Romney Helps Christie Settle Bridgegate Debt

Tonight, former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney gets his footnote in the Bridgegate saga.

Romney is hosting a fundraiser for the New Jersey Republican party that is billed as a birthday party for Gov. Christie, who turned 52 this week. The event at the Hilton East Brunswick is expected to draw 1,000 people and raise $600,000. 

The money is needed for two contested congressional races and a senate campaign this year, but also for this: The party was subpoenaed by investigators as part of the investigations and owes $125,000 to its attorney, Mark Sheridan of Squire Patton Boggs.

Romney's bash for Christie costs between $150 and $25,000 per person. You can also drop $15 to sign the governor's card, or $75 to write him a full message.

Christie was the first prominent Republican to endorse Romney's presidential candidacy in 2012, and Romney nearly chose Christie to be his running mate. Although Romney has made noise about possibly jumping into the 2016 race, Christie said yesterday that was irrelevant given his own own probable candidacy.

"I had no hesitation to ask Mitt Romney to come, and he seemed to have no hesitation in saying yes," Christie said. "I think that’s the relationship of two mature adults who like each other and consider each other friends, which we do. Whether he decides to run for president or whether I decide to run for president that's off into the future."