Christie delivers Clinton ‘indictment’

CLEVELAND — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday night laid out what he called his “indictment” against presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. 

Christie, a former prosecutor, noted the Justice Department’s recent decision not to bring criminal charges over the former secretary of State’s use of a personal email server.  

{mosads}“Since the Justice Department refuses to allow you to render a verdict, let’s present the case now, on the facts, against Hillary Clinton,” he said.

“She was America’s chief diplomat. Look around at the violence and danger in our world today; every region of the world has been infected with her flawed judgment. But let me be specific, so you can render your verdict.”

Christie’s case against Clinton expanded from the email case to foreign policy and her record as President Obama’s secretary of State.  

He mentioned the Iran nuclear deal, the 276 kidnapped schoolgirls in Nigeria, her views on Libya, Syria and the lifting restrictions with Cuba.

After each pitch, he would ask: Guilty or not guilty? The delegates — some of whom carried signs saying “Hillary for Prison” — shouted back “guilty.”

At several points during the speech, delegates chanted, “lock her up, lock her up.” 

“Oh, we’re not done yet, the indictment is hardly complete,” Christie said at one point. 

“In Russia, she went to the Kremlin on her very first visit and gave them the stupid, symbolic reset button,” he said, calling her an inept negotiator. 

“The button should have read, ‘delete,’ as she is very good at that.”

“We know exactly what four years of Hillary Clinton will bring: all the failures of the Obama years, but with less charm and more lies,” he said. 

Christie, who was once under consideration to be Trump’s vice president and had mounted his own Oval Office bid, pivoted to the GOP nominee. He said at the outset that the two men had been friends for 14 years.

“We have a man who is unafraid. We have a man who wants to lead us. We have a man who understands the frustrations and the aspirations of our fellow citizens,” he said.

“We have a man who judges people based on their performance regardless of your gender, race, ethnic or religious background,” Christie said, adding, “We do not need to settle for less.”

The New Jersey governor had criticized Trump during the primary campaign, calling the New York businessman one of the “carnival barkers of today.” 

“Showtime is over. We are not electing an entertainer-in-chief,” Christie said of Trump in January. “Showmanship is fun, but it is not the kind of leadership that will truly change America.”

He became the first of the 16-person GOP presidential field to endorse Trump a month later.