Embattled Gov. Christie faces audit over Sandy funds

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News media crews wait for the Harris vs. Quinn decision in the final days of the Supreme Court’s term. The high court held that personal home-care employees cannot be forced to pay dues to a union, but it stopped short of extending the ruling to all public employees. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

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Anti-abortion advocates cheer in front of the Supreme Court after the decision in Burwell vs. Hobby Lobby Stores. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Christian business owners with religious objections may refuse to provide their employees with insurance coverage for contraceptives. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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Former Procter and Gamble executive Robert McDonald speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York in 2011. President Obama chose McDonald to succeed Eric Shinseki as secretary of Veterans Affairs in late June. (Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)

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President Obama speaks at a fundraiser the night before the Supreme Court ruled he had exceeded his power in filling three seats on the National Labor Relations Board while the Senate was on recess. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

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Opponents of abortion celebrate the McCullen vs. Coakley decision outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The court overturned a Massachusetts law barring protests within a 35-feet “buffer zone” around abortion clinics. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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Smoke rises from the Colstrip Steam Electric Station, a coal burning power plant in in Colstrip, Mont. In a ruling that confirmed the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to restrict greenhouse gases, the Supreme Court upheld most of the Obama administration’s environmental regulations. (Matt Brown / Associated Press)

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Vice President Biden meets with Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Biden traveled to Central America in hopes of slowing the flood of child migrants crossing the U.S. border. (Saul Martinez / EPA)

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Former President George H.W. Bush celebrates his 90th birthday by skydiving in Kennebunkport, Maine. Bush has also gone parachute jumping for his 75th, 80th and 85th birthdays. (Eric Shea / Getty Images)

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Rep. Kevin McCarthy walks in a Capitol hallway shortly before being elected House Majority Leader in June. The position opened after Rep. Eric Cantor lost his reelection campaign in a stunning primary defeat. McCarthy, a Bakersfield Republican, is the first Californian to fill the post. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

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Rep. Eric Cantor announces his resignation from his post as House Majority Leader after losing his reelection campaign to Tea Party challenger David Brat. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

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Sen. Harry Reid hugs a supporter in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev. The senator, who often brings up his humble upbringing in Searchlight, moved to Las Vegas from the famously small, desert mining town in June. (Laura Rauch / Associated Press)

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton signs a copy of her book “Hard Choices” in June. Many speculate Clinton’s book tour could be a precursor to an announcement of her candidacy for president. (Ed Andrieski / Associated Press)

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Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki speaks in May shortly before stepping down in the midst of a scandal over healthcare for veterans. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the Easter Bunny stand with their hands on their hearts as Cam Anthony sings the national anthem at the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on Saturday. (Carolyn Kaster / AP)

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President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden applaud outgoing Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius during a news conference in the White House Rose Garden on April 11. Sebelius, who oversaw the rocky rollout of the Affordable Care Act, resigned after five years in the post. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)

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President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama take the stage at the LBJ Presidential Library April 10 during a summit marking the 50th anniversary of the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (Pool / Getty Images)

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More than 7 million Americans signed up for health coverage during the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period, President Obama tells supporters and lawmakers at the White House on April 1. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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In the final hours of Obamacare’s first open enrollment period, Vice President Joe Biden talks to attendees at an Affordable Care Act signup site in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

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Billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson listens to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speak during the Republican Jewish Coalition spring leadership meeting in Las Vegas. Some dubbed the gathering “the Sheldon primary,” as Republican presidential hopefuls vied for Adelson’s support. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

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President Obama asked Congress to end government storage of data from millions of U.S. phone calls. Under Obama’s plan, announced March 27, the National Security Agency would instead be required to access the records directly from phone companies. (Patrick Semansky / AP)

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Members of the Secret Service’s counter -ssault team walk across the tarmac of a Belgium airport on March 26. Three agents were sent home from the Netherlands just before President Obama’s arrival after one agent was found inebriated in an Amsterdam hotel. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP)

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) talks to reporters on Capitol Hill after announcing that the CIA’s improper search of a standalone computer network established for Congress had been referred to the Justice Department. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP)

