This is gonna be tough to come back from. Either he's a bully, or he didn't properly control his staff. Neither are good outcomes for him. What he's going to have to do is be completely 100% transparant. No smart aleck responses. Admit mistakes if he made them. I hope he can.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2014/01/gov_chris_christies_officials.html#incart_river
[h=1]Chris Christie's officials lied about GWB scandal. Did the governor?: Editorial[/h] GEORGE_WASHINGTON__BRIDGE
The Star-Ledger is reporting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's deputy chief of staff knew of a plan to close local access lanes of the George Washington Bridge and that it would cause significant traffic problems in Fort Lee, N.J. (AP File Photo)
Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on January 08, 2014 at 11:06 AM, updated January 08, 2014 at 9:20 PM
E-mails released today revealed two political bombshells: Gov. Chris Christie’s office had advance knowledge of the traffic nightmare at the George Washington Bridge that crippled Fort Lee in September. And his top officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey did indeed close the lanes as a form of retribution against the borough’s mayor.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Christie’s deputy chief of staff wrote to David Wildstein, a top Christie appointee at the Port Authority.
Wildstein answered, “Got it.”
Which confirms what critics have suspected all along: This was an outrageous misuse of public resources, a reckless endangerment of the public, and apparently a massive lie. But was the governor in on it?
It would fit his bully pattern. Christie ducked the limelight yesterday, canceling his only public event — and instead of facing questions from reporters, he released only a brief statement saying he is “outraged.” He was misled by a member of his staff, he maintained, and those responsible will be punished.
The test for him now is his willingness to give up all the evidence, without trying to invoke executive privilege to hide anything from the public. For starters, why were some of the names redacted from these e-mails?
Until yesterday, the official line from Christie’s lieutenants at the Port Authority has been that this was all part of some secret “traffic study”; that they were simply curious to see what sort of mayhem would ensue if two of Fort Lee’s three access lanes to the George Washington Bridge were cut off, suddenly and unannounced.
That’s clearly a bogus story. But was the governor lying, too?
GWB SCANDAL: FULL COVERAGE
Christie originally said that after checking with his staff, he determined that no one from his office was involved in these lane closings. He scoffed at the very idea that it was political retribution against the Fort Lee mayor for refusing to endorse Christie’s re-election, and joked that he had moved the traffic cones himself.
His attempts to laugh this off now appear to be dishonest, though we can’t yet be sure that he personally knew about the doings of one of his top aides. Either way, though, Christie bears responsibility. If it turns out he did know, he is obviously lying and unfit for office — let alone a 2016 presidential run.
And even if he did not, his officials are liars. If Christie can’t control them, how can we trust him as a potential future leader of our country?
These e-mails show that Christie’s deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, was directly involved in the planning of this massive gridlock and got periodic updates. She knew his executives at the Port Authority were ignoring the mayor’s frantic efforts to get a reason behind the lane closures, as emergency responders and school buses full of children got ensnared in the mess for up to four hours. This went on for four days.
Wildstein has been called to testify today about these e-mails, supplied in response to a subpoena, before a panel of state lawmakers. And given the e-mails’ explosive content, we’ll need subpoenas to hear Kelly’s testimony, too — as well as that of Christie’s chief of staff at the time, Kevin O’Dowd, and the chair of the state’s Republican Party, Bill Stepien, who is included in the exchanges.
The most damning evidence against Christie’s officials so far is their utter indifference to the consequences of this prank.
“Is it wrong that I’m smiling?” an unnamed text message to Wildstein reads, in response to the mayor’s distress that buses of children are trapped in traffic on the first day of the school year.
“No,” Wildstein wrote back.
http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2014/01/gov_chris_christies_officials.html#incart_river
[h=1]Chris Christie's officials lied about GWB scandal. Did the governor?: Editorial[/h] GEORGE_WASHINGTON__BRIDGE
The Star-Ledger is reporting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's deputy chief of staff knew of a plan to close local access lanes of the George Washington Bridge and that it would cause significant traffic problems in Fort Lee, N.J. (AP File Photo)
Star-Ledger Editorial Board By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on January 08, 2014 at 11:06 AM, updated January 08, 2014 at 9:20 PM
E-mails released today revealed two political bombshells: Gov. Chris Christie’s office had advance knowledge of the traffic nightmare at the George Washington Bridge that crippled Fort Lee in September. And his top officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey did indeed close the lanes as a form of retribution against the borough’s mayor.
“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Christie’s deputy chief of staff wrote to David Wildstein, a top Christie appointee at the Port Authority.
Wildstein answered, “Got it.”
Which confirms what critics have suspected all along: This was an outrageous misuse of public resources, a reckless endangerment of the public, and apparently a massive lie. But was the governor in on it?
It would fit his bully pattern. Christie ducked the limelight yesterday, canceling his only public event — and instead of facing questions from reporters, he released only a brief statement saying he is “outraged.” He was misled by a member of his staff, he maintained, and those responsible will be punished.
The test for him now is his willingness to give up all the evidence, without trying to invoke executive privilege to hide anything from the public. For starters, why were some of the names redacted from these e-mails?
Until yesterday, the official line from Christie’s lieutenants at the Port Authority has been that this was all part of some secret “traffic study”; that they were simply curious to see what sort of mayhem would ensue if two of Fort Lee’s three access lanes to the George Washington Bridge were cut off, suddenly and unannounced.
That’s clearly a bogus story. But was the governor lying, too?
GWB SCANDAL: FULL COVERAGE
Christie originally said that after checking with his staff, he determined that no one from his office was involved in these lane closings. He scoffed at the very idea that it was political retribution against the Fort Lee mayor for refusing to endorse Christie’s re-election, and joked that he had moved the traffic cones himself.
His attempts to laugh this off now appear to be dishonest, though we can’t yet be sure that he personally knew about the doings of one of his top aides. Either way, though, Christie bears responsibility. If it turns out he did know, he is obviously lying and unfit for office — let alone a 2016 presidential run.
And even if he did not, his officials are liars. If Christie can’t control them, how can we trust him as a potential future leader of our country?
These e-mails show that Christie’s deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, was directly involved in the planning of this massive gridlock and got periodic updates. She knew his executives at the Port Authority were ignoring the mayor’s frantic efforts to get a reason behind the lane closures, as emergency responders and school buses full of children got ensnared in the mess for up to four hours. This went on for four days.
Wildstein has been called to testify today about these e-mails, supplied in response to a subpoena, before a panel of state lawmakers. And given the e-mails’ explosive content, we’ll need subpoenas to hear Kelly’s testimony, too — as well as that of Christie’s chief of staff at the time, Kevin O’Dowd, and the chair of the state’s Republican Party, Bill Stepien, who is included in the exchanges.
The most damning evidence against Christie’s officials so far is their utter indifference to the consequences of this prank.
“Is it wrong that I’m smiling?” an unnamed text message to Wildstein reads, in response to the mayor’s distress that buses of children are trapped in traffic on the first day of the school year.
“No,” Wildstein wrote back.
