(CNN) -- E-mails emerged on Wednesday purportedly from top aides to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie bolstering the case that access lane closures to the George Washington Bridge were borne from a political vendetta against opponents of the governor, and were not the result of an incompetent traffic study as his administration claimed.

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs, e-mailed David Wildstein, then the highest-level political appointee representing the state at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

That communication occurred roughly three weeks before the access lanes were closed last September, wreaking havoc on traffic from the New Jersey side of the nation's busiest bridge that crosses into New York.

"Got it," Wildstein replied.

CNN obtained the e-mails but none of those cited in this report responded for comment to confirm their veracity.

Democrats have alleged the lane closures were revenge against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie in his re-election effort, and the e-mails and text messages provide some evidence for that suspicion.

Christie's office could not be reached for comment, but the Governor has insisted he knew nothing about any political vendetta.

At a press conference last month, Christie said he could only repeat what his appointee, Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, "has said publicly and to everybody in this office, which is they believed the traffic study was necessary and that they ordered it, but the way they did it was mistaken and they didn't follow protocols."

Christie announced at that time Baroni would leave the job, which he has. Wildstein resigned in December when the scandal started to get some notice.

On the first morning of the lane closures, in response to a phone message from Sokolich regarding an "urgent matter of public safety in Fort Lee," Kelly asked Wildstein if the Mayor's call had been returned.

Wildstein wrote to Kelly: "Radio silence. His name comes right after mayor Fulop." Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat who also didn't endorse Christie.

Fulop claimed this week his decision was met on the same very day with news that New Jersey Cabinet and other high ranking officials were canceling meetings with him, and that a pension reform bill he had worked on was scuttled by a Democrat who had endorsed the Governor.

On the second day of the lane closures, at 8:04 am, Sokolich sent a text to Baroni. "Presently we have four very busy traffic lanes merging into only one toll booth. ... The bigger problem is getting kids to school. Help please. It's maddening."

Seeing that text, a person whose name has been redacted from the e-mails and text messages writes to Wildstein: "Is it wrong that I am smiling?"

"No," Wildstein responds.

"I feel badly about the kids," the unknown person writes.

"I guess," he or she adds a minute later.

Responds Wildstein: "They are the children of Buono voters."

Barbara Buono was Christie's Democratic opponent in the gubernatorial election that the governor won handily in November.

On September 13, Wildstein wrote to Kelly that the New York side of the bridge gave "Fort Lee back all three lanes this morning. We are appropriately going nuts. Samson helping us to retaliate."
David Samson chairs the Port Authority's Board of Commissioners and is a close Christie ally.

"We should talk," Sokolich wrote on September 17 to Wildstein, "Someone needs to tell me that the recent traffic debacle was not punitive in nature. The last four reporters that contacted me suggest that the people they are speaking with absolutely believe it to be punishment. Try as I may to dispel these rumors I am having a tough time. A private face-to-face would be important to me. Perhaps someone can enlighten me as to the errors of my ways. Let me know if you'll give me 10 minutes. Regards, Mark."

Wildstein sent the texts to Baroni.

"Have not heard back from Bridget," Wildstein noted.

"Fck," Baroni wrote back.

The next day, September 18, Wildstein e-mailed Bill Stepien, Christie's campaign manager, forwarding him a story from the Wall Street Journal titled "Bridge Jam's Cause a Mystery."

"I have empty boxes ready to take to work today, just in case," Wildstein wrote, an apparent reference to being fired. "It will be a tough November for this little Serbian," an apparent reference to Mayor Sokolich.

On October 3, Baroni asks Wildstein what the "Trenton feedback" is. Trenton is the capital of New Jersey and where Christie's headquarters are.

"Good," Wildstein wrote.

"Just good?" Baroni wrote. "gak."

"No I have only texted brudget (sic) and Nicole they were VERY happy," Wildstein responded. "Both said you are doing great. Charlie said you did GREAT."

