http://youtu.be/sWjLlFqI_ac
http://youtu.be/uqcbS51BHMQ
Daily Kos is the place to go for breaking news about the Chris Christie bridge scandal. Here are some of the biggest developments and expert opinion on the scandal that you may have missed over the past 24 hours:
- Christie asked Cuomo to back off investigating Fort Lee. In mid-December.
- Christie: 'They should've thought about that before they opened their mouths'
- MUST-SEE: Jon Stewart blasts "evil" Christie minions over bridge closure
- At the risk of making Chris Christie sad, one more question
- FBI now investigating Christie scandal
- Kornacki and Maddow: Christie was trying to run out clock on Assembly subpoena power
- Christie: Vindictive ass or incompetent buffoon
- Chris Christie's press conference claims don't add up
- Chris Christie: 'I am not a crook'
- Chris Christie's flimsy explanation for why we should believe him
- Mitt Romney's best decision of 2012: Passing on Pufferfish Christie
- Former Christie aide takes the Fifth before New Jersey Assembly
- Federal prosecutors reviewing Bridgegate
- Barbara Buono: Gov. Christie 'runs a paramilitary organization, very strict discipline'
Chris Christie's Bridge Scandal, Explained
New emails suggest a senior aide to Christie—a 2016 presidential contender—ordered a nasty traffic jam in Fort Lee as political payback.
| Wed Jan. 8, 2014 8:54 AM GMT
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Internal emails released Wednesday strongly suggest that a top aide to New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie orchestrated massive traffic problems in Fort Lee, New Jersey, last fall as an act of political retribution against the city's Democratic mayor. For months, Christie and his administration have denied allegations that road closures in Fort Lee were politically motivated. The emails, released as part of an investigation by Democratic state legislators, could spiral into a major political scandal for Christie, a possible 2016 presidential candidate. Here's what you need to know.
Cops and lawmakers in Fort Lee said they were given no warning about the decision to close the lanes, which delayed school buses, first responders, and commuters bound for New York City. The Port Authority justified its decision by saying it was conducting a "traffic study."
Why is this political? Soon after the traffic jam, rumors emerged that the Port Authority closed the bridge lanes as political retribution against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat who endorsed Gov. Chris Christie's opponent in the 2013 gubernatorial campaign. As news outlets and New Jersey Democrats dug deeper into the circumstances of the bridge incident, they eventually connected the lane closures to two Port Authority officials with close ties to Christie: Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director of the agency, and David Wildstein, its director of interstate capital projects. Baroni and Wildstein have since resigned, and both men have retained criminal defense attorneys.
All along, the Christie administration had denied any connection to the decision to close the bridge lanes. In September, a Christie spokesman called the retribution claim "crazy." Christie told reporters at a December press conference that the Fort Lee traffic snarl was "absolutely, unequivocally not" a result of political score-settling.
What's new today?
In response to a subpoena, Wildstein provided a bevy of emails sent by
Christie's staff to a panel of state lawmakers investigating the road
closures. The messages fly in the face of many of the claims Christie
has made about the lane closures. Wildstein will testify about the
documents before that panel on Thursday.
The messages, traded between several members of Christie's senior staff, his campaign manager, and his deputy chief of staff, were sent mostly from staffers' private accounts and did not loop in Christie. They strongly suggest that members of Christie's inner circle planned the lane closures as political retaliation against Sokolich. Other top Christie associates included in the email chain after the lanes were reopened include David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority, and Michael Drewniak, Christie's spokesman. The emails contradict repeated statements by Christie that neither his staff nor anyone from his campaign was involved with the lane closures.
The messages also lay bare Christie's staff's gleeful anticipation of Fort Lee's traffic debacle. On the day of the lane closures and in the aftermath, Christie's top aids privately traded jabs at Fort Lee's mayor and mocked the town's residents as they struggled to deal with the traffic.
What are the highlights? "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, a top Christie aide, wrote in an email to Wildstein. "Got it," Wildstein replied.
One text message sent to Wildstein on the day of the lane closures referenced mass school bus delays. "Is it wrong that I'm smiling?" the message read.
"No," Wildstein wrote.
"I feel badly about the kids. I guess," the person, who is unidentified, texted back.
Wildstein replied, "They are the children of Buono voters." Barbara Buono was the Democratic challenger to Christie who lost handily to the governor last November.
Numerous messages mock Fort Lee's mayor as he scrambled to learn the reason behind the closures from the Port Authority and spoke publicly about the closures in the aftermath. In one email sent the day of the closures, Wildstein assures Kelly that the Port Authority was responding to Sokolich with "Radio silence."
As Sokolich began speaking to press after the closures, Bill Sepien, Christie's campaign manager wrote, "The mayor is an idiot."
"It will be a tough November for this little Serbian," Wildstein wrote to Sepien, apparently referencing Sokolich's nationality. Elsewhere in the documents, Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director of the Port Authority, refers to Sokolich as "Serbian." Sokolich is Croatian.
UPDATE 1: On Wednesday, Gov. Chris Christie released this statement:
UPDATE 3, Thursday, Jan. 9, 10:42 a.m. EST: The US attorney for New Jersey will open an inquiry into the bridge scandal, the New York Times reports.
