The Wildstein letter itself may not be as big as it sounds

[cthulu2016]

Politically, it's probably the last nail in Christie's presidential coffin, but I think that lid was pretty well nailed down already.

As a legal thing, however, it's not so big. When we look back at it all Stepien refusing to comply with a subpoena on 5th Amendment grounds may end up being a larger GWB scandal development of 1/31/14 than the Wildstein letter.

Wildstein wants immunity, and seeking immunity is like pitching a proposal for a book... you want to make the prospective story as sexy as possible. It is normal for people to exaggerate the juiciness of what they know when negotiating or seeking immunity.

The Wildstein letter is motivated to put the worst face on things, not the best. And even trying to make it sound juicy, the specific allegation made in the letter is that Christie lied on TV after the fact, not that Christie had prior knowledge. (Let alone that he ordered it.)

A major development, no doubt. But perhaps a touch inflated as a legal thing.

But as a POLITICAL thing, if Christie was lying on TV about the GWB then his career is (even more) over. A political last straw.

[ProSense]

1. No, that's actually

"But the specific allegation made in the letter is that Christie lied on TV after the fact, not that Christie had prior knowledge. (Let alone that he ordered it.) "

...inaccurate. The letter states that he knew about the closings during the period they were happening.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024422294

[cthulu2016]

2. "Prior" means before.

[pnwmom]

13. If he had no prior knowledge, he should have put an end to it the second he heard about it.

[TheMathieu]

3. LOL

Marlboro.Stan ‏@MarlboroStan 1m

MSM: We need to slow down on this Wildstein revelation.

MSM: Full speed ahead on any BS Obama nonsense revelations.

[spanone]

4. it says there is evidence that the gov knew. that's big.

[bigdarryl]

6. Yep people who are defending the Gov

Need to stop defending him

[Laxman]

5. No, This Is Big...

the responses to subpoenas are due on Monday. The governor's office keeps e-mail, phone and activity logs that are sure to include somebody making a phone call to the governor's office from somewhere about the lane closures. They are provided to the governor on a daily basis.

The GWB bridge caper is going to turn out to not be that big of a deal compared to the other things that will be coming out. Sandy money, Hunterdon County, Hoboken are all going to turn out to be far more significant.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

8. And this sort of behavior needs to be rooted out everywhere. It can't just stop with Christie. nt

[Laxman]

9. Amen! And Just Remember....

there are still all of these things to sort out.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024395877

[Glitterati]

7. It's simple. Wildstein is trying to beat Bridget Kelly to immunity

Once the dam breaks, and the first one starts to talk, anything else the others have to say (can prove) is worthless.

Bridget has been very quiet, but the Christie attorney dropped her on her head............for a reason.......

[okaawhatever]

10. This is either to get immunity or at least get his legal bills paid. He states:

Wildstein's letter said on Friday that “evidence exists” the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening.

That means he knew, he lied in the press conference, he had the power to stop the lane closings and didn't. Also, Christie doesn't use email. I think Wildstein may not have anything in writing from before the shutdown but once it happened he was careful to get some acknowledgement.
Wasn't he the one who switched from the government account to the private account when Bridget Kelley said something incriminating?

[Gothmog]

11. Most of the evidence that is in the public domain came from Wildstein

Wildstein has been trying to convince the powers that be to grant him immunity. The documents that have been released were produced by Wildstein and had his retractions and redactions. Just enough material was un-redacted so as to make the case for giving him immunity.

The latest disclosure is yet another attempt to encourage someone to grant immunity to Wildstein. Wildstein's attorney has done a good job being first to ask for immunity and making a good case for the grant.

[Jersey Devil]

12. yes, but the next step is a proffer of evidence

The committee will want to know what this "evidence" consists of and only then will make an immunity offer. The lawyer would have to be a complete fool not to know that the committee will demand some proof that this "evidence" exists.

[Gothmog]

14. Here is Christie's lawyer's response

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/christie-response

“Mr. Wildstein's lawyer confirms what the Governor has said all along - he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with. As the Governor said in a December 13th press conference, he only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press and as he said in his January 9th press conference, had no indication that this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of January 8th. The Governor denies Mr. Wildstein's lawyer's other assertions.”

This is a very weak response in my opinion.

[question everything]

15. I would take with a grain of salt anything that any of these players say (nt)