Governor Chris Christie has recently been cleared of suspicions that he knew about a bridge closing in 2013.
On Sept. 9 2013, some of Gov. Christie’s staff shut down access lanes to George Washington Bridge in spite directed toward Fort Lee’s mayor, democrat Mark Sokolich, for not agreeing to back Christie when he was campaigning for office. This action came to public notice in early January.
In a Jan. 9 news conference, Christie said he had come to apologize “to the people of New Jersey.” Christie said he was “told this was a traffic study” and said he was “embarrassed and humiliated” at finding the lanes were closed in political vengeance.
Christie’s deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, was fired from her position and became the main scapegoat for the scandal, along with David Wildstein. Lines from their e-mail correspondence seem condemning: Kelly wrote “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” and Wildstein wrote back “Got it.”
However, in late January, a letter released by Port Authority official David Wildstein’s attorney claimed that Christie knew about the ordered closings and the real reason they were occurring. Wildstein resigned from his position at Port Authority shortly after the ‘’Bridgegate’’ story broke.
The public seems to have taken this accusation to heart, booing Christie when he appeared as part of Super Bowl publicity on Feb. 1. The New York Daily News predicted resignation or impeachment if it could be proven that Christie knew of the lane closings beforehand.
On Feb. 3, Christie repeatedly denied any knowledge of the motivations behind the lane closures. Christies also said of Wildstein, “Dave Wildstein will do and say anything to save Dave Wildstein” in an apparent attempt at to discredit Wildstein’s letter.
While Wildstein has not yet been subpoenaed, Kelly and another close associate of Christie, Bill Stepien, have. Both of them have failed to comply with the subpoenas and their lawyers have asked that the subpoenas be withdrawn.
Christie is forging ahead with state business, but he is losing support from both the people of New Jersey and his associates. The scandal has slowed the notable momentum Christie had as a potential candidate for the 2016 presidential election.
Governor Chris Christie likely to win the Republican Party’s 2016 nomination. Now, the so-called “Bridgegate” scandal threatens that nomination, Christie’s governorship, and his businesslike reputation.