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Tag: bridgegate

  • Chris Christie Battles More Protests Than Ever

    New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is no stranger to shouting protestors. In fact, the governor has built a reputation on not being afraid to tell people off at live events when they disturb his oratory. Because disrupting a Christie event has failed to get much traction, most people had stopped doing it. All it seemed to accomplish was to throw red meat to those folks who liked hearing Christie insult people who spoke up to question or challenge him.

    But lately the AP reports that Chris Christie has had to face a renewed wave of protests. His opponents smell blood in the water and they have apparently decided that the time is right to press their various and sundry issues in public forums.

    When Christie found himself embroiled in “Bridgegate”, his stock plummeted. The whispers that he might be a 2016 GOP Presidential race contender largely went away. Accusations of impropriety over his handling and knowledge of the bridge scandal, as well as his handling of Federal emergency funding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, cast a large shadow over Christie’s celebrity.

    For weeks, he has kept a relatively low profile, appearing only at Republican-friendly events and at the town hall meetings that had always been his relatively-unchallenged forté. But now the protestors are taking the fight to Christie at these town halls, standing up to shout questions and chant that “New Jersey deserves better.”

    Christie has come up with a novel way of dealing with them. He preempts their disturbance with an early warning to audiences that it may happen. But he also draws his own frame around the disturbances-to-come by telling attendees that protestors are recruited to appear by the Communication Workers of America, the state workers’ union. He says, “What they wanna do is come here and disturb your ability to ask questions.”

    Then, when the protestors do start in with their pre-scripted interruption, and state police walk them to the door, Christie tells those folks left that he was a “soothsayer”, that he had told them that this was going to happen. Now he is left with a room of his supporters, explaining to them his own spin on why people come to protest: To disturb you and keep you from asking questions.

    Image via YouTube

  • Christie: 3 Mayor Accusations Are Fueling Scandal

    This past months accusations were flying about Chris Christie, but now they’ve sort of fizzled.

    At first, as the scandals involving their cities were revealed, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D) and Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer (D) were talking to every media outlet they could.

    Could it have been related to the fact that another scandal had arisen – when the administration of Gov. Chris Christie made the decision to close access lanes to the George Washington Bridge for four days, causing a traffic nightmare. Fueling the flames perhaps?

    Sokolich went on both CNN and MSNBC that night.

    Zimmer came out with her accusations on MSNBC last Saturday, and on CNN’s “State of the Union” and ABC’s “This Week” the next day. She claimed that members of the Christie administration, namely Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Richard Constable, used Hurricane Sandy relief funds as hostage to pressure her into supporting a development project the Gov. wanted.

    New Jersey City Mayor, Steven Fulop opened up with the accusations as well, claiming he was a target of political retribution.

    This past week, both Sokolich and Zimmer along with Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, another who claimed he was a target of political retribution, have been quiet.

    Perhaps the decision for Zimmer to lay low came after the U.S. Attorney’s Office began an investigation into her claim, along with the George Washington Bridge scandal.

    “The U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked that we not conduct additional media interviews and we are respecting their request,” Zimmer said in a statement Wednesday. “I stand by my previous statements and remain willing to testify under oath about all of the facts in this case.”

    Business Insider was scheduled to meet with Sokolich during a recent trip to Fort Lee. But an assistant to the mayor sent out an email the morning of the trip to advise that the mayor was no longer accepting interviews.

    “I had an opportunity to speak with Mayor Sokolich about 20 minutes ago and he advised that at this time, he has spoken to the press and has said what he needed to say,” the email said.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office’s request for silence with the press is relatively standard procedure, which indicates a high level of importance.

    They want to keep the details of the case, and witness statements hush, hush, until they complete their investigation.

    “You can imagine why,” the official said. “When they go to someone and interview them, they want to have the benefit of having as much information as possible. And they don’t want that person to know what they know, because then they have a chance to change their story or to destroy documents or do anything else to ‘get ready.’

    But Fulop’s claims are not included in the U.S. Attorney’s investigation, and now he’s been silent – after pressing his case for months that members of the Christie administration have canceled meetings and not returned phone calls after Fulop’s refusal to endorse Christie for re-election.

    There are rumors of impeachment looming for Christie, but it is much too soon to determine if it will surface.

