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Tag: Christie

  • Federal Prosecutors Investigating Chairman of Port Authority

    Perhaps the full story will come out about the “Bridgegate Scandal” involving Gov. Chris Christie’s aides, and what part Christie actually played, as Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have subpoenaed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for records related to potential conflicts of interest involving its chairman, David Samson.

    Samson is a prominent New Jersey lawyer and close political ally of Gov. Christie, according to people briefed on the matter.

    Mr. Samson and his law firm, Wolff & Samson, have come under intense scrutiny as a result of the business dealings involved in the intentional closing of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in September, and the scandal that ensued. The lane closings are the subject of a separate inquiry by federal prosecutors in New Jersey, who are examining the roles of several current and former aides and allies of Christie.

    Another suspicious fact in regard to Christie is that David Samson’s law firm, Wolff & Samson, has become one of the biggest bond counsel firms in New Jersey since Christie became governor in 2010.

    But, the subpoenas or their connection to the bridge inquiry is still unknown, as neither of the prosecutor’s offices would issue comments on the matter. But the likely conflict of interest between Samson and Christie could just widen the scandal.

    To make matters worse, for Christie that is, is that in addition to the investigation into the lane closings being conducted by the office of the United States attorney for New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman, the scandal has led to at least one other investigation, focused in part on members of Mr. Christie’s administration.

    That second scandal is the inquiry into allegations by Hoboken mayor, Dawn Zimmer. She states that Christie’s lieutenant governor threatened to withhold hurricane “Sandy” funds if a project the governor favored was not supported.

    An investigation taking place now, by the New Jersey Legislature, is focused on who ordered the closing of lane access leading to Fort Lee, NJ, and why Samson’s name ‘came up’ in emails released during the early inquiry of that scandal. The emails in question suggested that he was not concerned about the thousands of people possibly trapped in that forced traffic jam, and appeared angered by Port Authority’s Patrick J. Foye’s efforts to find out why the lanes were jammed.

    Samson later received a subpoena from the committee seeking a broad range of documents and other materials including his communications, correspondence, emails, and appointment calendars. Said subpoena asking for records during that Port Authority conflict are the first indications of criminal investigations surrounding him.

    Samson’s lawyer, Michael Chertoff, would not respond to questions about the subpoena, saying through a spokeswoman, “We are not commenting on the progress of investigations.”

    It is unclear which conflicts were in question regarding the Port Authority subpoena, or why federal prosecutors in Manhattan had issued a subpoena at all, as Mr. Fishman’s office in New Jersey already has the bridge inquiry under investigation.

    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

  • U.S. Attorney In New Jersey Opens Inquiry Into Christie Bridge Scandal

    Amid all of the recent scandal involving the New Jersey Governor’s aides playing traffic cops with the George Washington Bridge, Chris Christie has finally taken action today. He fired the top aide who was at the center the bridge incident, Bridget Anne Kelly.

    The others who were involved, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni, Port Authority appointees and close political associates of Christie, resigned in December.

    He obviously scrambled to fire the main political aide involved, just as the announcement came that the U.S. Attorney in N.J. was launching a full on inquiry into the activities involving the intentional traffic jam and Governor Christies’ staff members.

    The closure of several lanes on the George Washington Bridge was proven, via emails collected by NorthJersey.com, that the closure was an effort to retaliate against Fort Lee’s Mayor Mark Sokolich (D), who did not endorse Christie for reelection.

    “I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team,” Christie said. “I am who I am, but I am not a bully.”

    U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman has opened a probe into the lane closures, his spokesperson Rebekah Carmichael said in a statement.

    “The Port Authority Office of Inspector General has referred the matter to us, and our office is reviewing it to determine whether a federal law was implicated,” Carmichael added.

    The George Washington Bridge, is one of the busiest in the world, connecting New York City to Fort Lee. The four-day lane closure in September caused hours-long traffic jams and considerable delays to motorists, school buses and ambulances.

    This incident is likely to tarnish Christie’s image and national standing as he considers a 2016 bid for the White House.

    Christie said at his news conference on Thursday that he had been misled by his staff and knew nothing of the lane closings before they occurred. He also said he was “blind-sided” by the emails.

    In the most damning email, Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly wrote to a Port Authority executive in August, saying: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

    The executive, David Wildstein, replied: “Got it.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Crying YouTube Star Has His Wish Granted To Be Governor [VIDEO]

    Crying YouTube Star Has His Wish Granted To Be Governor [VIDEO]

    Go ahead and file this story in the “feel good news” category. Jesse Koczon, who came into fame when crying about being too young to be governor, has had his wish fulfilled. Governor Christie, signed a proclamation on Wednesday which made Koczon honorary governor of New Jersey for the day.

    The story begins during the election in 2009. Jesse’s parents took both him and his brother to the polls, to give them a look at what happens during elections. Jesse wanted to vote, but was told he was too young. Like most children when they’re told they aren’t able to do something, Jesse began to cry. This continued to the car, when Jesse’s mom began filming her son’s tantrum on being too young to become governor.

    The video became an instant hit, and eventually led to the family receiving $10,000 from America’s Funniest Home Videos. The good fortune didn’t end there however, as Governor Christie caught wind of the video. He tweeted this in response:

    @GovChristie
    Governor Christie    Don’t worry Jesse, people gave plenty of reasons why I couldn’t be Governor, though being too small wasn’t one of them http://bit.ly/hBdpC4 6 days ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    Christie’s involvement went beyond tweeting, as he ended up inviting Jesse and his family to tour his office and check out the governor’s job. The proclamation declaring Jesse as honorary governor was a surprise, which led to a press conference announcing Jesse’s new position. Like the video listed above, hilarity and insanity ensues. If only all political press conferences could be this entertaining.

    When asked what his first act as governor would be, he answered “going home”. He promises to not raise property taxes though. Sounds like the kid already has an idea of what it takes to be a successful politician.