Washington Post unearths Chris Christie's '94 political ad that caused a defamation lawsuit

In what amounts to Gov. Chris Christie's first brush with public life, a political advertisement for his 1994 campaign for county freeholder in northern New Jersey ended about as disastrously as it possibly could have.

The 31-second commercial, albeit, was part of a successful campaign for Morris County freeholder — an elected official on a board that oversees county government — but one of the crucial statements he made led to a lawsuit by the incumbents he eventually unseated. And when Christie lost that suit in court, he was forced to write a retraction in a local newspaper.

"The Daily Record has called the current incumbents 'fumbling, bumbling amateurs.' And now, they're being investigated by the Morris County Prosecutor," Christie says in the ad posted today on the Washington Post's website.

His opponents were, it turns out, not being investigated by the county prosecutor's office. They sued for defamation and won — even though Christie won the election. (He did then lose his re-election bid four years later.)

The Star-Ledger wrote an explainer piece to the whole snafu when Christie first ran for governor in 2009 and the then-gubernatorial candidate told the paper then that he "has grown up a lot" since that first election to public office.

Here's the entire transcript from the ad, in which the 31-year-old lawyer is seated to the right of his young wife and their baby son:

"Hi, my name is Chris Christie. I got into the race for Morris County freeholder for the promise of a better future for my family and yours. But the Daily Record has called the current incumbents 'fumbling, bumbling amateurs.' And now, they're being investigated by the Morris County Prosecutor.

That's why I propose a strict code of ethical conduct for all elected officials because as Morris County Republicans, we deserve better. I'll bever break that promise of a better future to my family and I'll never break that promise to you."