Federal Inquiry Into Chris Christie Bridge Scandal Faces Uphill Battle

Quoted in this Huffington Post piece. 

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"This may fall under the category of egregious behavior which we wish is criminal, but may or may not be," Loyola Law School professor Jessica A. Levinson told The Huffington Post.

Back when he was U.S. attorney, Christie was known for his aggressive pursuit of public corruption cases, often against politicians who happened to be Democrats. At the time, he was armed with the broad "honest services" statute, which was used to go after public corruption until it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2010. The law, which made it illegal to deprive "another of the intangible right of honest services," was deemed unconstitutional. Nowadays, there has to be some sort bribery or kickback scheme to bring a honest services charge.

Levinson confirmed that an honest service charge is out for now unless information regarding improper payments comes out. "Right now this just looks like political retribution," she said.