(TRENTON) — The New Jersey General Assembly on Wednesday retained former Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar as special counsel for the newly created committee charged with continuing the inquiry into questions surrounding the decision to close access lanes to the George Washington Bridge and other matters raising concerns about the abuse of government power.
Mr. Schar is a partner at the law firm of Jenner & Block LLP and co-chairs the firm’s White Collar Defense and Investigations Practice.
While at the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois, Mr. Schar was the lead investigator and prosecutor in both corruption trials of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Since joining Jenner & Block in July 2012, he has led a number of global internal and government investigations on behalf of a variety of clients, including Fortune 500 companies and government organizations. Clients regularly turn to Mr. Schar for counsel and advice on issues of importance.
“It’s vital to have someone of the caliber of Mr. Schar joining us in this effort,” said Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson/Bergen). “A potential misuse of taxpayer resources for political purposes is a serious matter that requires an astute legal eye with experience in this realm to help guide the process. I look forward to the assistance he will offer under the leadership of Chairman Wisniewski.”
“We will move forward with this investigation deliberately and methodically,” said Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden/Burlington). “Mr. Schar’s stellar experience and record of success will add to the great work already undertaken by Chairman Wisniewski and ensure we get the answers the people of New Jersey need and deserve.”
“I look forward to working with Mr. Schar as the committee ramps up its investigation into these concerns about public safety and abuse of power,” said Wisniewski (D-Middlesex). “Mr. Schar’s experience will help build upon the progress we’ve made and help ensure that, in the end, we get the answers we need to find out what truly happened here so that we can institute safeguards to prevent future abuses.”
“I am pleased to have been chosen as special counsel to assist the Select Committee on Investigation in its ongoing work,” said Schar. “Jenner & Block understands the importance of this investigation, and we will work diligently to support the members of the investigative committee on this matter.”
A photo of Mr. Schar is appended below.
