Chris Christie failed to disclose free Mets tickets, big speaking fees: gov't docs

Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie omitted some notable perks and sources of income on the first go-around of a required financial disclosure report, according to a Raw Story analysis of new federal documents.

Christie, the former New Jersey governor who is polling fifth nationally for the Republican nomination, quietly amended his public financial disclosure report on Dec. 1 to reveal he had received "free attendance" to New York Mets baseball games and that he earned nearly $750,000 in previously undisclosed speaking fees during 2022 and 2023 from a variety of special interest groups and corporate entities.

The U.S. Office of Government of Ethics (OGE) certified Christie's amended disclosure on Wednesday.

The previously unreported speaking fees come from a range of entities, including $70,000 from Deutsche Bank, $35,000 from the Business Council of Canada and $100,000 between two events for banking giant Barclays.

The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, the National Grocers Association, the American Council of Life Insurers, the American Council of Engineering Companies and the Berkeley Research Group — a global consulting firm — also paid Christie five-figure sums.

Christie originally filed a personal financial disclosure report — mandatory for all presidential candidates — in early October.

Raw Story first reported on Oct. 5 that Christie earned more as a senior legal and political commentator for ABC News than he would as president, bringing in a $475,000 salary. He also reported earning more then $1.6 million from his consulting firm, Christie 55 Solutions, nearly $700,000 from his law firm via salary and his partnership share, more then $400,000 from the various boards of directors he serves on and another $430,000 from speaking fees.

Additionally, Christie originally reported $15,000 to $50,000 from Johnson & Johnson through royalties he earns from Listerine, the mouthwash owned by a J&J subsidiary, Politico reported. He reported hundreds of investments, including stocks in defense contractors such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin, tobacco company Phillip Morris, pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Pfizer, gas company ExxonMobil and semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom.

Christie also disclosed in October that he continued to serve as a board member of the New York Mets baseball club and indicated he did not receive a salary. But his amended report shows that Christie does receive a financial benefit in the form of free attendance to Mets games — the disclosure did not offer an estimated value of that free attendance or indicate whether Christie was able to entertain guests for free.

In October, Christie disclosed he had earned $414,940 from the Harry Walker Agency, but that dollar total did not appear on his amended report.

Christie's October personal financial disclosure was filed after federal regulators granted Christie two 90-day extensions, the report said.

Christie participated in Wednesday's Republican presidential primary debate hosted by NewsNation in Tuscaloosa, Ala., alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

All five trail former President Donald Trump who is the far-and-away front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, polling at nearly 60 percent.

Christie's best polling numbers thus far are in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, where some recent surveys place him third behind Trump and Haley.

Christie's campaign did not immediately respond to Raw Story's request for comment.