New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has been saying that he knew nothing about the scandal involving lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, may have known about the closings while they were happening. The New York Times reports that the former official with the Port Authority who oversaw those lane closures had evidence to prove that the governor knew about them.
David Wildstein’s lawyer released a letter called the order to close the lanes on the bridge “the Christie administration’s order” and said there was evidence which ties the New Jersey governor to the bridge closures during the time they were actually happening. This is the opposite of what Christie said three weeks ago when he gave a press conference on what some are now referring to as the Bridgegate scandal.
Wildstein’s letter states that he opposes some of the statements Christie made about him and said he had evidence to prove that some of the governor’s statements were inaccurate.
Chris Christie’s office embroiled in controversy
The problem dates back to earlier this month when documents came to light showing that Bridget Anne Kelly, a deputy chief of staff for Chris Christie’s office, emailed Wildstein saying, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” That’s the name of the town at the end of the George Washington Bridge on the New Jersey side. The town’s mayor had refused to endorse Christie’s re-election. Closing some of the lanes on the bridge caused major traffic issues in Fort Lee.
Christie continues to deny that he knew his staff members were responsible for the lane closures. His administration has, thus far, tried to play the issue off as the actions of just one rogue staffer. Chris Christie fired Kelly this month, placing the blame on her. Wildstein, who had been the Port Authority’s director of interstate capital projects, resigned.
