Bombshell Documents Show One Of Chris Christie’s Top Aides Ordered George Washington Bridge Lane Closures
Photo Credit: AP
Bombshell documents show that decisions that caused days of traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge — possibly in retaliation against a Democratic mayor who wouldn’t endorse Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) for reelection — reached closer to Christie than he has previously acknowledged.
Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s deputy chief of staff, sent an August 13 email to former Port Authority Director of Interstate Capital Projects David Wildstein, a Christie ally: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”
Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D) had declined to endorse Christie for re-election, unlike many other Democratic municipal officials in the state.
The Wall Street Journal obtained that email and 21 other pages of emails and text messages, a series that shows coordination between the Christie administration and the Port Authority over the lane closures — and suggests the closures were politically motivated, not part of a “traffic study.”
In a text to Baroni, Sokolich had said that the problem of busing students to school was “maddening.”
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Photo Credit: AP
By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor.
New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie broke his day-long silence Wednesday afternoon to say that a petty plan to exact revenge against a Democratic mayor by bottling up traffic in his town was carried out ‘without my knowledge.’
Christie put out a strongly-worded statement aimed at distancing himself from the growing scandal that threatens to engulf him and put the brakes on his presidential ambitions.
‘What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable,’ Christie said. ‘I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge.’
Shocking emails released hours earlier revealed Christie’s aides punished a Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for refusing to endorse their boss by snarling commuter traffic entering his town’s on-ramp to New York City’s busy George Washington Bridge.
‘One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable,’ he said, ‘and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.’
Read more from this story HERE.
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Christie ‘Outraged’ By ‘Unacceptable’ Email Exchanges Over GWB Lane Closures
By CBSNewYork/AP.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie responded Wednesday afternoon to email exchanges made public earlier in the day linking a top aide to the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal that has been under investigation.
“What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions,” the governor said in a statement.
Hearings on the issue begin Thursday, a day after the emails were released.
As CBS 2’s Jessica Schneider reported, Christie had said previously that no one in his office or his campaign knew about the lane closures back in September.
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