N.Y. / Region
Top Christie Staff Sought to Disrupt Traffic as Revenge
Newly released emails and text messages
show that Gov. Chris Christie’s office was closely involved with lane
closings on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge in
September, and that officials closed the lanes as retribution against
the Democratic mayor whose town was gridlocked as a result.
The
growing scandal around the bridge threatens Mr. Christie at the moment
he assumes an even larger position on the national stage, as chairman of
the Republican Governors Association and a leading candidate for his
party’s presidential nomination in 2016.
In
the documents, obtained by The New York Times and other news outlets on
Wednesday morning, Bridget Anne Kelly, a deputy chief of staff in Mr.
Christie’s office, gave a signal to the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey to close the lanes about two weeks before the closings
occurred.
“Time
for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she emailed David Wildstein,
Mr. Christie’s close friend from high school, and one of his appointees
at the Port Authority, which controls the bridge. Mr. Christie and some
officials at Port Authority have said the closings were done as part of a
traffic study, but they caused havoc for days, backing up traffic for
hours.
Timeline of Events
Mr.
Christie’s handpicked chairman of the Port Authority, David Samson, was
also involved in the closings, according to the emails, which describe
his efforts to “retaliate” against New York officials who had not been
told of the changes and sought to ease the gridlock.
While
the emails do not establish that the governor himself called for the
lane closings, they do show his staff was intimately involved,
contradicting Mr. Christie’s repeated avowals that no one in his office
or campaign knew.
That
conflicts with the governor’s carefully crafted reputation as the rare
politician who will tell it like it is, even when the news is difficult.
And the pettiness described in the emails flies against the image Mr.
Christie’s aides have sought to craft for him, of a new kind of leader,
above the partisan politics and small-mindedness of Washington.
After
the emails were released, Mr. Christie canceled his one public event
for the day, which had been billed as an announcement of progress in the
recovery from Hurricane Sandy. He issued a statement in the late
afternoon, saying he had been “misled” and emphasizing he had no prior
knowledge of the events.
“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,” Mr. Christie said.
“This
type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it, because
the people of New Jersey deserve better,” he added. “This behavior is
not representative of me or my administration in any way, and people
will be held responsible for their actions.”
The
emails indicate that Mr. Christie’s staff and his associates at the
Port Authority were closely aware of the political context. Mr. Christie
was leaning on local Democratic officials to endorse his re-election
bid so that he could then seek his party’s presidential nomination by
arguing that he was the candidate who could attract bipartisan support
in a blue state.
Document: Emails Between Top Christie Aides and Port Authority Officials
Mr.
Christie won re-election in November by 22 points, and instantly became
a leading candidate for his party’s presidential nomination by winning
across many demographic groups. His campaign boasted that he had been
endorsed by more than 50 local Democratic officials.
But
the documents released Wednesday further the perception of what
Republicans as well as Democrats in New Jersey have long said about the
governor: that he wields fear and favor to get what he wants, and lashes out at even the smallest perceived slights.
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During
the campaign, as Mr. Christie and his associates leaned on Democratic
local officials for endorsements, many mayors whispered that they feared
the governor would withhold money or favor if they did not go along.
Even Republican lawmakers who have supported Mr. Christie tell stories
of being punished when he perceived them as not supporting him enough.
The
mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich, is a Democrat and did not endorse Mr.
Christie. In the obtained emails and texts, Mr. Christie’s staff and
appointees appeared gleeful when the abrupt lane closings gridlocked the town for days,
beginning with the first day of school and including the anniversary of
Sept. 11. Mr. Sokolich, who had not been informed of the closings,
texted Bill Baroni, the governor’s top appointee at the Port Authority,
asking for “help” because the lane closings were making children on
buses late to school.
“Is it wrong that I am smiling?” Mr. Wildstein texted Ms. Kelly.
“No,” she texted back.
“I feel badly about the kids,” he texted.
“They
are the children of Buono voters,” she said, referring to Mr.
Christie’s Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono, who was trailing
consistently in the polls and lost by a wide margin.
Ms.
Kelly is one of three deputy chiefs of staff in Mr. Christie’s office,
and a close member of his team. Her Twitter timeline included a
photograph, before it was taken down Wednesday morning, of her
celebrating her 40th birthday last year with the governor and other
members of his staff.
After
the lane closings were reversed by New York officials at the Port
Authority, New Jersey officials expressed panic that their plan was not
causing enough trouble.
“The
New York side gave Fort Lee back all three lanes this morning. We are
appropriately going nuts,” Mr. Wildstein wrote to Ms. Kelly. “Samson
helping us to retaliate.”
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