Christie Appoints Acting State Attorney General

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) - Gov. Chris Christie has named John Hoffman as acting state attorney general.

The appointment was announced Monday during a news conference in Trenton.

Hoffman takes over for Jeffrey Chiesa, who Christie named to temporarily fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated when Frank Lautenberg died last week.

Hoffman, a 47-year-old Marlton resident, was named by Chiesa in August to serve as executive assistant attorney general. Before joining the office, Hoffman served for about two years as director of the Division of Investigations in the state Comptroller's Office.

Hoffman served as an assistant U.S. attorney in New Jersey from 2004-2010, with a focus on economic and white-collar crimes. Before that, he was a trial attorney for the civil division of the U.S. Justice Department.

Chiesa was sworn in at a ceremony just after 4:30 p.m. on the Senate floor. He has said he will not run for the seat when a special election is held in October.

Chiesa is now the first Republican senator from New Jersey since 1982, when another appointment was made.

Monday is also the filing deadline for any candidates seeking to run in the special election to serve out the remainder of Lautenberg's term, which is set to expire in January 2015.

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