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Republican David Jolly celebrates winning Florida’s special election on March 11. Jolly beat Democrat Alex Sink in a Tampa-area House district that had been held by the late Republican Rep. Bill Young, who died in October of cancer. (Chris Zuppa / Associated Press)

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In a speech closing out the Conservative Political Action Conference, Sarah Palin turned the Dr. Seuss classic “Grren Eggs and Ham” into a full-blown critique of the Obama presidency. “I do not like this Uncle Sam,” she said. “I do not like his healthcare scam.” (T.J. Kirkpatrick / Getty Images)

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A freelance news producer for NBC News sorts through pages of White House documents after their release to the public on Feb. 28. The Clinton Presidential Library made available about 3,400 pages of previously unreleased documents involving former President Bill Clinton’s administration. (Stephen B. Thornton / Getty Images)

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President Barack Obama, right, meets with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) in the Oval Office. During their first one-on-one meeting in more than a year, they discussed trade and the California drought. (Alex Wong / Getty Images )

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Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, center, meets with House Speaker John A. Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at the U.S. Capitol. (Charles Dharapak / Associated Press)

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Aboard Air Force One en route to Mexico, President Barack Obama signs an executive order streamlining the export/import process for American business. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

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With California facing a severe water crisis, President Obama announced millions of dollars in federal drought assistance. (Wally Skalij / Associated Press)

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President Obama delivers remarks before signing an executive order raising the minimum wage to $10.10 on new federal contracts. (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images)

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First Lady Michelle Obama, French President Francois Hollande and President Obama arrive at a state dinner at the White House. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)

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A reinvigorated Atty. Gen. Eric Holder announces that the Obama administration will broaden government recognition of same-sex marriage in federal courts and prisons. (Kris Connor / Getty Images)

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After a two-year battle in Congress, President Obama signs a $1-trillion farm bill, passed in a rare show of bipartisanship. (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press)

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Rep. Henry A. Waxman, (D-Beverly Hills) fields phone calls in his Capitol Hill office after he announced his retirement. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

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Ben Bernanke walks down a hallway to an elevator at the Federal Reserve as he leaves his office on his last day as chairman of the central bank. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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President Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress at the Capitol. (Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images)

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Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg, an Army Ranger, acknowledges applause from the audience during President Obama’s State of the Union address on Capitol Hill. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

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Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) sits on a couch as she prepares to respond to President Obama’s State of the Union address. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is sworn in for his second term by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner during a ceremony in Trenton. (Mel Evans / Associated Press)

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Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, surrounded by news cameras, enters U.S. District Court in Richmond, Va., for his and his wife Maureen’s bond hearing and arraignment on federal corruption charges. (Dean Hoffmeyer / Associated Press)

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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee before speaking at the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C. Huckabee sparked controversy by claiming that Democrats believe women “cannot control their libido or their reproductive system without the help of government.” (Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

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Anti-abortion demonstrators protest in front of the Supreme Court and Capitol during the 41st annual March of Life in Washington, D.C. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images)

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President Obama delivers remarks on the nation’s intelligence programs in the Great Hall at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. (Shawn Thew / EPA)

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Gay Phillips, left, her partner, Sue Barton; and Mary Bishop and her partner Sharon Baldwin have a champagne toast during a celebration in Tulsa, Okla., after a federal judge struck down Oklahoma’s gay marriage ban. (James Gibbard / Associated Press)

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House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) leaves the House chamber on Capitol Hill after the final vote on a massive $1.1-trillion spending bill. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press)

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Alan Hoyle, of Lincolnton, N.C., stands outside the Supreme Court as the court heard arguments on a state of Massachusetts law setting a 35-foot protest-free zone outside abortion clinics. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press)

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) delivers a speech on reforming antipoverty programs and improving income mobility during a American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research event on Capitol Hill. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks at news conference in Trenton, N.J., about the “Bridgegate” scandal regarding massive traffic delays on the George Washington Bridge. (Jeff Zelevansky / Getty Images)

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Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords waves from a car in Eloy, Ariz., after making her first parachute jump on the third anniversary of the day she was shot in Tucson during a political event.

(Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

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Troy Williams, a local gay rights organizer, speaks to a crowd of supporters of gay marriage as they gathered to rally and deliver more than 58,000 petition signatures in support of gay marriage to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert at the Capitol in Salt Lake City. (Steve C. Wilson / Associated Press)

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Vice President Joe Biden speaks next to the coffin of late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem. (Sebastian Scheiner / Associated Press)

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New Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe takes the oath of office from Virginia Chief Justice Cynthia Kinser on the steps of the Capitol in Richmond. (Steve Helber / Associated Press)

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President Obama shares lunch with young outreach activists at the Coupe restaurant in Washington. (Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images)

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Secretary of State John F. Kerry, left, holds Idaho potatoes as a gift for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov before the start of their meeting at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Paris. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AFP/Getty Images)

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President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden talk during a photo-op that news photographers were allowed to document as they meet for lunch in the Private Dining Room of the White House. (Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press)

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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shovels the sidewalk in front of his house as a winter storm presented the first challenge of his tenure. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

By Alana Semuels

Jan. 13, 2014 10:21 AM PT

<i>This post has been corrected, as indicated below.</i>

NEW YORK -- The week of headaches for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie continues: He is facing questions over whether his office improperly used Superstorm Sandy aid funds for political purposes.

The Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will audit how New Jersey spent $25 million of Sandy aid funds, according to the office of Congressman Frank Pallone Jr., a New Jersey Democrat who asked the Inspector General to look into the issue in August.

The probe comes days after Christie was engulfed in a political scandal when emails surfaced implying that top aides orchestrated the closure of lanes on the busy George Washington Bridge and snarled traffic in a town whose mayor had declined to support the governor’s reelection bid. The scandal led to a rare, two-hour long press conference by Christie, who apologized and said he had fired a staffer and an advisor, and that he knew nothing about the retaliation plans.

READ: Controversial Christie staffer emails

At issue in the new probe are funds from a disaster recovery block grant. New Jersey had received permission to spend funds on a marketing campaign to encourage tourism to the Jersey Shore.

But Pallone’s office says that the contract to develop the marketing plan was awarded to a firm that charged $4.7 million for its work. The next lowest bidder proposed only $2.5 million. The winning bid proposed including Christie in the ads, Pallone said in the August letter asking for an audit. The lower-cost proposal did not include a Christie ad.

“It is inappropriate for taxpayer-funded dollars that are critical to our state’s recovery from this natural disaster to fund commercials that could potentially benefit a political campaign,” Pallone wrote. “In these sensitive circumstances, even the appearance of a conflict of interest should be avoided.”

Pallone’s office said Monday that the Inspector General’s office had found enough evidence to justify a “full-scale audit” of the state’s usage of federal funds.

“We received a request from Congress and are performing an audit to address those concerns,” said Ian O’Connor, a spokesman for the Inspector General’s office, in an email.

It is ironic that Christie is coming under fire for his use of these funds. When Congress stalled passage of the Sandy relief bill in early 2013, Christie publicly blasted House Republicans and Speak of the House John Boehner.

Christie’s office has called the audit a “conveniently timed announcement” and said, in a statement, that the “Stronger Than the Storm” campaign had been praised by the Obama administration and by HUD.

PHOTOS: Politics in 2014

“Federal agency reviews are routine and standard operating procedure with all federally allocated resources to ensure that funds are distributed fairly,” Christie spokesman Colin Reed said in a statement. “We’re confident that any review will show that the ads were a key part in helping New Jersey get back on its feet after being struck by the worst storm in state history.”

Also Monday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that the Christie administration abruptly canceled meetings with Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop around the time the mayor said he would not endorse Christie in the November 2013 election. Fulop’s name came up in emails released last week about the Fort Lee scandal; when asked if Bill Baroni, a Port Authority executive, had returned calls from the mayor of Fort Lee, David Wildstein, a Christie appointee, wrote, “Radio silence... His name comes right after Mayor Fulop.”

[For the record, 2:28 p.m. PST Jan. 13: An earlier version of this post attributed Ian O’Connor’s quote to a news release. Actually, it comes from an email he sent to the reporter.]

ALSO:

Chris Christie bridge scandal looks to many like Jersey as usual

Bridge emails show Christie aides ignored public safety

Politicians give Christie the benefit of the doubt, for now

alana.semuels@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlanaSemuels