Ex-Giants linebacker considers run for Congress

This June 5, 2011 file photo shows Hall of Famer and foirmer New york Giants linebacker Harry Carson before the start of the N.J. Hall of Fame induction ceremonies at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, N.J. Carson says he's considering a run for Congress in New Jersey. Reached by phone, Carson recently told The Associated Press he hasn't made a definitive decision yet but is thinking about it. He lives in Franklin Lakes. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz, File)

  By BETH DeFALCOTRENTON, N.J. -- Hall of Fame linebacker Harry Carson, one of the NFL's most feared linebackers in the 1970s and `80s with the New York Giants, is considering a run for Congress as a Democrat in New Jersey.

"There's no definitive decision. It's a thought," Carson, 58, said when reached by phone.

Carson spent his entire professional career, from 1976 to 1988, playing for the Giants. Since retiring, he worked in sports broadcasting and started his own sports consulting and promotions company.

Although he has never held public office, Carson could afford to bankroll his own campaign and has instant name recognition among sports fans.

He has been talking to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee about the idea, which became more attractive last week after redrawing of congressional districts and the resulting moves left Republican Rep. Scott Garrett, one of the state's most conservative delegation members, without a Democratic challenger in the northern part of the state.

"Congressman Scott Garrett is going to have a hard time explaining his extreme, out-of-touch agenda to voters in his new district," said Josh Schwerin, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Schwerin declined to comment on Carson directly.

A spokesman for Garrett didn't return a call seeking comment on Carson's possible run.

Last week, Carson rushed to North Carolina to help his brother, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Carson said Friday he had to sort through his family crisis before making a final decision.

Former Giants offensive lineman Brad Benson, who played with Carson from 1978 to 1988, said that wasn't unusual for Carson, whom he described as a "very caring, very cerebral" man, to drop everything to help someone out.

When the team's backup quarterback, Jeff Rutledge, was in a serious car accident in 2003, it was Carson who made the drive to see him and sat by his hospital bedside.

When running back Doug Kotar was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1980s, Carson gathered teammates and arranged a schedule for them to visit him in the hospital, and then set up a scholarship fund for Kotar's children.

And when former NFL star Lawrence Taylor admitted in court to paying a 16-year-old runaway for sex as he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute, Carson was in the courtroom to offer support, giving Taylor a supportive handshake when he arrived.

"He's a deep guy," Benson said.

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Corzine revisits Congress in uncomfortable role

  By MARCY GORDONWASHINGTON -- For five years, Jon Corzine embodied one of the most prestigious positions in Washington: U.S. senator. On Thursday, he is scheduled to return to Capitol Hill in a humbled and humiliating role: a star witness likely to invoke the Fifth Amendment.

Corzine has been subpoenaed to explain how MF Global collapsed into the eighth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history and why an estimated $1.2 billion in client money has gone missing.

It's the first time in more than 100 years that Congress has subpoenaed a former senator to testify, according to Senate historian Don Ritchie. The occasion blends the two worlds Corzine has occupied for his professional life - Wall Street and public office.

Corzine, 64, has been publicly silent since MF Global filed for bankruptcy Oct. 31. He resigned as CEO on Nov. 4.

The former New Jersey senator and governor may offer a statement at the House Agriculture Committee hearing. But he'll likely decline to answer potentially damaging questions by invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Otherwise, anything he might say could be used against him in a courtroom, should Corzine ever be charged in the case. The FBI and several federal regulators are investigating MF Global.

"He can't begin to answer substantive questions," said Stephen Gillers, a professor at New York University School of Law.

The hearing will likely provide few answers to what happened at the firm. But it may offer some political theater. Corzine would have to invoke his Fifth Amendment right each time he's asked a potentially damaging question.

Corzine will likely take a similar tack next week, when he's scheduled to testify to two other congressional committees.

By invoking the Fifth Amendment, "You're not saying anything about your legal culpability," Gillers noted. Still, he said, "there is a public perception that if you have nothing to hide, then you will hide nothing."

A Democrat, Corzine represented New Jersey in the Senate from 2001 through 2005. He later served as the state's governor. Before entering politics, he was CEO of Goldman Sachs from 1994 to 1999.

Lawmakers in both parties may have a lot to ask him. Some have heard from farmers, ranchers and small business owners in their districts who are missing money deposited with the firm.

Agricultural businesses use brokerage firms to help reduce their risks in an industry vulnerable to swings in oil, corn and other commodity prices. But MF Global increased risks by making big bets on European government debt - bets that proved disastrous.

Legal experts say Corzine could be held personally liable for misrepresenting to investors the risks the firm had taken. Other top MF Global executives also could face legal jeopardy, they say.

Several class-action lawsuits on behalf of shareholders have been filed against Corzine and three other top executives. A bankruptcy court is consolidating the suits. They accuse the firm and its leaders of making false statements about MF Global's strength and cash balances.

MF Global didn't list its European debt on its balance sheet for all to see. Instead, those holdings were shifted to an "off-balance sheet," deep in its financial statements. Some separate filings with regulators excluded the European debt entirely.

Under a 2002 anti-corporate fraud law - which Corzine helped write as a senator - CEOs of public companies must personally certify the accuracy of financial statements.

Corzine also may be questioned about his lobbying against a rule proposed last year by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The rule would have restricted how firms that handle futures contracts, such as MF Global, can invest customer money. Corzine lobbied CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs colleague, and his staff.

Last summer, the CFTC board canceled a vote on the proposed rule. It was adopted this week.

The last time a former senator was subpoenaed to testify by a congressional committee was in 1908. Former Sens. Marion Butler of North Carolina and Matthew Butler of South Carolina were summoned by a House committee over a corporate lobbying scandal, according to the Senate historian's office.

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