Bridge Scandal Documents Indicate Effort to Hide Political Motive

[ProSense]

Bridge Scandal Documents Indicate Effort to Hide Political Motive

By MARC SANTORA and KATE ZERNIKEJAN

Officials loyal to Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey went to elaborate means to make it appear that the September closing of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., was part of a traffic study, even though their private communications suggest the move was purely political, documents released on Friday show.

The documents also show a concerted effort to keep their true motivation hidden, including the insistence by one official of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in an email that communications about the matter should not be conducted by email or discussed publicly.

<...>

For months, Mr. Christie steadfastly had denied that his administration had any role in the decision to close the traffic lanes. At the same time, lawmakers held hearings and subpoenaed witnesses and documents to determine exactly what happened.

On Wednesday, some of those communications were made public, revealing that one of Mr. Christie’s top aides apparently played an integral role in ordering the lanes closed and that the motivation was to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, who refused to endorse Mr. Christie’s re-election effort.

- more -

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/01/10/new_documents_reveal_intention_to_hide_political_motive_of_new_jersey_lane.html

Think about this quote from Christie's BS press conference:

“I don’t know if this was a traffic study that morphed into a political vendetta or a political vendetta that morphed into a traffic study,” he claimed.

http://thinkprogress.org/home/2014/01/09/3141121/christie/

He kept repeating this BS about a study, and here he's making another snide remark about a serious incident.

New documents show extensive N.J. coverup

By Philip Rucker

New documents related to a traffic jam planned by a member of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) staff show for the first time how furiously Christie’s lieutenants inside the Port Authority worked to orchestrate a cover-up after traffic mayhem swiftly engulfed Fort Lee last year.

Inside the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Christie’s top appointees neglected furious complaints from Fort Lee’s police chief as well as from angry rush-hour commuters. One woman called asking why the agency was “playing God with people’s jobs.”

The Republican governor’s appointees instructed subordinates to stonewall reporters who were asking questions. They even ordered up an actual “traffic study” to chronicle the impact and examine whether closing the lanes permanently might improve traffic flow. The study’s conclusion: “TBD.”

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/01/10/documents-raise-new-questions-in-christie-probe/

It seems the "study" was supposed to be the alibi.

Fort Lee Mayor: Port Authority Police Blamed Me For Christie's Traffic Jam



http://www.businessinsider.com/fort-lee-mayor-port-authority-blamed-me-for-the-traffic-jam-2014-1

Using the Port Authority Police for political revenge, check!

UH OH! Now the Police Dept is Involved in Bridgegate
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/10/1268748/-UH-OH-Now-the-Police-Dept-is-Involved-in-Bridgegate

Christie Doc: Cops Told People Bridge Closures Were Fort Lee Mayor's Fault
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/sokolich-bridge-cops

Could Christie's Bridge Scandal Really Lead To Criminal Charges?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024311993#post1

[livetohike]

1. He's done. Wonder how soon he will step down and become Fox News

newest contributor?

[Cha]

2. Thanks ProSense! That's pissing off Mayor Solkolich!

Not only does this happen to the people of Fort Lee but they were trying to blame it on him! Big Mistake!

Like Bob Cesca says.. "we'll find out soon enough" if the police were in on or Chrisite's appointees' Lied.

[DonViejo]

3. The Mayor can be as pissed off as he wants to be...

he accepted Christie's apology way too damned fast.

Fort Lee Mayor: I Accepted Chris Christie's Apology

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/fort-lee-mayor-accepts-christie-apology

[Cha]

6. I saw the Mayor on Rachel's last night..

the first words he said to the Gov, I believe, were, "Is there going to be retribution for this" and Christy assured him there wasn't. Damn straight.

I was disappointed too.. but, I think Mayor Sokolich just wants to finish his "Billion$$$" Project".. which he has been mentioning in his interviews.. And, get on with doing the Mayor's business of running his city in the best way possible.

Ground Broken at Fort Lee’s ‘Redevelopment Area 5’

snip//

"In March, the Fort Lee Planning Board approved Fort Lee Redevelopment Associates (FLRA)’s plan for the East parcel—a project known at the time as “The Center at Fort Lee.”

At Wednesday’s groundbreaking, which took place near the corner of Main Street and Martha Washington Way, Sokolich noted that it’s been more than 45 years that the property has been “fallow.”

“It’s spanned six, seven, eight mayors [and] multiple administrations,” Sokolich said. “As many of you know, there was a mayor that was in witness protection over this [property] some 40 years ago. It was the subject matter of a best-selling book, and it’s had a history, which I will tell you is probably second to none.”

Sokolich added, “That history ends today.”