    Image via YouTube

  • Chris Christie: Is He Going To War With MSNBC?

    Strong allegations from Hoboken’s Mayor Dawn Zimmer (D), which aired on MSNBC Saturday morning, had New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) office slamming the network as overtly “partisan.”

    Zimmer, in an interview with MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki, claims the Governor’s administration withheld millions of dollars in Hurricane Sandy relief money as “leverage” for a redevelopment plan.

    After Hoboken was badly hit by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, Zimmer requested $127 million in aid but received less than $400,000, she said. Zimmer named Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Christie’s community affairs commissioner Richard Constable as the officials who pressured her – twice – to give her approval on the plan, and provided emails, public records, and her own personal accounts to support her claims.

    “I was emotional about governor Christie,” Zimmer wrote in a diary entry dated May 17, 2013. “I thought he was honest. I thought he was moral. I thought he was something very different. This week I found out he’s cut from the same corrupt cloth that I have been fighting for the last four years.”

    Gov. Christie chastised the network for airing the accusation in his expected “bully” manner, more than aware that an allegation such as this is likely to increase public scrutiny of him and his administration, right behind this month’s Bridge-gate scandal.

    In a statement not long after the accusation, Christie spokesman Colin Reed said that the governor and Zimmer have had a good working relationship throughout both of their tenures. But the first part of his statement focused on MSNBC, and how openly hostile it has been in attacking Christie over the past two weeks.

    Reed also mentioned the discriminating ad that was produced and aired this week by MSNBC’s host Lawrence O’Donnell, which attacks Christie over the scandal initiated by his administration involving lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in September.

    Here’s the full statement from Reed:

    “MSNBC is a partisan network that has been openly hostile to Governor Christie and almost gleeful in their efforts attacking him, even taking the unprecedented step of producing and airing a nearly three-minute attack ad against him this week. Governor Christie and his entire administration have been helping Hoboken get the help they need after Sandy, with the city already having been approved for nearly $70 million dollars in federal aid and is targeted to get even more when the Obama Administration approves the next rounds of funding. The Governor and Mayor Zimmer have had a productive relationship, with Mayor Zimmer even recently saying she’s ‘very glad’ he’s been our Governor. It’s very clear partisan politics are at play here as Democratic mayors with a political axe to grind come out of the woodwork and try to get their faces on television.”

    “Our journalism speaks for itself,” MSNBC spokesperson Lauren Skowronski told Business Insider in response to Christie’s office.

    Image via YouTube

  • Chris Christie Heads Florida Fundraisers After Traffic Fiasco

    This weekend, Chris Christie heads south – and hopes that his political future doesn’t.

    As he travels to Florida, the New Jersey governor will be making be his first out of state trip following his lane closure scandal last year. During the event, also known as “Bridgegate”, a traffic holdup on the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee resulted in closed lanes and gridlock. It was surmised that perhaps Christie’s aides may have been involved as a recently released email from former deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly said, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee”. Subsequently, it was believed this move may have been at Christie’s direction – the motive conceivably having been to penalize the town’s mayor for not endorsing him.

    He has already taken measures by distancing himself from those involved and spending a January 9th news conference disputing any direct connection to the matter over the course of two hours. However, as 20 subpoena targets were announced this Friday, the pot is getting stirred anew.

    Thus, Christie will spend a good deal of his visit attempting to restore a sense of confidence in his Republican donors by assuring them that he is handling the allegations and that he is still a feasible presidential candidate for 2016. While there, he will attend several fundraisers to assist Republican Gov. Rick Scott and simultaneously seek to assuage any fears long-time and newcomer supporters alike might have about his negative media attention. His Saturday schedule will include helping to raise money for Scott at a luncheon in Orlando, a Palm Beach event with one of the nation’s largest sugar producers, and a Fort Lauderdale fundraiser at the residence of Bill Rubin (a lobbying firm president and friend of Scott). Sunday, Christie will appear at two more Palm Peach fundraisers in addition to a meeting organized by Home Depot co-founder, Ken Langone, and comprising major financial backers.

    When asked how supporters felt about Christie’s current controversy, Langone said potential donors have told him they were impressed by Christie’s decisiveness and candor at the Trenton news conference.

