Governor Challenges Allegation He Knew of Bridge Disruptions Earlier Than He Has Said

Christie's Office Attacks Motives of Former Ally's Lawyer's Claims

By

Ted Mann

connect

Feb. 1, 2014 9:01 p.m. ET

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's administration has attacked the motives of a former ally whose attorney claims the GOP presidential hopeful knew of highly disruptive lane closures on a New York area bridge as they were going on, contrary to the governor's previous statements.

Mr. Christie's office challenged the claims of his former associate, David Wildstein, in a public statement on Saturday. "Bottom line—David Wildstein will do and say anything to save David Wildstein," said the message, first reported by Politico and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie arrived on stage Saturday during the Super Bowl Hand-Off Ceremony on Super Bowl Boulevard in Times Square in New York. Reuters

Earlier

• New Jersey Gov. Christie Knew of Bridge Lane Closures, Attorney Says 1/30/2014

Mr. Wildstein's attorney Alan Zegas in the letter released to the Port Authority and the media on Friday said "evidence exists…tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge" of the lane closures while they were still going on during the week beginning Sept. 9.

He didn't identify the evidence to which he referred or say of what it consists. Mr. Zegas's letter also said Mr. Wildstein could prove various statements made by the governor about Mr. Wildstein weren't accurate.

Mr. Wildstein personally directed the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge from Sept. 9 to Sept. 13, causing traffic jams in Fort Lee, N.J. that lengthened commutes and delayed emergency vehicles.

The closures were seen by many people as political retribution against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, who didn't endorse Mr. Christie's re-election. The exact motive for the lane closures has yet to be proven.

Mr. Wildstein has since resigned as director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge, which is one of the busiest in the world.

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Christie tries to fend off ex-ally's allegations about when he knew of bridge closure

• NBC News

Chris Christie in Fort Lee to meet Mayor Mark Sokolich. (Spencer Platt / Getty)

Christie, ex-official clash over when governor learned of bridge lane closings

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's office denied he knew anything ahead of time about an operation to jam traffic on the George Washington Bridge. NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports.

By M. Alex Johnson, Staff Writer
NBC News

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the official who ordered the closing of lanes on the George Washington Bridge last year clashed Friday over precisely when Christie learned about the controversial incident.
In a letter to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (.pdf), a lawyer for David Wildstein — the Port Authority official who actually ordered the event — says "evidence exists tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the Governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference."
In a statement Friday afternoon, Christie's office said that rather than call Christie's behavior into question, the letter "confirms what the Governor has said all along — he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with."
Christie's statement goes on to say he denies "Mr. Wildstein's lawyer's other assertions," which primarily have to do with Wildstein's attempt to force the Port Authority to pay his legal bills.
The main disagreement appears to stem from the sequence of events.
In his statement Friday, Christie said he didn't know about what's come to be known as "Bridgegate" beforehand. In his Jan. 9 news conference — the one Wildstein alludes to — he said that "I had no knowledge of this — of the planning, the execution or anything about it — and that I first found out about it after it was over."
Christie doubled down on that assertion late Friday night. In a statement issued to "clear up any lingering confusion," a spokesman said, "Governor Christie has said each time he has been asked that he first learned about the closing of the lanes on the George Washington Bridge from press accounts after the instance was over."
It's that second contention that Wildstein contradicts in his letter, saying flat-out that Christie knew about the incident as it was jamming traffic between New York and New Jersey from Sept. 9 to Sept. 12.
"Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the Governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some," the letter says — although it gives no hint of what that evidence might be.

A new allegation claims New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sanctioned a road closure as political payback. NBC's Michael Isikoff reports.

Wildstein's letter was first reported Friday by The New York Times and subsequently obtained by NBC News.
Christie — who's considered a serious contender for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination — has repeatedly denied having ordered the closing of two of three local access lanes from Fort Lee, N.J., to the bridge, which is one of the busiest in the world. The closing froze traffic for four days — allegedly in retaliation over the mayor's refusal to endorse him in the 2013 governor's race.
It's the latest piece in a puzzle that has been emerging over the past few months of Christie as a swaggering political bully.
Read More Here

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Published on Jan 10, 2014

January 10, 2014 MSNBC News




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New documents reveal ‘Bridgegate’ PA appointees ignored danger warnings

Bill Baroni and David Wildstein — despite email warning that traffic problems could threaten lives — continued with punitive Washington Bridge scheme. Now documents reveal that Baroni reached out to another Christie appointee: PA Chairman David Samson. Samson issued a statement earlier this week denying knowledge of the shutdown.

 

By Pete Donohue , Rich Schapiro AND Larry Mcshane / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Published: Friday, January 10, 2014, 3:21 PM

Updated: Friday, January 10, 2014, 7:49 PM

Mel Evans/AP

Top aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ignored warnings of potentially life-threatening traffic problems such as this email: “Wanted you both have a heads-up — Peggy Thomas, Borough Administrator, called me regarding the increased volume and congestion,” warned PA employee Tino Lado, “She mentioned there were two incidents that Ft Lee PD and ems had difficulty responding to: a missing child (later found) and a cardiac arrest ... If there is anything you need me to do, let me know.”

Gov. Chris Christie’s top two Port Authority appointees continued the George Washington Bridge gridlock for three days after learning the traffic jams were life-threatening.
A Sept. 9 e-mail to Bill Baroni and David Wildstein laid out the emergency response problems for police and ambulances in Fort Lee, N.J., after the punitive rush-hour lane closings.
“Wanted you both have a heads-up — Peggy Thomas, Borough Administrator, called me regarding the increased volume and congestion,” wrote PA employee Tina Lado.
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“She mentioned there were two incidents that Ft Lee PD and EMS had difficulty responding to: a missing child (later found) and a cardiac arrest ... If there is anything you need me to do, let me know.”
The lanes instead remained closed for three more days in the “Bridgegate” scandal that led to the resignations last month of Baroni and Wildstein.
A 91-year-old Fort Lee woman died on Sept. 9, and local officials said it took twice the usual time for first responders to reach her home.

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke about his knowledge of a traffic study that snarled traffic at the George Washington Bridge during a news conference on January 9, 2014.

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The punitive closings were apparent payback for the refusal of Fort Lee’s mayor to endorse Christie’s 2013 re-election bid.
The email was included Friday in a massive document dump by New Jersey state legislators investigating the Sept. 9-12 lanes closings that paralyzed traffic in and around the west side of the bridge.
PA Executive Director Patrick Foye said in a fiery email that “this hasty and ill-advised decision violates Federal Law and the laws of both states ... I pray that no life has been lost.”
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Foye’s page-long Sept. 13 rant detailed how “appalled” he was by word of the massive tie-ups.
“I will get to the bottom of this abusive decision which violates everything this agency stands for,” Foye continued. “I intend to learn how PA process was wrongfully subverted and the public interest damaged, to say nothing of the credibility of this agency.”

Emile Wamsteker/Bloomberg

David Wildstein invoked his right to remain silent at a legislative hearing. “Will be at bridge early Monday to view new test lane,” Wildstein had emailed.

Read More Here

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