NY congressman accuses NJ governor of taking ‘cheap shots’ at NYPD over Muslim monitoring as Chris Christie criticizes the NYPD secrecy surrounding surveillance of Newark Muslims

NEW YORK — An interstate feud escalated Friday when a New York congressman berated the New Jersey governor for “trying to score cheap political points” instead of saving lives when he complained that the New York Police Department’s monitoring of Muslims across the state line was arrogant and secretive.

Rep. Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Gov. Chris Christie crossed a line when he mocked Police Commissioner Ray Kelly as “all-knowing, all-seeing” and said the NYPD’s intelligence operation in Newark may have been “born out of arrogance.”

New Jersey officials raised concerns about NYPD operations in their state two weeks ago, after a series of stories by The Associated Press detailed how police officers had monitored Muslims around the metropolitan area and prepared a report cataloging the location of Muslim-owned businesses and mosques in Newark.

Christie said he was concerned with “this kind of affectation that the NYPD seems to have that they are the masters of the universe.”

On Friday, King accused Christie of “overreacting,” and said that if he had legitimate concerns, he should have picked up the phone and called Kelly.

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