    Others, like Al Hoffman (Republican donor who co-chaired campaign of President George W. Bush), claimed Christie’s public image may have been marred in the eyes of some fundraisers, but that his continued openness and apologetic approach would help. He said, “He’s apologizing all over the place, which I think is good. It will help re-establish his credibility base, which is pretty high anyway. But more of it won’t hurt.”

    At the outset of February, Christie intends to travel to Dallas and Houston for RGA finance events before heading to Chicago for fundraisers as well.

    Image via Vine

  • ‘Born To Run’ Parody Spoofs New Jersey’s ‘Bridgegate’ Scandal

    New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is no stranger to being spoofed by the media. The latest  joke comes courtesy of Bruce Springsteen and Late Night host Jimmy Fallon who did an exceptionally funny remake of Springsteen’s “Born to Run”.  The song was intended to spoof the “Bridgegate” scandal regarding last September’s massive traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge caused by top members of Christie’s staff.

    The two men appeared on Late Night dressed in 1970’s Springsteen-styled matching outfits. They wore sleeveless vests and red bandanas to do the parody.

    “You got Wall Street masters stuck cheek to cheek with blue collar truckers and man I really gotta take a leak, but I can’t. I’m stuck in Governor Chris Christie’s Fort Lee New Jersey traffic jam,” Springsteen sang.

    This might seem odd because Christie is known to be one Springsteen’s biggest fans who says he attended more than 100 concerts of “The Boss”.

    The parody also mocks Christie’s long press conference to address the scandal. “It was longer than one of my own damn shows,” Springsteen continued.

    In the parody, Springsteen also said the governor was “killing the working man” as a result of the traffic jam.

    Last week, Christie fired his deputy Chief of Staff after documents revealed that she was involved in closing lanes on the George Washington Bridge  causing traffic jams that lasted for days in Fort Lee.

    Correspondence by the Chief of Staff implied that the jam was caused by Christie’s aides in retaliation to a democratic mayor who refused to endorse the Governor for re-election.

    “Ooohhh, baby this Bridgegate was just pay back.  It’s a bitch slap to the state Democrats, ” sung Springsteen.

    Jimmy Fallon never ceases to amaze. As the duo performed it was hard to tell who was actually Springsteen — singing wise at least. Fallon’s impersonation of Springsteen’s singing was funny and spot-on. It’s not the first time he and Springsteen teamed up on the show. A few years back Fallon did an impersonation of rocker Neil Young that was equally as amazing and Springsteen joined him on stage to make the performance even more special.

    http://youtu.be/9adAljIaKYc

    Image via YouTube

  • Bruce Springsteen Mocks “Bridgegate” On Fallon

    Bruce Springsteen is often the celebrity one thinks of when New Jersey comes to mind; he’s made the state famous over the years with his anthems, and Governor Chris Christie really digs him. So much so that he’s been called “weirdly obsessed” when it comes to The Boss. Unfortunately for Christie, the “Bridgegate” scandal has reached his idol.

    Springsteen appeared on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday and did a performance of “Born To Run” that had some alternate lyrics.

    “Man, I really gotta take a leak/But I can’t/ Because I’m stuck in Governor Chris Christie’s Fort Lee, New Jersey traffic jam,” Springsteen sang.

    Christie has been at the center of at least two scandals since last week, when emails from one of his staffers were released showing she had arranged for several lanes of traffic to be closed down between the George Washington Bridge and the town of Fort Lee last September as revenge on the mayor for not backing Christie for re-election. The aide, Bridget Anne Kelly, was promptly fired once news got out, and Christie maintains he had no knowledge of the lane closings. The traffic headaches the closings caused were just the beginning; it was reported that at least four medical emergencies were impacted due to traffic jams, and one 91-year old woman died when EMS crews couldn’t reach her in time.

    Christie’s involvement has been under close scrutiny, especially since the beginning of this week, when a photo was leaked that showed him standing with David Wildstein–an appointee for the Port Authority who would have been in charge of closing the lanes–on the anniversary of 9/11 after he said he’d had no interaction with Wildstein since long before that.