The Port Authority, which is run jointly by New Jersey and New York, oversees the tunnels, bridges and seaports between the two states, as well as the metropolitan area's airports.

 Breotan wrote:
I think the last thing we want as a Governor (or even as President) is a Bart Simpson soundalike saying, "I didn't do it. Nobody saw me. Can't prove anything." every time someone in your administration does something wrong.

 Breotan wrote:
The problem is, Sebster, that you have to hold the guy at the top accountable or you've given him and his staff permission to do whatever they want. Bring in a staffer to do your dirty work, then if he gets caught say how disappointed your are and cut him loose. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

I think the last thing we want as a Governor (or even as President) is a Bart Simpson soundalike saying, "I didn't do it. Nobody saw me. Can't prove anything." every time someone in your administration does something wrong.

 sebster wrote:
If they can't prove Christie's direct knowledge, then I'm not sure it can really be linked to him. I mean, yeah, we like to think the person in charge sets the tone for their office, and sometimes that's true (snip)

 whembly wrote:


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Update:
http://www.northjersey.com/news/christie_kelly_bridge_lane_closures_emails.html
Chris Christie on BridgeGate: “What I've seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened..."

Meh... my problem with this is this:
Although Christie is not in the email chains... these are his aides, all in agreement on this tactic. Enjoying themselves over traffic snarls, smiling about schoolbusses full of kids stuck in traffic.

It's plausible that Christie didn't know... but, he owns this. He allowed an environment of this under his watch.

I have no problem believing that minor apparatchiks do this kind of stuff all the time, and not to curry favour with their current boss, but to prove their authority to others for what happens when their boss is gone - "you didn't get on board with supporting Christie, well know I'm going to punish you, so you better play along with whoever we're lining up for governor next time". They were likely doing it long before Christie, and will likely be doing it long after he's gone.

Christie is a guy who's been voted in to office for a short period, he's not God-Emperor of New Jersey.

Dude its New Jersey... the New Mexico of the North.

In this case, he kind of has a history of petty vindictiveness.

I still do like him though; I mean, he's a petty jerk who holds a grudge over even the scarcest slight and metes out retribution with glee, so there is a lot to like there.

"Is there any reason to think the politician promoted or allowed a culture where this kind of thing was encouraged or permitted?"

 Ouze wrote:

 sebster wrote:
If they can't prove Christie's direct knowledge, then I'm not sure it can really be linked to him. I mean, yeah, we like to think the person in charge sets the tone for their office, and sometimes that's true (snip)

In this case, he kind of has a history of petty vindictiveness.

I still do like him though; I mean, he's a petty jerk who holds a grudge over even the scarcest slight and metes out retribution with glee, so there is a lot to like there.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Fun fact, most of that caters to New Yorkers who invade our shore every summer...

BTW, New Jersey is actually one of the least corrupt states in the country: http://247wallst.com/special-report/2012/03/22/americas-most-corrupt-states/

chaos0xomega wrote:
Did you read the article or the study?
Also here if you want more sources: http://www.stateintegrity.org/your_state
http://www.stateintegrity.org/new_jersey

New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie has been tagged as a favorite, if not the favorite, for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. His landslide re-election victory in 2013, a quarter-century after the Garden State last voted for a Republican presidential candidate, made him look formidable.

But today a top political aide was implicated in a scandal that began late last summer. Although no evidence has emerged that the governor himself was involved, the story is certain to raise questions about his leadership.

"Private messages between Governor's Christie's [sic] deputy chief of staff and two of his top executives at the Port Authority reveal a vindictive effort to create 'traffic problems in Fort Lee' by shutting lanes to the George Washington Bridge and apparent pleasure at the resulting gridlock," the Record of Bergen County reports.

Here's a primer for readers unfamiliar with New York-area geography and government: The George Washington Bridge, also known locally as the GWB, is one of three structures (the other two are tunnels) that convey automotive traffic between the Garden State and Manhattan. Fort Lee is a community of about 35,000 on the New Jersey side of the bridge. The bridge can be entered from various highways and Fort Lee surface streets, and tolls are collected on New York-bound vehicles only.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a joint venture between the two states, oversees a vast infrastructure empire including not just bridges and tunnels but also airports, bus and shipping terminals, an interstate subway known as the PATH, and the World Trade Center. Gov. Christie and Andrew Cuomo of New York each appoint six members of the authority's Board of Commissioners and have the power to veto actions of their own appointees.

On Sept. 13 the Record's "Road Warrior" columnist, John Cichowski, reported that the authority had closed two tollbooths and "narrowed the traffic patterns on its approaches from two Fort Lee streets." Badly snarled traffic resulted. "I've asked the Port for an explanation, but they haven't responded," the paper quoted Fort Lee's mayor, Mark Sokolich, as saying. "I thought we had a good relationship. Now I'm beginning to wonder if there's something I did wrong. Am I being sent some sort of message?"

Cichowski reported the next day that the tollbooths had reopened. "The Port Authority has conducted a week of study at the . . . bridge of traffic-safety patterns," a spokesman told the columnist. "We will now review those results and determine the best traffic patterns." Cichowski didn't buy it: "Answers to basic follow-up questions: What was the goal? Who authorized this plan? And why didn't the Port Authority publicly warn motorists about it?--were met with stone-cold silence."

Sokolich's and Cichowski's suspicions appear to have been well-founded, as the Record's Shawn Boburg reports today:

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, one of three deputies on Christie's senior staff, wrote to David Wildstein, a top Christie executive at the Port Authority, on Aug. 13, about three weeks before the closures. Wildstein, the official who ordered the closures and who resigned last month amid the escalating scandal, wrote back: "Got it." . . .
On Sept. 9, the first morning of the lane closures, Kelly asked in an e-mail if Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich's numerous calls to Port Authority officials had been returned.
"Radio silence," Wildstein replied. "His name comes right after mayor Fulop," an apparent reference to Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.

Although the Record cautions that "the explosive documents . . . don't spell out the precise reason for the apparent retribution," the paper notes that Sokolich and Fulop, who are Democrats, had both declined to endorse the re-election of the governor, who had the support of 61 other elected Democrats.

Here's the most damning exchange:

In one exchange of text messages on the second day of the lane closures, Wildstein alludes to messages the Fort Lee mayor had left complaining that school buses were having trouble getting through the traffic.
"Is it wrong that I'm smiling," the recipient of the text message responded to Wildstein. The person's identity is not clear because the documents are partially redacted for unknown reasons.
"No," Wildstein wrote in response.
"I feel badly about the kids," the person replied to Wildstein. "I guess."
"They are the children of Buono voters," Wildstein wrote, making a reference to Barbara Buono, the Democratic candidate for governor.

Wildstein, who "resigned last month amid the escalating scandal," supplied the documents to state legislative investigators in response to a subpoena.

The New York Times's Kate Zernike notes that the emails refute "Mr. Christie's repeated avowals that no one in his office or campaign knew." It's possible that Christie didn't know they knew--but even so, as Zernike writes, the revelations undermine "the governor's carefully crafted reputation as the rare politician who will tell it like it is. . . . 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."

We'd like to develop the point with a bit more specificity. Christie's reputation as a straight talker has made for a flattering contrast with the smooth-talking Barack Obama. Obama's deceptions, most notably his fraudulent claims about ObamaCare, have seriously damaged public trust in Washington. Christie's supposed candor made him look as if he might be the man to restore it.

Worse, the Christie administration's evident abuse of the Port Authority is reminiscent of the Obama administration's abuse of the Internal Revenue Service. Neither the governor nor the president has been shown to be directly involved, but each must bear a measure of responsibility for his subordinates' actions. One of Obama's worst traits is his unvarnished contempt for his political opponents. The new revelations from Trenton suggest that Christie's administration, if not the man himself, has a similar quality.

