Report: Christie is U.S. Attorney’s target

MMM photo/Art Gallagher

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman is leaning on former Port Authority officials David Samson, Bill Baroni and David Wildstein and Charles McKenna, Governor Chris Christie’s former Chief Counsel, to”filp” on Christie, according to a report published on Esquire today.

Esquire’s two anonymous sources “with intimate knowledge” of Fishman’s investigation into “Bridgegate” said that Samson, Baroni and Wildstein each face “near-certain” indictment.

Esquire says that Baroni and Wildstein have implicated Samson and that “if Sampson doesn’t give Fishman Christie, Sampson is toast.”

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Christie meets the press

Governor Chris Christie’s held is first press conference since January 9 this afternoon to answer questions regarding the Mastro Report into the George Washington Bridge lane closures known as Bridgegate that was released yesterday.

Christie announced the resignation of Port Authority Chairman David Samson in his statement prior to taking reporters questions.

The press conference was available live on MMM via livestream.

A recording of the press conference is made available courtesy of NJTV.

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N.J. federal prosecutors subpoena records related to Port Authority Chairman David Samson, report says

N.J. federal prosecutors subpoena records related to Port Authority Chairman David Samson, report says (via NJ.com)

Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed information related to Port Authority Chairman David Samson potentially being involved in conflicts of interests that stem from the agency awarding public contracts to construction companies represented by Samson’…

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Samson Complaint Tests Independence Of Embattled Ethics Commission

Samson Complaint Tests Independence Of Embattled Ethics Commission (via NJSpotlight)

In a case that will mark the first test of the state Ethics Commission’s ability to handle charges against top Christie administration appointees, the New Jersey Working Families Alliance yesterday filed conflict-of-interest allegations against Port…

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Christie bridge scandal: Records show Samson’s role; Fort Lee mayor meets with feds

Christie bridge scandal: Records show Samson’s role; Fort Lee mayor meets with feds (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — Records turned over to the state legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closings show the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, David Samson, has been “intimately involved” with day-to-…

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David Samson’s business interests overlap with work at Port Authority

David Samson’s business interests overlap with work at Port Authority (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — As chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, David Samson voted to award millions of dollars in Port Authority contracts to a company whose owner is represented by Samson’s law firm in a hotly contested and lucrative legal…

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Analysis: U.S. Attorney’s Trail Shows Hoboken Charges More Serious

Analysis: U.S. Attorney’s Trail Shows Hoboken Charges More Serious (via NJSpotlight)

With subpoenaed documents trickling in to investigators and a third Christie appointee taking the Fifth Amendment, legal experts are debating which charges Christie appointees are likely to face, how evidence of a coverup could bolster a corruption…

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Samson Loses Rockefeller Group’s Business

David Samson

The real estate developer at the heart of Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegations against the Christie Administration has fired it’s law firm, Wolf and Samson, according to a report in the New York Times.

The law firm is led by Port Authority of NY/NJ Chairman David Samson, a former NJ Attorney General.  Samson, who has been subpoenaed by the legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures that have dominated the state and national political news this month and put Governor Christie’s presidential prospects in jeopardy, appears to be a central figure in both the Hoboken and George Washington Bridge controversies.

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Chris Christie’s Port Authority appointee David Samson’s judgment defended amid scandals

Chris Christie’s Port Authority appointee David Samson’s judgment defended amid scandals (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — For four decades, David Samson has quietly prospered at the nexus of New Jersey’s powerful legal and political worlds as his clout and connections have enriched his law firm, Wolff & Samson. The firm, one of New Jersey’s largest, has…

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Hoboken Mayor Charges That Christie Administration Held Sandy Relief Hostage

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and DCA Commissioner Richard Constable fingered by Zimmer

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer told MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki this morning that Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno and Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Richard Constable threatened to deprive Hoboken of Sandy Relief funds if she did not secure a development approval for for a project favored by Governor Chris Christie.

The Rockefeller Group project hasn’t been approved and Hoboken has only gotten a small fraction of the Sandy Relief it requested. Port Authority Chairman David Samson’s law firm, Wolf and Samson, represents the Rockefeller Group.

Zimmer requested $127 million in aide for Hoboken, 80% of which was underwater after the Superstorm hit in October of 2012.  The city has received $142,000 for a back up generator and $200,000 in recovery grants.

On Karnack’s show, UP with Steve Kornacki, Zimmer said she should have come forth sooner.

The governor’s office has denied the claims. Spokesperson Michael Drewniak issued the following statement to MSNBC:

“Mayor Zimmer has been effusive in her public praise of the Governor’s Office and the assistance we’ve provided in terms of economic development and Sandy aid,” Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak wrote in a statement. “What or who is driving her only now to say such outlandishly false things is anyone’s guess.”

A Hudson County Jury apparently did not believe Zimmer’s testimony last month when they awarded Hoboken’s former public safety director $440,000 in a  discrimination suit . The jury held the City, not Zimmer, accountable for the discrimination.

Zimmer showed Korancki documents and her diaries to back up the explosive claims she made this morning. She said she would be willing to testify under oath.

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