Noting that he’s been given “quite a bit of credit” for seeing the project come to fruition, Sokolich said, “I was just a representative of a group of people that I will tell you were equally, if not more committed to making sure that this project was accomplished than I.”

http://fortlee.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/ground-broken-at-fort-lee-s-redevelopment-area-5

We'll see if we've heard the last of Mayor Mark Sokolich being interviewed by Rachel..

[George II]

21. Yes, he accepted the apology but he said several times he didn't believe CC wasn't involved.

[ProSense]

4. NJ Lawmakers Asked For Info About The Promotion Of Port Authority Cop

NJ Lawmakers Asked For Info About The Promotion Of Port Authority Cop

As part of their investigation of the George Washington Bridge lane closings scandal, a New Jersey legislative committee subpoenaed records about the promotion of a Port Authority Police Department official.

Documents released Friday by the Assembly's Transportation, Public Works and Independent Authorities Committee indicate that the committee wanted to know the date when it was determined that a Port Authority Police Department official named Darcy Licorish would be promoted, and the date Licorish was actually promoted.

The subpoena, which was addressed to Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye, also requested the date and time Licorish was notified of former Port Authority executive David Wildstein's order to close the lanes.

The lane closures led to a massive, multi-day traffic jam in the town of Fort Lee, N.J. Democrats in the state have for months alleged that the lanes were closed as retaliation against Sokolich, a Democrat, who declined to endorse Christie's re-election bid last year. The released documents include communications tying the administration of Gov. Chris Christie (R) to the decision to close the lanes.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bridge-police-promotion

[Cha]

7. Ohhh.. as a commentor says.. "Invest in Popcorn".. I got

mine stockpiled! thanks ProSense

Another comment... "Do you get the feeling what they are really asking here, is was this Licorish guy promoted so he could do this, or promoted as a reward for doing it?"

Damn the plot thickens.. and I don't think we're being paranoid knowing this bunch and their emails.

[Bjorn Against]

5. They say they were investigating whether closing the lanes permanently would IMPROVE traffic flow?

And Christie believed them? I hope someone asks Christie about why he believed a study like this was in any way valid because that just may be the stupidest hypothesis for any study that I have ever heard of.

[ProSense]

8. The "study" is BS. It was created for cover. n/t

[Bjorn Against]

9. I actually just found out there was a study but Christie's people sabotaged it

One of the more interesting things I saw from the new documents released today is that there was a study, but it was supposed to be a study of normal traffic patterns using cameras to count the cars passing through. No lanes of traffic were supposed to be closed and by closing those lanes the study was actually ruined. In other words this study is going to make things worse for Christie, not better.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/10/1268754/-UPDATE-X2-There-WAS-a-traffic-study-but-Wildstein-s-test-actually-screwed-it-up

[ProSense]

10. All of that is data, and

in fact, other stories how it materialized:

<...>

The cover that Christie’s aides used for the “traffic study” to close Fort Lee’s highway access lanes was ostensibly a $60,000 traffic-study grant that the Port Authority gave to Springfield Township, a small town of 14,000 residents 30 miles away from Fort Lee. Incidentally, the Democratic mayor of Springfield – which is half the size of Fort Lee and not in the shadows of one of the most important access arteries into Manhattan – also did not endorse Christie at the time.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2014/0110/Bridge-scandal-Could-Chris-Christie-face-criminal-charges

The whole thing is murky, but what is clear is that Christie and his aides were carrying out an elaborate plot for revenge.

[Bjorn Against]

11. The Springfield Study is the one the Christie people point to

Of course Springfield and Fort Lee are not the same place so it is pretty pathetic for Christie to use that study as an excuse, but it appears there was a study taking place on the GW Bridge but that study depended on normal traffic flow. Christie can't use the study on the GW Bridge as an excuse because if people look at that study they will see that shutting down traffic prevented that study from collecting valid data so instead he points to the Springfield data which was not even collected in the same town.

[ProSense]

12. Yes, but the point is that

"The Springfield Study is the one the Christie people point to

Of course Springfield and Fort Lee are not the same place so it is pretty pathetic for Christie to use that study as an excuse, but it appears there was a study taking place on the GW Bridge but that study depended on normal traffic flow. Christie can't use the study on the GW Bridge as an excuse because if people look at that study they will see that shutting down traffic prevented that study from collecting valid data so instead he points to the Springfield data which was not even collected in the same town."

...the four-day lane closures had nothing to do with any actual "study."

[Bjorn Against]

13. I am not saying the lane closures did have anything to do with the study...

What I am saying is the lane closures ruined the legitimate study that was taking place. There was a real study that was meant to study the normal flow of traffic but by closing down those lanes of traffic Christie made it impossible to collect data on the normal flow of traffic. Seriously, read the link I posted above as it offers a whole new angle to this story that I think you will find very interesting if you look into it, Christie was sabotaging a study rather than conducting one.