UPDATE 4, Thursday, Jan. 9, 11:27 a.m. EST: In a press conference, Christie announced that he fired his deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, for her involvement in planning the Fort Lee lane closures. He also said that he has instructed his longtime campaign manager Bill Stepien, who Christie says withheld details of the bridge scandal from him, to withdraw his name from consideration for chair of the New Jersey Republican Party. "I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team," he said. Read more.
UPDATE 5, Thursday, Jan. 9, 11:47 a.m. EST: A judge has ruled that David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official who ordered the lane closures and whose emails and text messages were released on Wednesday, must comply with a subpoena to testify before a panel of state lawmakers investigating the bridge scandal, NorthJersey.com reports.
On Wednesday, Wildstein filed a lawsuit to quash the legislators' subpoena for his testimony. Before his lawsuit, Wildstein was scheduled to testify at noon on Thursday. Return to the top
UPDATE 6, Thursday, Jan. 9, 1:05 p.m. EST: Ex-Christie aide David Wildstein is currently testifying before the New Jersey Assembly's transportation, public works, and independent authorities committee on the lane closures. Watch it live here.
The messages, traded between several members of Christie's senior staff, his campaign manager, and his deputy chief of staff, were sent mostly from staffers' private accounts and did not loop in Christie. They strongly suggest that members of Christie's inner circle planned the lane closures as political retaliation against Sokolich. Other top Christie associates included in the email chain after the lanes were reopened include David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority, and Michael Drewniak, Christie's spokesman. The emails contradict repeated statements by Christie that neither his staff nor anyone from his campaign was involved with the lane closures.
The messages also lay bare Christie's staff's gleeful anticipation of Fort Lee's traffic debacle. On the day of the lane closures and in the aftermath, Christie's top aids privately traded jabs at Fort Lee's mayor and mocked the town's residents as they struggled to deal with the traffic.
What are the highlights? "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, a top Christie aide, wrote in an email to Wildstein. "Got it," Wildstein replied.
One text message sent to Wildstein on the day of the lane closures referenced mass school bus delays. "Is it wrong that I'm smiling?" the message read.
"No," Wildstein wrote.
"I feel badly about the kids. I guess," the person, who is unidentified, texted back.
Wildstein replied, "They are the children of Buono voters." Barbara Buono was the Democratic challenger to Christie who lost handily to the governor last November.
Numerous messages mock Fort Lee's mayor as he scrambled to learn the reason behind the closures from the Port Authority and spoke publicly about the closures in the aftermath. In one email sent the day of the closures, Wildstein assures Kelly that the Port Authority was responding to Sokolich with "Radio silence."
As Sokolich began speaking to press after the closures, Bill Sepien, Christie's campaign manager wrote, "The mayor is an idiot."
"It will be a tough November for this little Serbian," Wildstein wrote to Sepien, apparently referencing Sokolich's nationality. Elsewhere in the documents, Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director of the Port Authority, refers to Sokolich as "Serbian." Sokolich is Croatian.
UPDATE 1: On Wednesday, Gov. Chris Christie released this statement:
"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."
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.),* the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, replied to Christie's statement, 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…And when anyone dares to look into his
Administration, he bullies and attacks." (Return to the top.)
UPDATE 2: The Christie administration's
decision to create a massive traffic jam by closing two access lanes to
the George Washington Bridge resulted in delayed response times for
local emergency responders in four different emergencies, according to
Fort Lee's EMS chief.
In one case, the Bergen Record reports,
the traffic jam slowed down paramedics as they tried to reach an
unconscious 91-year-old woman. The woman later died in the hospital,
though EMS officials say her death was not a direct result of the
delays. In another case, it took paramedics seven to nine minutes—double
the normal time—to reach a car accident where four people sustained
injuries. Read more about the delays here. (Return to the top.)UPDATE 3, Thursday, Jan. 9, 10:42 a.m. EST: The US attorney for New Jersey will open an inquiry into the bridge scandal, the New York Times reports.
UPDATE 4, Thursday, Jan. 9, 11:27 a.m. EST: In a press conference, Christie announced that he fired his deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, for her involvement in planning the Fort Lee lane closures. He also said that he has instructed his longtime campaign manager Bill Stepien, who Christie says withheld details of the bridge scandal from him, to withdraw his name from consideration for chair of the New Jersey Republican Party. "I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team," he said. Read more.
UPDATE 5, Thursday, Jan. 9, 11:47 a.m. EST: A judge has ruled that David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official who ordered the lane closures and whose emails and text messages were released on Wednesday, must comply with a subpoena to testify before a panel of state lawmakers investigating the bridge scandal, NorthJersey.com reports.
On Wednesday, Wildstein filed a lawsuit to quash the legislators' subpoena for his testimony. Before his lawsuit, Wildstein was scheduled to testify at noon on Thursday. Return to the top
UPDATE 6, Thursday, Jan. 9, 1:05 p.m. EST: Ex-Christie aide David Wildstein is currently testifying before the New Jersey Assembly's transportation, public works, and independent authorities committee on the lane closures. Watch it live here.
