups competing with one another. >> but at the end of the day, ...