New Jersey Gov. Christie says 'misled' by staff in bridge scandal

[News_Editor]

By James Valles

FORT LEE, NEW JERSEY (BNO NEWS) -- New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Wednesday denied any involvement in orchestrating traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge as a way to get back at a local mayor who did not support his re-election campaign, saying he was "misled" by his staff.

Lane closures on the already congested bridge caused a traffic nightmare in the city of Fort Lee back in September 2013 on the first day of school. Democrats claim Christie and his administration, specifically Bridget Anne Kelly, his deputy chief of staff, carried out the act to 'punish' Democratic Mayor Mark Sokolich for not supporting the governor's campaign.

Christie had previously denied his administration was involved in the lane closures but on Wednesday admitted he had been misled after the publication of emails which were subpoenaed by Democrats. They revealed that Kelly communicated with David Wildstein, who was a high-level New York and New Jersey port authority official at the time, three weeks before the lane closures.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Kelly wrote on August 13.

"Got it," Wildstein replied.

Responding to the release of the emails, Christie called the acts "unacceptable," adding that he was not only "misled" by a member of his staff, but that the acts were "completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct" that occurred without the governor's knowledge.

"This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions," said Christie, adding that his team had reassured him that they were not involved. The New Jersey governor is considered to be a possible top candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.

In other messages also released on Wednesday, an unidentified person texted Wildstein on September 10, the second day of the road blocks.

"I feel badly about the kids. ... I guess," wrote the unidentified person. "They are the children of Buono voters,â Wildstein replied, referring to the Democratic candidate who ran against Christie during the gubernatorial race last year, which was won by Christie. Barbara Buono has called for a federal investigation.

"Right now, we have no idea how far this scandal goes," Buono said in a statement released on Wednesday. "The Governor has created a culture where cavalierly endangering citizens' lives to exact political retribution is an acceptable form of governance. It's beneath the dignity of his office and a breach of New Jerseyans' trust."

Her statement added: "Everyone who had knowledge of the closing should be terminated immediately and the Department of Justice should conduct a thorough investigation to determine whether other towns in New Jersey suffered because the Governor wanted to get revenge."

Wildstein, the port authority's director of interstate capital projects, and Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director of the New York-New Jersey Port Authority, both resigned in December.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Democratic National Committee chair, called Wednesday's revelations troubling and compared the New Jersey governor to a bully, saying: "These revelations are troubling for any public official, but they also indicate what we've come to expect from Governor Christie - when people oppose him, he exacts retribution. When people question him, he belittles and snidely jokes. And when anyone dares to look into his administration, he bullies and attacks."

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[puck2]

Every normal politician would (have to) resign taking responsibility for the choice and employment of such a bunch of troublemakers - except Christie. This farce shows you that this man isn't able to choose the right people.That means he should be disqualified for such an important job. It doesn't matter if he had knowledge of this scandal or not.

Imagine he would be the president of the US having some people with the same moral "qualities" around him

[impulse]

Better to have some folks that cause traffic jams, then lie about it- than to have folks that cause wars by outright lies.

[Jingthing]

He screams he is not a bully.

He appears differently.

In fact, that quality has been the core of his political brand from the start.

I think his presidential ambitions are now toast.

New Jersey "culture" is fun to watch. Great entertainment value. It doesn't play in Peoria.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jay Sata]

He want's to be President!

That's scary.

[GentlemanJim]

Better to have some folks that cause traffic jams, then lie about it- than to have folks that cause wars by outright lies.

I don't think George W started off with lies in the Major League, he too would have started on what you consider the less significant lies and worked it up from there. Christie and his team are nothing short of plain evil to do something like this to their people. They have forgotten who pays their salaries. Time to sack the lot of them.

[geriatrickid]

I think this comes as good news for Hilary and even better news for those in the GOP who can't stand New Jersey's own Fatty Arbuckle.

There is still resentment with the man as to how he strong armed his way into taking the chair of the republican governors' association.

.

