New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says General Motors employees should be jailed for allegedly covering up a dangerous ignition switch flaw in cars that were subject to a high-profile recall in 2014.
“You bet they do,” he said when was asked in CNBC’s GOP presidential debate Wednesday about whether GM officials should be prosecuted.
“If I were the prosecutor, that’s exactly where they would be,” the 2016 contender continued, referring to prison.
{mosads}Critics have complained a $900 million settlement that was reached between General Motors and the Department of Justice over the recalls did not include criminal charges for high-ranking former GM executives.
Justice Department officials announced in September that GM agreed to pay fines in exchange for deferring prosecution on criminal charges related to allegations the company covered up problems with its cars for years before the ignition switch recall was issued in 2014.
Christie, who is a former U.S. attorney, said in the debate on Wednesday that the decision to defer prosecution for GM officials is evidence of biased treatment under President Obama’s Justice Department.
“This Justice Department under this president has been a political Justice Department,” he said. “It’s been a Justice Department that’s decided they want to pick who the winners and losers are. They like General Motors, so they give them a pass.”