Tag: Chris Christie

Posted on

New Jersey: Gov. Christie Appointee Pleads Guilty In Bridge Closing

David Wildstein, former Port Authority official, has pled guilty to federal charges for his role in causing huge traffic issues at the Washington Bridge as retribution against a small town mayor who refused to endorse Gov. Chris Christie for reelection.

This comes after a 16 month federal investigation.

Wildstein was an appointee of Christie and former close ally.

From Mother Jones:

The guilty plea, from comes as federal prosecutors prepare to indict two others close to Christie for their roles in the incident—and as Christie prepares to make a bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. A New Jersey judge will unseal those indictments on Friday, the New York Times reports.

Wildstein’s plea and the looming indictments are a result of a 16-month federal investigation into the George Washington Bridge scandal. In September 2013, Port Authority officials shut down several access lanes in the town of Fort Lee, New Jersey, setting off a mammoth traffic jam that lasted three days. Christie’s office denied involvement. But the following January, a judge released texts and emails suggesting that Christie’s inner circle masterminded the traffic debacle as political payback against Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor.

Wildstein ordered the lane closures that led to the traffic jam. The Port Authority official, who went to high school with Christie, was described as the governor’s “eyes and ears” inside the agency. But after the bridge scandal burst into public view, Christie sought to distance himself from Wildstein. Wildstein resigned his Port Authority position in December.

The messages released in January revealed that Bridget Anne Kelly, a top aide in Christie’s administration, had also helped order the lane closures. The day of the traffic jam, Kelly wrote to Wildstein: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” “Got it,” Wildstein replied. Christie has repeatedly denied having any prior knowledge of the lane closures.

Posted on

News Round-Up: April 18, 2015

News items you may have missed:

• At this point we all know to act right when sitting in the audience of a Patti LuPone performance. Well, everyone except this woman.

• Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the first gay protest. Bow in respect, please.

• Hollywood legend Rock Hudson’s former boyfriend recently spoke on how the couple kept their gay life secret.

• Jonathan Groff, star of HBO’s LOOKING, admits there was a time he was so closeted he couldn’t be in public with his boyfriend. Not even when he was nominated for a Tony Award.

• Jeb Bush and NJ Gov. Christ Christie want to raise the retirement age for Social Security

• Conan shows you how Hillary Clinton is just like the rest of us

Posted on

Poll: New Jersey Would Not Pick Gov. Christie In 2016 Presidential Run

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows New Jersey voters, who would theoretically know their governor best, would not pick Gov. Chris Christie over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a presidential matchup.

When asked to choose between Christie and Clinton, Hillary came out on top 50-39 percent with the traditionally blue state voters.

Other Republicans fare just as poorly or worse.

• Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush 53-31%
• Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul 55-31%
• 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney 52-35%

Posted on

Meet The Hurricane Sandy Victim NJ Gov. Christie Told to “Sit Down And Shut Up”

Meet Jim Keady, the man New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told to “sit down and shut up.”

Ready stood up at a two year anniversary event where Gov. Christie was talking about all the progress made since Hurricane Sandy.  Ready, however, wanted to know why the bulk of funds allocated to help NJ folks was still sitting in an account.

In an interview, Keady, a small business owner and former Asbury Park councilman, told Bloomberg:

“I’m a 6-foot-4, 215-pound former pro-athlete. I’m not going to be bullied by him. And when he goes into his bullying routine, it lays bare the fact that he does not want to talk about the political realities that are being presented to him.”

During their back and forth, Christie told Keady that “somebody like you doesn’t know a damn thing about what you’re talking about except to stand up and show off when the cameras are here. I’ve been here when the cameras aren’t here buddy, and done the work.” Christie went on to tell Keady that “I’m glad you had your day to show off” and now, “turn around, get your 15 minutes of fame, and then maybe take your jacket off, roll up your sleeves and do something for the people of this state.”

But Keady is no stranger to what New Jersey has been through. He grew up in Belmar, now lives in neighboring Spring Lake, and after the storm, he said, he took a month off of work and volunteered “every day” in Belmar. “They trusted me with one of their borrowed dump trucks and I was running clean up crews all over town,” Keady said. “I wanna know how many crawl spaces the governor was in, cleaning up. But he got his photo-op in Belmar.”

Keady talked about how only 20 percent of a $1.1 billion a program to get people back in their homes has actually gone out. “His administration is sitting on $800 million of taxpayer money that was supposed to go to our fellow New Jerseyans,” Keady said.

“If I’d just stood up, sat down, and been polite, you and I wouldn’t be talking right now,” Keady added. “It’s necessary at times to do small and large acts of civil disobedience so people’s voices can be heard. And if Governor Christie doesn’t like that, he’s in the wrong business.”

Posted on

New report says Gov. Christie was told about bridge lane closings

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

A new report, prepared by NJ Gov. Chris Christie’s lawyers, states that Christie was told of the George Washington Bridge lane closures at a function on September 11, 2013 by Port Authority official David Wildstein.

From the New York Times:

The official, David Wildstein, told Mr. Christie’s press secretary, Michael Drewniak, of the Sept. 11 conversation at a dinner in December just before his resignation from the Port Authority, according to the report.

The report said that Mr. Christie did not recall any such conversation and found no evidence that he was involved in the scheme, which snarled traffic for thousands of commuters in Fort Lee, N.J., from Sept. 9 through the morning of Sept. 12.

It bears repeating that the report was prepared by the Governor’s lawyers. So the fact that would show the Governor “not recalling” a discussion about the lane closures isn’t a surprise.

The report places the blame for the lane closures on former deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly. Kelly was fired in January as the lane closing scandal began to escalate. She was famously called a liar as the Governor’s office sought to distance itself from blame.

At one point, according to the report, Ms. Kelly directed an assistant in the governor’s office to delete an email in which Ms. Kelly had expressed pleasure at learning that the mayor of Fort Lee was angry about the closings. “Get rid of that,” she said, according to the report. (The aide complied, but saved a copy.)

It also claims that Ms. Kelly had become “personally involved” with Bill Stepien, Mr. Christie’s two-time campaign manager and the aide who had previously held Ms. Kelly’s position.

Kelly was famously called a liar as the Governor’s office sought to distance itself from blame.

Posted on

New Jersey: High school friend and Port Authority appointee of Gov. Christie says Christie knew about bridge closing

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Not sure, but the other shoe may be dropping on New Jersey Gov. Christie regarding the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal.  His high school friend and former top aide says the governor knew about the closings, and can prove it.

From the New York Times:

In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as “the Christie administration’s order” and said “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference” three weeks ago.

“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” the letter added.

When news of the bridge closing scandal hit, Mr. Wildstein, the director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority, resigned.

Pundits have been awaiting the news of “who” from the governor’s former team might be the first to save their own skin…

Read more here.

Posted on

Poll: Washington Post shows Hillary clear front runner for 2016

According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the clear front-runner for president in 2016.

In a Democratic primary, the poll shows Democratic voters prefer Clinton over Vice-President Joe Biden by 61 points.

On the Republican side of things, former vice-presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan barely leads a tightly ranked group of possible GOP nominees at 20%, a 2 point lead over former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

In a hypothetical general election, the poll indicates Hillary Clinton would beat NJ Gov. Chris Christie 53% – 41%.

(source)