What I find incredible is that Christie was the US Attorney for New Jersey and led a campaign against political corruption. This man knows the ramifications of what happened . If NJ legislature proceeds with its investigation and turns up enough incriminating information, his political career could be seriously damaged, if not destroyed.

[Jay Sata]

Come back Palin..the GOP need you

[NeverSure]

Better to have some folks that cause traffic jams, then lie about it- than to have folks that cause wars by outright lies.

Would you be talking about Tony Blair who said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and provided more that 1/4 of the troops for that invasion?

Oh, you must be talking about the 9500 British troops that were sent to fight in Afghanistan.

Those Brits are warmongers, I tell ya.

[puck2]

Better to have some folks that cause traffic jams, then lie about it- than to have folks that cause wars by outright lies.

I hope the US will never again have LIARS in the politics of both kinds.

Edited January 11, 2014 by puck2

[khwaibah]

Better to have some folks that cause traffic jams, then lie about it- than to have folks that cause wars by outright lies.

Both from the same political party.

[mopar71]

This bridge thing is amateur hour by the Christie people and they should be fired.

Christie himself should be fine. The singular reason this little scandal could derail Christie's political career is because he is a Republican. Democrats get away with worse all the time and go on to serve long, profitable careers in government...leaving a girl to die after a drunken car wreck, running a gay prostitution biz out of gov't apartment (in the more prudish 1980's), multiple sexual assaults followed by felony perjury...all the way up to using the IRS to punish and hinder political opponents in a key battleground state during a presidential campaign. But, get one Republican tapping his foot in the bathroom stall of an airport and

[Jingthing]

You forget one thing. Christie wants to be PRESIDENT. The bar is higher. He is now damaged goods.

The Obama incident you mention (in a distorted way) is actually different because he was already an INCUMBENT.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

Another big problem for Christie is that he was already perceived as a bully, but a somewhat charming bully. This incident confirms the bully brand for Christie but linked to a disgusting incident. If he wasn't already labeled that way, this would have been less damaging. But he was. It will make voters think, is this New Jersey rude tough guy persona really something I want in my president, given this glimpse into the dark side of that? I don't know how he loses the label now. He can lose more weight with his bariatric surgery, but this label will be harder to shed.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Jingthing

[Chicog]

Christie's never going anywhere near the Presidency. The Tea Party hate him.

[Credo]

Christie's never going anywhere near the Presidency. The Tea Party hate him.

If the Tea Party hates him, he has my vote.

[Jingthing]

Christie's never going anywhere near the Presidency. The Tea Party hate him.

If the Tea Party hates him, he has my vote.

They hate Hillary more ... much more ...

[Credo]

Christie's never going anywhere near the Presidency. The Tea Party hate him.

If the Tea Party hates him, he has my vote.

They hate Hillary more ... much more ...

Well, now I have a real dilemma!

[Chicog]

Christie's never going anywhere near the Presidency. The Tea Party hate him.

If the Tea Party hates him, he has my vote.

They hate Hillary more ... much more ...

I don't think they have much say in who the Democrats put forward, do they?

[Jingthing]

I don't think they have much say in who the Democrats put forward, do they?

That wasn't the point. Eventually it's elephant vs. donkey.

[Chicog]

I don't think they have much say in who the Democrats put forward, do they?

That wasn't the point. Eventually it's elephant vs. donkey.

I think that's called stating the obvious, isn't it?

And considering the thread is about Christie and, by extension, what effect this might have on his Presidential aspirations, a bit of a non sequitur.

[Jingthing]

I don't think they have much say in who the Democrats put forward, do they?

That wasn't the point. Eventually it's elephant vs. donkey.

I think that's called stating the obvious, isn't it?

And considering the thread is about Christie and, by extension, what effect this might have on his Presidential aspirations, a bit of a non sequitur.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

To be president, you first need to win a nomination from your party.

Then you have to win the actual presidential election.