UPDATE 7, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2:30 p.m. EST: The New
Jersey Assembly's transportation, public works, and independent
authorities committee voted to hold David Wildstein, an ex-Christie
appointee at the center of the George Washington Bridge scandal, in
contempt for refusing to answer any questions about his role in the
scandal. On the advice of his attorney, Wildstein invoked the Fifth
Amendment in response to all questions by state lawmakers. The
committee's contempt vote is a misdemeanor violation in New Jersey.
Wildstein's attorney disputed the committee's contempt vote, saying
his client had cooperated by providing emails and text messages.
Wildstein's attorney said his client would be far more forthcoming if
given immunity by prosecutors investigating the lane closures. Wildstein
remains under subpoena by the transportation committee.
UPDATE 8, Friday, Jan. 10, 2:30 p.m. EST: Kevin Drum considers an alternate theory about the Christie administration's motives for creating the traffic jam.
UPDATE 9, Friday, Jan. 10, 4:27 p.m. EST: Andy Kroll and David Corn report on a key question left unanswered
in the first batch of emails and text messages released this week: Did
other aides on Christie's team know that the lane closures on the George
Washington were politically motivated and not the result of a supposed
traffic study? Messages suggest two other Christie aides, attorney
Charlie McKenna and campaign finance director Nicole Davidman, might
have known that Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly
ordered the Fort Lee traffic jam.
Drawing on a new trove of emails released Friday afternoon, Molly Redden reports
that Patrick Foye, the executive director of Port Authority, said the
unexpected decision to close three lanes on the George Washington Bridge
"violates federal law and the laws of both states."
UPDATE 10, Friday, Jan. 10, 6:12 p.m. EST: New emails released Friday afternoon show that the traffic jam forced Fort Lee police officers to direct traffic instead of responding to emergencies, Molly Redden reports.
READ THE EMAILS:
This sentence has been corrected to reflect that
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is a member of the House of Representatives,
not a US senator. Return to the story.
Christie Says, "I Am Not a Bully." Here Are 8 Videos of Him Yelling, Name-Calling, and Belittling People.
| Thu Jan. 9, 2014 2:06 PM GMT
On Thursday, New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie held a press conference to address allegations that his appointees orchestrated a dangerous traffic jam for political revenge. Christie maintained that he was deceived by a member of his "circle of trust"
and noted that he had fired his deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne
Kelly, who was implicated in the scandal. He insisted that he had not
known that Kelly ordered the traffic problems until the news broke on
Wednesday. But many commentators have wondered if this whole episode—whether Christie was in the know or not—has bolstered the view that Christie is a bully.
Christie took issue with this characterization at the press conference. He asserted, "I am who I am. But I am not a bully…The tone that we've set here [is] that I'm willing to compromise." But those who have been the targets of Christie's wrath disagree. And here are 8 videos of Christie yelling, belittling people, and name-calling—and most of the clips are promoted by Christie himself on his popular YouTube page:
1. Christie to a teacher: "If what you want to do is put on a show and giggle every time I talk, well then I have no interest in answering your question."
http://youtu.be/PkuTm-ON904
2. Christie to a former Navy SEAL: "Your rear end's going to get thrown in jail, idiot."
http://youtu.be/GVfMpYDIpQ0
3. Christie to a reporter: "You know Tom, you must be the thinnest-skinned guy in America…you should really see me when I'm pissed."
http://youtu.be/15Eb-fdQPuU
5. Christie to a former White House doctor: "This is just another hack who wants five minutes on TV…she should shut up."
http://youtu.be/50xrw7kRyiU
6. Christie to an Occupy Wall Street protester: "Something may be going down tonight, but it ain't going to be jobs, sweetheart."
7. Christie to a reporter: "Are you stupid?…I'm sorry for the idiot over there."
http://youtu.be/5gz0XCpyoh8
8. Christie to a person on the street: "You're a real big shot. You're a real big shot. Just keep walking away. Keep walking."
Christie took issue with this characterization at the press conference. He asserted, "I am who I am. But I am not a bully…The tone that we've set here [is] that I'm willing to compromise." But those who have been the targets of Christie's wrath disagree. And here are 8 videos of Christie yelling, belittling people, and name-calling—and most of the clips are promoted by Christie himself on his popular YouTube page:
1. Christie to a teacher: "If what you want to do is put on a show and giggle every time I talk, well then I have no interest in answering your question."
2. Christie to a former Navy SEAL: "Your rear end's going to get thrown in jail, idiot."
3. Christie to a reporter: "You know Tom, you must be the thinnest-skinned guy in America…you should really see me when I'm pissed."
(Video no longer available due to a copyright claim by the Star-Ledger of Newark)
4. Christie to a constituent: "Hey Gail, you know what, first off it's none of your business."5. Christie to a former White House doctor: "This is just another hack who wants five minutes on TV…she should shut up."
6. Christie to an Occupy Wall Street protester: "Something may be going down tonight, but it ain't going to be jobs, sweetheart."
8. Christie to a person on the street: "You're a real big shot. You're a real big shot. Just keep walking away. Keep walking."
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