In terms of sheer political sleaziness, this exercise in cronyism may go down as the Marc Rich moment for the Bush Administration.

There is a little known U.S. Justice Department program, which allows corporations accused of naughtiness to enter into out-of-court settlements requiring the appointment of an outside “monitor” to oversee the agreements.

And when Zimmer Holdings, a medical supply company in Indiana entered into one of these monitoring agreements with the feds in the wake of charges alleging kickbacks to doctors, guess who received the no-bid/no public notice contract to do the job?

None other than former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, whose consulting firm The Ashcroft Group, according to numerous news accounts, could receive between $28 million and $52 million for its labors over the next 18 months.

The lucrative deal was awarded to Ashcroft, by a former employee, Christopher J. Christie, who is now the United States Attorney for New Jersey, noted The New York Times.

The Times also reported that Christie has doled out similar monitoring contracts to two other former Justice Department colleagues, as well as the former New Jersey attorney general.

These no-bid sweetheart deals normally remain out of the public limelight. But Ashcroft’s good fortune was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Christie defended his appointment of Ashcroft and his former co-workers to The Times, by arguing they had impeccable legal credentials.

Perhaps so. But this a huge couuntry with many, many, many able legal minds to be found coast-to-coast, who don’t carry the same conflcit of interest baggage as John Ashcroft.

If you think this deal stinks a bit, well so does current Attortney General Michael Musakey, who has ordered a criminal division inquiry into the Ashcroft contract.

This could get interesting. Fun, too.