An attorney representing Jersey Freedom and its leader, Eric Peterson, said in a court filing today that a lawsuit filed by Republicans should be dismissed and its bank accounts unfrozen.
William Tambussi agrees with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission that they have primary jurisdiction over allegations that Jersey Freedom violated state election law.
“The court should decline jurisdiction,” Tambussi argues. “To do otherwise and proceed with this action, when the Legislature has expressly delegated that ELEC handle such matters, would run afoul of these principles.”
Jersey Freedom, a shadowy dark money group formed last summer, spent money supporting a phantom State Senate candidate in South Jersey’s 4th legislative district. They sent out mailers and ran digital ads and cable TV ads on Fox News, trying to get Republicans to abandon their candidate and go with a conservative alternative, the mythical Giuseppe Costanzo.
The tenebrous group did the same in an Atlantic County Senate race, this time telling Republicans to vote for a legitimate candidate, Libertarian Shawn Peck, instead of the GOP incumbent, State Sen. Vincent Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Township).
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office has already launched a criminal investigation into Jersey Freedom after allegations that the independent expenditure committee violated state campaign finance laws.
Just days before the November election, Superior Court Judge Michael Blee froze Jersey Freedom’s bank account and barred them from spending additional resources.
Tambussi claims that Blee’s temporary restraints “have been and remain prejudiced by these restraints, as the restraints preclude any ability of Jersey Freedom to conclude its financial affairs as an independent expenditure committee.”
It wasn’t until after the election that the source of Jersey Freedom’s funding was Brighter Future Forward, an independent expenditure committee directly tied to the South Jersey Democratic machine. And it wasn’t until two weeks ago that the founding donor of Jersey Freedom, Christopher Bastardi, became publicly identified. Bastardi is the business partner of Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky, who also has ties to South Jersey Democrats.
Peterson has no apparent ties to politics and declined to say who hired him. His previous job experience included a stint as a drag makeup artist for “Thank You For Being a Friend: The Golden Girls Musical.”
Still unclear is who solicited funds for the shadowy group and who signed off on messaging and strategy.