Its sheer pettiness is what distinguishes the GWB scandal from the ObamaCare and IRS ones. The ObamaCare fraud was in the service of an ambitious ideological agenda, and as we have argued, the 2012 election was close enough that it is possible the IRS's suppression of opposition was necessary to secure the president a second term. Christie, by contrast, is not much of an ideologue and was cruising to an easy re-election.

In the latter regard, the bridge shenanigans look more like the Watergate burglary--a gratuitous misuse of power. "Reporters will eventually demand to know . . . what Christie knew and when he knew it," observes conservative blogger Sean Davis. "None of the defenses now available to Christie--intentional deceit or intentional ignorance--paint him in a favorable light." That's especially true if voters two years from now are looking for a corrective to the corruption and deception of the Obama years.

 LordofHats wrote:
And to think. People actually kind of liked that guy. Oh well XD

 whembly wrote:
Ya know... this is a golden opportunity for the GOP to hammer the IRS scandal. You just know that the media will be asking Republicans about Bridgegate...

Spoiler:

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304347904579308632102026344?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLETopOpinion

New Jersey's Gov. Chris Christie has been tagged as a favorite, if not the favorite, for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. His landslide re-election victory in 2013, a quarter-century after the Garden State last voted for a Republican presidential candidate, made him look formidable.

But today a top political aide was implicated in a scandal that began late last summer. Although no evidence has emerged that the governor himself was involved, the story is certain to raise questions about his leadership.

"Private messages between Governor's Christie's [sic] deputy chief of staff and two of his top executives at the Port Authority reveal a vindictive effort to create 'traffic problems in Fort Lee' by shutting lanes to the George Washington Bridge and apparent pleasure at the resulting gridlock," the Record of Bergen County reports.

Here's a primer for readers unfamiliar with New York-area geography and government: The George Washington Bridge, also known locally as the GWB, is one of three structures (the other two are tunnels) that convey automotive traffic between the Garden State and Manhattan. Fort Lee is a community of about 35,000 on the New Jersey side of the bridge. The bridge can be entered from various highways and Fort Lee surface streets, and tolls are collected on New York-bound vehicles only.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a joint venture between the two states, oversees a vast infrastructure empire including not just bridges and tunnels but also airports, bus and shipping terminals, an interstate subway known as the PATH, and the World Trade Center. Gov. Christie and Andrew Cuomo of New York each appoint six members of the authority's Board of Commissioners and have the power to veto actions of their own appointees.

On Sept. 13 the Record's "Road Warrior" columnist, John Cichowski, reported that the authority had closed two tollbooths and "narrowed the traffic patterns on its approaches from two Fort Lee streets." Badly snarled traffic resulted. "I've asked the Port for an explanation, but they haven't responded," the paper quoted Fort Lee's mayor, Mark Sokolich, as saying. "I thought we had a good relationship. Now I'm beginning to wonder if there's something I did wrong. Am I being sent some sort of message?"

Cichowski reported the next day that the tollbooths had reopened. "The Port Authority has conducted a week of study at the . . . bridge of traffic-safety patterns," a spokesman told the columnist. "We will now review those results and determine the best traffic patterns." Cichowski didn't buy it: "Answers to basic follow-up questions: What was the goal? Who authorized this plan? And why didn't the Port Authority publicly warn motorists about it?--were met with stone-cold silence."

Sokolich's and Cichowski's suspicions appear to have been well-founded, as the Record's Shawn Boburg reports today:

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Anne Kelly, one of three deputies on Christie's senior staff, wrote to David Wildstein, a top Christie executive at the Port Authority, on Aug. 13, about three weeks before the closures. Wildstein, the official who ordered the closures and who resigned last month amid the escalating scandal, wrote back: "Got it." . . .
On Sept. 9, the first morning of the lane closures, Kelly asked in an e-mail if Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich's numerous calls to Port Authority officials had been returned.
"Radio silence," Wildstein replied. "His name comes right after mayor Fulop," an apparent reference to Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.