[ProSense]

15. I read it when it was initially posted, and

"Seriously, read the link I posted above as it offers a whole new angle to this story that I think you will find very interesting if you look into it, Christie was sabotaging a study rather than conducting one."

...agree with the point, but I don't think the diary makes it clear enough that this study, which I'm not at all sure was actually being carried out, has nothing to do with Christie's BS "study."

It's establishing that something was being presented, but it doesn't indicate that it's an actual study, and the "TBD" result is also questionable.

[Bjorn Against]

16. There is the real study and then there is the fake study

The study they claimed was to measure whether or not closing lanes would improve traffic flow is fake obviously, no one would spend real money on a study with such a stupid hypothesis. The point iI am trying to make however is that it appears there was a real study that Christie does not want you to know about because his fake study prevented the real study from obtaining valid data.

[ProSense]

17. Maybe

"The point iI am trying to make however is that it appears there was a real study that Christie does not want you to know about because his fake study prevented the real study from obtaining valid data."

...there is an additional criminal charge in that.

[Bjorn Against]

18. Possibly, but even if it is not criminal it certainly adds to the pile of evidence against Christie

[ProSense]

20. Another report:

<...>

The new documents revealed machinations to make it appear a traffic study was being done, keep local Fort Lee officials and residents protesting the resulting chaos in the dark and to deflect press questions after PA Executive Director Patrick Foye ordered a halt to the lane closures.

"I believe this hasty and ill-advised decision violates Federal Law and the laws of both states," an irate Foye emailed PA executives who included Christie appointees.

"To be clear, I will get to the bottom of this abusive decision which violates everything this agency stands for; I intend to learn how PA process was wrongfully subverted and the public interest damaged to say nothing of the credibility of this agency."

<...>

http://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/new-york-officials-livid-over-covert-closures-on-george-washington-bridge-say-documents-1.6775818

More on Foye's email:

NJ Port Authority Chief Warned That Bridge Lane Closures Were Illegal
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024311993

[calimary]

14. Keep it coming, investigators!!!

[ProSense]

25. :) Thanks. n/t

[ProSense]

22. Documents: Christie loyalists made effort to keep details of GWB lane closings from public view

Documents: Christie loyalists made effort to keep details of GWB lane closings from public view

<...>

The documents provide a sweeping timeline of the internal deliberations stretching from weeks before the September lane closings to late last year, and are punctuated with vulgarities aimed at the media and signs of tension between New York and New Jersey officials who share control of the Port Authority.

Most significantly, the documents show that Port Authority Chairman David Samson, Christie’s top appointee at the agency, was angry when an e-mail — written by the New York official who reversed the September lane closings and called them possibly illegal — was leaked to the media, calling it a “big mistake.”

Christie’s spokesman in Trenton, meanwhile, was informed of a statement issued by the Port Authority during the week of the lane closing asserting they were part of a study of traffic safety patterns — a contention that has since been undermined. The same spokesman, Michael Drewniak, engaged in expletive-laced name-calling of reporters who were looking into the closures, e-mails show.

<...>

Some of the most telling emails involve Samson, a former state Attorney General, who appears to be more concerned about who leaked information to the media, than the traffic tie-ups and hampered public safety efforts in Fort Lee.

- more -

http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/ts_show_engineers_called_lane_closures_potential_disaster.html?page=all

[ProSense]

24. Good related question:

Why did Christie meet with Port Authority Chief days before “the email”?

<...>

One thing that jumped out at me in looking over the stories of the newly released 900 pages of documents was this little nugget from Assemblyman Wisniewski, who is leading the investigation (emphasis mine):

Secondly, the documents submitted by David Wildstein and his attorney are documents they deemed specifically related to the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge as per our subpoena request. Included in these documents is a reference to what appears to be a meeting between Port Authority Chairman David Samson and the governor one week before Bridget Kelly issued the order to cause ‘traffic problems’ in Fort Lee. By submitting these documents, Mr. Wildstein is telling us they are related to the lane closures in some way. The question that demands answering is how?

In and of itself, this would be a pretty important factoid and some curious timing, given that Christie said yesterday that he doesn’t really know what all 65,000+ state employees are doing. But in doing his damage control, Christie had this to say about Samson:

Christie did say that he met for two hours with Samson, the former state attorney general whom he appointed as Port Authority chairman, and that he was confident that Samson had no involvement in the Bridgegate scandal.

There is some very curious timing in the meeting between Christie and the Port Authority Chief he appointed and the email from Christie’s Deputy Chief of Staff ordering the lane closures. And now Christie is saying that Samson was not involved.

<...>

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/10/1268820/-Why-did-Christie-meet-with-Port-Authority-Chief-days-before-the-email

[DallasNE]

23. The Involvement Of The Port Authority Police

Raises the question of Hatch Act violations. Civil servants cannot be used in this manner legally. No wonder Christie's buddy took the 5th on every question asked.