Dems’ Christie Probe Comes Up Empty
The Joint Legislative Committee led by Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) and Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) have produced an ‘interim” report that has found no evidence that Governor Chris Christie had any prior knowledge of the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September of 2013.
The report, which was made available to members of the committee yesterday and is scheduled to be made public on Monday, was reviewed by NJ.com who first reported on its contents.
“At present, there is no conclusive evidence as to whether Governor Chris Christie was or was not aware of the lane closures either in advance of their implementation or contemporaneously as they were occurring,” the report states. “Nor is there conclusive evidence as to whether Governor Christie did or did not have involvement in implementing or directing the lane closures.”
As has been widely reported since the “Bridgegate” story broke last January, the report indicates that Christie’s Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Ann Kelly and Port Authority staffer David Wildstein ordered the lane closures. The Wisniewski/Weinberg investigation has not discovered why Kelly emailed Wildstein in August of 2013 “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” It has been widely speculated that the lane closures were political retribution aimed at Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for failing to endorse Christie’s reelection. The report repeats the speculation.
Posted: December 5th, 2014 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2016 Presidential Politics, Bridgegate, Chris Christie | Tags: 2016 Presidential politics, Assemblyman John Wisniewski, Bridgegate, Bridgegate Investigation, Chris Christie, Sentor Loretta Weinberg | 10 Comments »