In a 2009 campaign ad that first surfaced online on November 10, Jon Corzine, then the sitting governor of New Jersey, boasted the strong endorsement of President Barack Obama. Corzine lost his re-election bid to then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, and later became the subject of intense scandal when his brokerage, MF Global Holdings Ltd., filed for bankruptcy protection on October 31.
The advertisement shows Obama praising Corzine during a July 16, 2009 campaign appearance in Holmdel, N.J. The ad’s footage shows a large crowd waving signs reading “Obama & Corzine: Working together to keep New Jersey working.”
“Jon’s a leader who’s been called to govern in some extraordinary times,” Obama said then. “Jon Corzine wasn’t just the first governor to pass an economic recovery plan for his state. He was an ally with the Obama administration in helping us develop a national recovery plan.”
Watch:
MF Global is the largest U.S. company to seek federal bankruptcy protection since Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2008.
CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange, served as MF Global’s auditor and self-policing agency. CME said on Nov. 1 that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was investigating MF Global for allegedly failing to segregate its clients’ funds from its own brokerage accounts.
The CFTC is a division of the federal Securities and Exchange Commission. Business Week has reported that the agency is investigating the movement of approximately $600 million in MF Global client funds. Regulators have not yet located the money, leaving open the possibility that the firm’s clients will not be repaid for their losses under its mismanagement.
CME said on Nov. 2 that the funds were moved “in a manner that may have been designed to avoid detection.”
Corzine became MF Global’s chairman and CEO in March 2010. He had previously served as CEO of Goldman Sachs, and served five years of a six-year term in the U.S. Senate before being elected governor of New Jersey in 2005.
David is The Daily Caller’s executive editor. Follow him on Twitter