Gov. Chris Christie’s internal review of bridge flap expected to clear him
(CNN) - The law firm hired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s office to conduct an investigation into the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge will release the results of the internal review Thursday morning.
After spending nearly three months looking into who orchestrated the lane closures and why, a team of lawyers led by Randy Mastro - a member of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s administration - is expected to clear the governor of any wrongdoing. The report concludes that there is no evidence linking Christie to “plotting or directing” the traffic jams that are at the center of a political scandal roiling his administration, the New York Times reported on Monday.
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A state legislative investigative committee and the U.S. attorney’s office are looking into whether the tie-ups in Fort Lee were set in motion deliberately by top Christie appointees.
The governor’s office issued a statement saying that the legal team had full cooperation from Christie and his administration. That cooperation included handing over the governor’s iPhone and access to his government and personal e-mail accounts. Investigators also had access to the e-mails and cell phones of current and former administration officials.
Christie has said previously that he knew nothing about the traffic jams over several days in September until they were over, and found out only from media reports. He also denied having any knowledge of political mischief by his staff or other appointees.
Mastro and four other attorneys from the firm Gibson Dunn have been working on the internal review that the Times reported has cost $1 million so far.
Although Mastro and his team had unfettered access to members of the Christie administration, they were unable to speak with three people at the center of the controversy: Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff; Bill Baroni, former Port Authority deputy executive director; and David Wildstein, the Christie appointee at the bi-state transportation agency who, according to recently revealed e-mails and text messages, drove around Fort Lee to inspect the traffic tie-ups.
Christie: Bridge scandal doesn't change anything about 2016
On his monthly “Ask the Governor” radio show, Christie said that interviews aren’t the only way to get answers about the lane closures.
“There’s lots and lots of documents that involve all those people which have been part of the public record or will become part of the public record as we go forward, and you can discern a lot from that,” he said.
New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski, the Democratic co-chairman of the special investigative committee looking into the matter, raised some doubts about the conclusions of the internal review.
He said questions remain unanswered, specifically by Kelly, whose purported e-mail to a Port Authority official weeks before the lane closures - “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” – has yet to be explained to the committee, according to Wisniewski.
“If we don’t know why she sent that e-mail, if we don’t know who gave her the authority to send that e-mail, if we don’t know what she thought she may be accomplishing by sending that e-mail, then we can’t have a complete picture of what happened here,” Wisniewski told the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
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If Chris did wrong we will find out ! I sure dont sense no cover ups like oh never mind you know where do we start ?
One might expect and hope Christie's own investigation- conducted by his lawyers, without questioning the 5 key players would clear him.
Oy!
You mean the people that Christie hired to investigate is gonna clear his name? Well there you go. Still wonder where Issa is on all this especially if Sandy relief funds were used. Then again you cant expect Mr. Issa to hold any Republicans accountable.
The law firm hired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s office to conduct an investigation into the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge .
That say's it all !
Hire your own Public Relations department to clear you of any wrong doing .
We have investigated ourselves & have nothing wrong. RIGHT!!!! How about an "independent" investigation of what really happened.
I really do not know if this Investigation can be considered independent. more importantly look at the list of people they did not look at or see records of Kelly, Stepien, 5th amendment takers, Baroni and David Wildstein.
Until we can see Kelly and Stepien E-mails, there will always remain a doubt in my mind whether Christie knew or not. But to me the larger question is Hoboken and there is no way Christie was not involved in that farce.
Regards,
Hodgson.
Internal Review? Where are the external, none biased investigations hiding these days? This smells.
interesting the lawyers that you hired to defend you will go into court and said he did it. i wonder if youi should pay this lawyer or knock him out. come on folks, Giuliani lawyers. i guest when they put lawyers up their with the most immoral people on the planet, they was hitting on something their. come on Christie aint no way on this earth every one closest to you knew about this bridge closing and you had no clue. you might have got me if one person in your inner circle did it without no one else involved but not almost your whole entire inner circle and no one had the balls to tell you the boss. come on men i will believe that when pigs fly.,
Too funny. The defendant's lawyer says he's NOT GUILTY.
As far as being president (good luck) how does a governor not know about a bridge closure that lasted four days? Was he on a sugar high?
So a firm that Christie is paying, with tax payer money, to do an internal investigation on his misconduct will say he is innocent? Yeah, of course they will, all whores compliment you on the size of your member, that's what they are paid to do.
What a surprise...
LOL. Christie clears himself. Funny stuff.
Before you vote gop, remember their plans, no ss, and a worthless voucher for Medicaid, thats the unfortunate truth. We need that to give more tax breaks for the rich, that creates jobs you know. The sad: truth is you don't want yo know how bad your life gets under Republican rule, unions will be eliminated, like them or not, they are the only organized workers rights group. The writing is on the wall, they are the ones taking your rights away.
Republicans new more is to pass whatever they want, and make the Democrats prove its unconstitutional, yet they want you to believe they are protecting you, nothing could be further from the truth, a Republican controlled house and senate,, is bad for 95% of the people, you won't recognize your country before your able to vote them back out. Their plans are clear, their boundaries are non existing, the only one who will fight for you, the same one who "made" you vote gop .
Not to sound like I'm dumping on Christie, but just how credible is an investigation by a law firm, with which you have had a long history of doing business? Not very.
How credible is the investigation when the only evidence that was used in the investigation went through your office before being sent to the "investigatiors"? Not at all.
How credible is the investigation when no evidence is presented from the two people at the center of it all, Kelly and Stepien?
Nothing to see here folks, move along, hilarious.
So their investigation is over, even though the three main characters have not even so much as answered one question, must be nice, now that's justice!
Surprise, surprise!
Of course he had no clue what was going on next door by his appointees in the next room. He should have had his personal lawyers interview the 5 who were actually involved before they determined their verdict.
What kind of a fool wastes tax payer money to hire people to vindicate himself? Its not his job and its a huge conflict of interest which destroys any and all credibility. Leave it to the federal investigators!
"I'm still the same guy," Christie insisted. "I think you can see by the way I'm conducting myself publicly. I'm still the same person."
"If others don't want to respond to me in the same way, that's going to be up to them," he continued. "But then that's their responsibility."
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"But then that's their responsibility"......Hahaha.
Boy that sounded like a nicely couched threat didn't it?!
well you could have knocked me over with a feather on this one. I expect them to publically declare him a martyr of the "lame stream media" and work on sainthood for him
So his own investigation is clearing himself, go figure...
O, so if a group of partisan lawyers that are handsomely paid to make sure Christie is innocent we're supposed to listen..Yah ,when Christie learns to sprout wings and fly ,if yah know what I mean...I'll hold my judgement for the real investigators not a bunch of crooks hired that worked for a crook in Giuliani...Quit the crap Christie your name is toast no matter what of this comes out because real investigators will uncover more than the bridge scandal and Christie,republicans know it...
Really, what did we expect from HIS law firm. That is what they are paid to do.