Although the Record cautions that "the explosive documents . . . don't spell out the precise reason for the apparent retribution," the paper notes that Sokolich and Fulop, who are Democrats, had both declined to endorse the re-election of the governor, who had the support of 61 other elected Democrats.

Here's the most damning exchange:

In one exchange of text messages on the second day of the lane closures, Wildstein alludes to messages the Fort Lee mayor had left complaining that school buses were having trouble getting through the traffic.
"Is it wrong that I'm smiling," the recipient of the text message responded to Wildstein. The person's identity is not clear because the documents are partially redacted for unknown reasons.
"No," Wildstein wrote in response.
"I feel badly about the kids," the person replied to Wildstein. "I guess."
"They are the children of Buono voters," Wildstein wrote, making a reference to Barbara Buono, the Democratic candidate for governor.

Wildstein, who "resigned last month amid the escalating scandal," supplied the documents to state legislative investigators in response to a subpoena.

The New York Times's Kate Zernike notes that the emails refute "Mr. Christie's repeated avowals that no one in his office or campaign knew." It's possible that Christie didn't know they knew--but even so, as Zernike writes, the revelations undermine "the governor's carefully crafted reputation as the rare politician who will tell it like it is. . . . 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."

We'd like to develop the point with a bit more specificity. Christie's reputation as a straight talker has made for a flattering contrast with the smooth-talking Barack Obama. Obama's deceptions, most notably his fraudulent claims about ObamaCare, have seriously damaged public trust in Washington. Christie's supposed candor made him look as if he might be the man to restore it.

Worse, the Christie administration's evident abuse of the Port Authority is reminiscent of the Obama administration's abuse of the Internal Revenue Service. Neither the governor nor the president has been shown to be directly involved, but each must bear a measure of responsibility for his subordinates' actions. One of Obama's worst traits is his unvarnished contempt for his political opponents. The new revelations from Trenton suggest that Christie's administration, if not the man himself, has a similar quality.

Its sheer pettiness is what distinguishes the GWB scandal from the ObamaCare and IRS ones. The ObamaCare fraud was in the service of an ambitious ideological agenda, and as we have argued, the 2012 election was close enough that it is possible the IRS's suppression of opposition was necessary to secure the president a second term. Christie, by contrast, is not much of an ideologue and was cruising to an easy re-election.

In the latter regard, the bridge shenanigans look more like the Watergate burglary--a gratuitous misuse of power. "Reporters will eventually demand to know . . . what Christie knew and when he knew it," observes conservative blogger Sean Davis. "None of the defenses now available to Christie--intentional deceit or intentional ignorance--paint him in a favorable light." That's especially true if voters two years from now are looking for a corrective to the corruption and deception of the Obama years.

I'd argue that for pure pettiness... this bridge fiasco is more on a par with the shutdown of federal parks during the government shutdown than the IRS abuses. The IRS abuses appear to be intimidation for election purposes. The park blockades appeared to be pettiness to prove a point. The bridge fiasco also appears to be pettiness to prove a point.

Still... it's a black mark on Christie.

Funny how the press seems less excited about the IRS story though...


Automatically Appended Next Post:
EDIT:
Woah... his press conference on this...

Unequivocal apology AND questions afterward?

The contrast between Obama and Chris Christie in terms of owning a mess and fixing it is now pretty stark...

Aw dayum! Christie calls Kelly "stupid" and "deceitful" for her actions... The bus just hit her, then backed up over her. Then did it again.

o.O

Can't wait for the transcript...

 easysauce wrote:
love how the media trys to destroy christie over something one of his advisors said, that might tangentially mean he MAY have lied,

but will defend obamas lies about OB care et all till the cows come home....

I think the #1 problem with politik today are all the politicians in it