    Image via YouTube

  • Chris Christie Tripped Up By Pic In Traffic Scandal

    Chris Christie has denied all knowledge of the traffic nightmare now being referred to as “Bridgegate”, which closed down several lanes of traffic for four days last year between the George Washington Bridge and the town of Fort Lee on the command of a Christie staffer. Governor Christie even said he’s had no contact with one of the involved parties, David Wildstein, in quite a while, so there’s no way he knew beforehand about Wildstein’s plan to close the lanes. However, a photo published today by the Wall Street Journal shows Christie and Wildstein sharing company on the anniversary of 9/11 last year, which contradicts his story.

    “I have had no contact with David Wildstein in a long time, a long time, well before the election,” Christie said last week. “You know, I could probably count on one hand the number of conversations I’ve had with David since he worked at the Port Authority. I did not interact with David.”

    Christie has had no comment on the photo yet, but the public may be calling for an explanation soon.

    “If it doesn’t contradict him, at the very least it means that we’ll have to know more about what the governor meant last week,” said journalist Ted Mann.

    Christie claims he had no prior knowledge of the shutdown, which allegedly began when his Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly sent an email to Wildstein that read, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” after the mayor failed to back Christie for re-election. Christie fired Kelly after the emails went public earlier this month and issued a public apology.

    “What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions,” he said in the statement.

    On the heels of his apology came an investigation into a possible misuse of funds after he released expensive tourism ads starring his family, which may have been produced with money taken from Hurricane Sandy relief money. A spokesman for the governor released a statement about the investigation, saying, “The Stronger Than The Storm campaign was just one part of the first action plan approved by the Obama Administration and developed with the goal of effectively communicating that the Jersey Shore was open for business during the first summer after Sandy. Federal agency reviews are routine and standard operating procedure with all federally allocated resources to ensure that funds are distributed fairly. We’re confident that any review will show that the ads were a key part in helping New Jersey get back on its feet after being struck by the worst storm in state history.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Chris Christie Investigated For Misuse Of Sandy Funds

    Chris Christie is facing new scandal this week after it was reported that an investigation is underway concerning his possible misuse of Hurricane Sandy funds.

    Governor Christie is allegedly being looked at closely for possibly taking relief money to produce tourism ads for New Jersey which starred his family. The news comes just one week after he fired two staffers in what the media is calling “Bridgegate”, the controversial release of emails between the governor’s aide and a Port Authority appointee that show they shut down lanes of traffic between the George Washington Bridge and Fort Lee for four days last year, causing chaos and possibly even a death. The reason for the shutdown is allegedly revenge on the mayor, who didn’t back Christie for re-election.

    New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone says that the inspector general has concluded that there’s enough evidence of wrongdoing to launch an investigation, which could take months to complete. Christie is accused of taking some of the $25 million earmarked for relief after Hurricane Sandy decimated much of the area to create expensive tourism ads in order to draw people to the Jersey Shore.

    “This was money that could have directly been used for Sandy recovery. And, as you know, many of my constituents still haven’t gotten the money that is owed them to rebuild their homes or raise their homes or to help,” Pallone told CNN.

    This latest scandal could seriously affect his bid for the White House. Christie still maintains that he knew nothing about the lane closings on the bridge until the emails were released

    “What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions,” he said in the statement.

    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

  • Chris Christie: Documents Released In “Bridgegate”

    Chris Christie may not have heard the last of the accusations in the “Bridgegate” scandal, as 1,000 documents have been released today concerning the incident.

    The documents were made public by New Jersey legislators and contain information about the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge last year that wreaked havoc on traffic for four days and may have contributed to the death of a 91-year old woman who was having a health emergency and couldn’t get help in time. Governor Christie laid the blame on the shoulders of his aide, whose emails were leaked earlier this week and appeared to seek revenge on the mayor, who didn’t endorse Christie for re-election.

    “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” wrote Kelly in an email to a Port Authority appointee David Wildstein.

    Christie promised to hold his staffers responsible and said he planned to fire Kelly, saying he had no knowledge about the emails or the plans to close down the lanes of traffic between the bridge and Fort Lee.

    “What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions,” he said in the statement.

    Many believe that the documents released today may shed a negative light on Christie.

    “He’s not fully in control of this story anymore,” said Julian Zelizer, a professor of history at Princeton University. “Because he took such a firm stand yesterday and was emphatic that this was it, any information that shows otherwise will continue the story and force him to put more time on it.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons