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Tag: bridge scandal

  • Christina Renna Denies Any Role In NJ Bridge Scandal

    A former Chris Christie aide testified on Tuesday as to the possible role the administration may have had in George Washington bridge lane-closures.

    The closures were allegedly meant to cause major traffic jams and “punish” a mayor that didn’t come out in support of the governor during his campaign.

    Christina Renna told lawmakers that she had no knowledge of the plans to close bridges for false reasons.

    “The bridge lane closures did not in any way, shape or form exemplify the IGA that I know,” said Renna. “For four years, the IGA’s focus was good government.”

    Renna worked under former deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly.

    Though Renna was careful to avoid giving answers that could in anyway implicate herself, Renna joined a rising chorus of voices seeking to put much of the blame for the scandal on Kelly.

    Kelly was the official who sent the email, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” This was believed to have been the direct order to orchestrate the bridge closures.

    Christie fired Kelly for her role in the scandal. Renna resigned in February.

    During her two hour testimony, Renna admitted that she found Kelly to be both “insecure” with a bit of a manipulative personality.

    Said Renna, “[Kelly] would rely heavily on other people, I think, to make decisions for her.”

    Renna admits that the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs which Kelly headed kept an informal list of mayors that either endorsed Christie or were considering doing so.

    However, the former aide said that she did not believe these persons received any special treatment.

    The governor commissioned an internal review which cleared him of any wrongdoing and affirmed his claims he had no knowledge of the closures.

    Critics claim that the review is incomplete and Renna herself said that after speaking with investigators she was sure that the report contained errors.

    Image via YouTube

  • Chris Christie Cleared in Internal Probe

    An internal probe paid for by the governor of New Jersey has cleared Chris Christie in any involvement in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.

    “Our investigation found that Governor Christie did not know of the lane realignment beforehand and had no involvement in the decision to realign the lanes,” NBC News quoted the report, saying the governor “made appropriate inquiries and even convened a special meeting of his senior staff on December 13, 2013, demanding to know whether any of them were involved in this decision, only to be lied to by [then-deputy chief of staff Bridget Ann] Kelly.”

    Democrats were less than convinced by the report. The Associated Press reported that New Jersey State Senator Loretta Weinberg called it “nothing more than an expensive sham” and that it “raises more questions than answers.” Assemblyman John Wisniewski added: “It’s very hard to tell who’s telling the truth when you don’t hear from all sides.”

    The governor justified hiring the lawyers, according to Politico: “The bottom line is, these people have their own professional and personal reputations. They’re not going to whitewash anything for me.”

    In an exclusive interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer Christie affirmed the conclusions of the report: “When things were first reported, I said: ‘This can’t possibly be true. Because who would do something like that?’ Sometimes, people do inexplicably stupid things. And so that’s what makes it so hard then to, as the guy in charge, you…none of it made any sense to me. And to some extent still does not.”

    Diane Sawyer was re-tweeted by Governor Christie regarding the interview:

    However, nothing has been posted by the governor on his Twitter account regarding the report or its conclusions.

    Image via Los Angeles Times, YouTube

  • Chris Christie Avoids Spotlight After Scandal

    New Jersey governor Chris Christie has a bit of ground to cover in terms of working to repair his tarnished image. When Christie and his wife, Mary Pat, traveled to National Governor’s Association meeting held in Washington D.C., this fact must have been on his mind as the governor has made himself scarce since arriving.

    The event takes place over a period of three days, with governors from across the country converging in the nation’s capital. A time for governors to meet up and be available, especially as a number of them have campaigns on the brain, going out of one’s way to be virtually invisible is absolutely abnormal.

    This behavior is especially odd for Christie, who is famous for his outspoken nature. Christie is said to only attend one major event this weekend. He declined an invitation to the White House dinner or and will not be at news conference hosted by the Republican Governor Association. As Christie is the head of this organization, the move is especially awkward.

    The governor is simply not speaking to anyone. There will be no interviews, no appearance at a major media-sponsored forum, and he has declined to comment on any and all media questions.

    Is Christie attempting to avoid speaking about the ongoing bridge scandal or is he worried that he’ll say something to dig himself into an even bigger hole?

    Whatever may be the cause for Christie’s “radio silence”, this outing can still be seen as Christie trying to take small, measured steps towards an improved image.

    Christie will get no help from a number of Democrats, many of whom have seized on the possibility of Christie’s not-yet-proven connection to members of his staff purposely freezing traffic in a New Jersey town in what was called a blatant attempt to punish a Democratic mayor that didn’t come out in support of Christie. The scandal erupted after emails were discovered related to the bridge closure.

    A criminal investigation is ongoing and while Christie denies both personal involvement in or even knowledge of the event, several persons around the governor have either been fired or have resigned in recent weeks.

    Not everyone is out to get the embattled Christie.

    Lily Kersh of Arkansas commented that she thought the New Jersey governor was getting “a bum rap”. In what might have been a show of support, Kersh was more than happy to take a picture with Christie.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jon Stewart Expected More From New Jersey, Chris Christie

    Daily Show host Jon Stewart is upset about the recent “Bridgeghazi” or “Bridgegate” scandal, but probably not for why you would think.

    You may recall hearing recently about how New Jersey governor Chris Christie was allegedly behind the cause of some serious traffic issues for residents of Fort Lee, NJ, by ordering two lanes of the George Washington Bridge to shut down. He apparently did this in attempt to inflict revenge on Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing him for re-election.

    Much to Christie’s dismay, emails were released that delve into details of the plan, and pretty much show the governor’s involvement.

    The result? Traffic was backed up for days, and many of those involved in the scandal have lost their jobs. The worst part is that emergency personnel had issues reaching those who needed their aid because of the traffic jams. One woman even lost her life.

    But these reasons are not why funnyman Stewart is angry about the scandal. No, the Jersey boy is upset about just how obvious those involved in the scandal went about making their plans.

    “As a guy who grew up in New Jersey, I’m disappointed, I’m ashamed of the state I grew up in,” he said on his show. “Planning this over email, with non-coded email? You oughta be ashamed of yourself!”

    Stewart said the way he would’ve handled the business goes a little something like this:

    “Hey, did you take care of that thing?’ ‘Yeah, that thing? Yeah, I took care of that thing. Yeah, our good friend Lee? Yeah, he’s constipated, all right. … he’s gonna be all backed up.”

    Stewart believes the storied history of his state, one that involves much corruption, should’ve played a role into how Christie’s team went about executing the scandal.

    “Have you seen our state flag?” he exclaimed, speaking of how it features a horse’s head on the crest of a helmet. “There is literally a severed horse’s head on the state flag! That sends a message to every other state in the union.”

    Watch Stewart’s rant, here:

    Stewart’s fans on Twitter were quite proud of his work:

    Image via Facebook