The tea party is actually a factor for both contests. If Christie can manage to be nominated, he will still need the tea party faction to bother to come out to support him against the democrat. As it is true they don't like him, that means it will be a challenge to get them to come out for him in the general election. Some of course would do so, probably motivated by their even greater opposition to the democratic candidate. In any case, I don't really think Christie will be nominated, but he still might.

The tea party is not a majority of Americans but they have power to influence both internal republican AND external contests of all levels. Basic American politics, my dear.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jingthing

[Chicog]

I don't think they have much say in who the Democrats put forward, do they?

That wasn't the point. Eventually it's elephant vs. donkey.

I think that's called stating the obvious, isn't it?

And considering the thread is about Christie and, by extension, what effect this might have on his Presidential aspirations, a bit of a non sequitur.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

To be president, you first need to win a nomination from your party.

Then you have to win the actual presidential election.

The tea party is actually a factor for both contests. If Christie can manage to be nominated, he will still need the tea party faction to bother to come out to support him against the democrat. As it is true they don't like him, that means it will be a challenge to get them to come out for him in the general election. Some of course would do so, probably motivated by their even greater opposition to the democratic candidate. In any case, I don't really think Christie will be nominated, but he still might.

The tea party is not a majority of Americans but they have power to influence both internal republican AND external contests of all levels. Basic American politics, my dear.

Sorry, is it International State the Bleedin' Obvious Day, because I didn't see any announcements.

[Jingthing]

Sorry, is it International State the Bleedin' Obvious Day, because I didn't see any announcements.

Perhaps, but again, I have no idea what your point was about before. It thought maybe you didn't understand the basic mechanics of U.S. politics. Oh well!

[lomatopo]

I loved it when he said he first heard about "bridge-gate" after his morning workout.

Well, let me tell you, everybody, I was blindsided yesterday morning. I was done with my workout yesterday morning and got a call from my communications director at about 8:50, 8:55, informing me of this story that had just broken on the Bergen Record website. That was the first time I knew about this. That was the first time I had seen any of the documents that were revealed yesterday.

[Jingthing]

If we are stuck with a republican president next time, we could do worse. Not that I like him or anything. But his argument for the nomination of most electable is now weakened.

His super morbid obesity being a disqualifier is being addressed. I applaud him for that decision to take radical action although the motivations kind of look more about politics than health, but whatever works. The heroic weight loss show worked for Gov. Huckabee for awhile, now he's not president and more fat ... oh well ... life happens that way sometimes.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jingthing

[Chicog]

I loved it when he said he first heard about "bridge-gate" after his morning workout.

Well, let me tell you, everybody, I was blindsided yesterday morning. I was done with my workout yesterday morning and got a call from my communications director at about 8:50, 8:55, informing me of this story that had just broken on the Bergen Record website. That was the first time I knew about this. That was the first time I had seen any of the documents that were revealed yesterday.

I think he means that was the first time he realised he'd been tumbled.

[Chicog]

If we are stuck with a republican president next time, we could do worse. Not that I like him or anything. But his argument for the nomination of most electable is now weakened.

His super morbid obesity being a disqualifier is being addressed. I applaud him for that decision to take radical action although the motivations kind of look more about politics than health, but whatever works. The heroic weight loss show worked for Gov. Huckabee for awhile, now he's not president and more fat ... oh well ... life happens that way sometimes.

That Huckabee comes across as more senile than McCain. If he runs again he'd make Christie look good.

[Jingthing]

If we are stuck with a republican president next time, we could do worse. Not that I like him or anything. But his argument for the nomination of most electable is now weakened.

His super morbid obesity being a disqualifier is being addressed. I applaud him for that decision to take radical action although the motivations kind of look more about politics than health, but whatever works. The heroic weight loss show worked for Gov. Huckabee for awhile, now he's not president and more fat ... oh well ... life happens that way sometimes.

That Huckabee comes across as more senile than McCain. If he runs again he'd make Christie look good.

I forget Huckabee is seriously considering running again. Strange.

[Jingthing]

Christie's been Springsteened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=47iVc6nqsSU