Christie Settles $9 Billion NJ Pollution Case Against Exxon for $250 Million

     (illustration by DonkeyHotey)

I just caught this on Maddow and found a late-breaking article in The  New York Times:

A long-fought legal battle to recover $8.9 billion in damages from Exxon Mobil Corporation for the contamination and loss of use of more than 1,500 acres of wetlands, marshes, meadows and waters in northern New Jersey has been quietly settled by the state for around $250 million.

The lawsuits, filed by the State Department of Environmental Protection in 2004, had been litigated by the administrations of four New Jersey governors, finally advancing last year to trial. By then, Exxon’s liability was no longer in dispute; the only issue was how much it would pay in damages.

...

Exxon did contribute $500,000 to the Republican Governors Association in May 2014, when Mr. Christie was serving a one-year term as its chairman; the company has contributed annually to the group since at least 2008, records show.

...

A spokesman for Mr. Christie referred questions about the settlement to the attorney general’s office. A spokesman for the acting attorney general, John J. Hoffman, said on Thursday that the office had no comment, as was its practice with pending litigation. Exxon also declined to comment on the settlement.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

Rachel said her show submitted several questions to the Christie Administration about this sham of a deal, but so far has heard NOTHING from anybody. She rightly pointed out that this amounts to a settlement that is a mere 3% of the original damages. She also suggested that this could become a "scandal".