Christie's convenient conclusion

The New Jersey Port Authority shut down two of the three lanes connecting Fort Lee, N.J., to the George Washington Bridge in September under the guise of a “traffic study.”

During this time, several-hour delays occurred, affecting everyone from commuting workers to ambulances.

A 91-year-old woman died of a heart attack when an ambulance couldn’t reach her home due to the traffic blockages.

Further investigation revealed emails between Bridget Kelly, the deputy chief of staff for Gov. Chris Christie, and Christie-appointed Port Authority executive David Wildstein. The emails revealed there was no traffic study, which has led many to believe the lanes were being shut down as political revenge against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who refused to endorse Christie in his reelection campaign.

As soon as the motive and emails hit the airwaves, Christie, in the typical fashion of a politician, went on the defensive. Calling a press conference in January, Christie pushed the blame solely onto Kelly and Wildstein, claiming he never knew of the plans to close down the bridge.

The scandal, appropriately nicknamed “Bridgegate,” sent alarm bells ringing on both sides of the political spectrum. Democrats pointed at Christie, claiming he did know about the plan and that he should be criminally liable. Republicans, worried about losing a potential presidential candidate in 2016, vehemently defended Christie, claiming Kelly and Wildstein worked independently.

No one should worry, however, because Christie did not know about the bridge closure.

At least, that’s what the investigative team hired by Christie found.
Randy Mastro, an attorney hired by Christie, led the investigation. The investigation interviewed more than 70 witnesses and reviewed over 250,000 documents, including text messages and emails.

Mastro came to the conclusion that Kelly and Wildstein, as well as former Christie campaign manager Bill Stepien, all knew about the lane closure. He concluded that Christie himself did not.

While Christie fans may be sighing in relief and applauding their fearless leader, it’s pretty obvious that this investigation is a sham. Of course the investigation, led by lawyers hired by Christie, found Christie innocent of all wrongdoing. That only makes sense.

Additionally, the investigation failed to even interview people who are key to the case, such as Kelly, Wildstein and Mayor Sokolich.

The fact that Christie spent roughly $1 million in taxpayer dollars on this sham of
an investigation, while both the New Jersey Legislature and the federal government are holding investigations concurrently, is shameful within itself.
Additionally, Christie is quite obviously hiding something that is pertinent to the case. He admitted to speaking to Wildstein two days after the lane closure.
Wildstein claimed they’d discussed the closing of these lanes at that time.

When interviewed, Christie admitted he spoke to Wildstein. He said he can’t remember what exactly they talked about, but he knew for a fact they didn’t talk about the lane closures.  

It is obvious that Christie is willing to go any length to protect his name and his potential presidential bid. So far, he’s wasted $1 million and likely broken numerous investigation ethics codes to do so.

But ultimately, you can’t beat the sweet, sweet scent of corruption.

ajguenth@indiana.edu
@GuentherAndrew