Friday, January 31, 2014

The Not-Unexpected, Big-Ass Other Shoe Drops in Bridgegate


(Updated below)

David Wildstein: You fire me, Christie, I fire you back!

Who didn't see this one coming a mile away?
The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening, and that he had the evidence to prove it.
In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as “the Christie administration’s order” and said “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference” three weeks ago.
“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” the letter added.
The letter marked the first signal that Mr. Christie may have been aware of the closings, something he repeatedly denied during a two-hour press conference earlier this month.
David Wildstein took the Fifth on all Bridgegate-related questions earlier this month, for which he received a contempt citation. His attorney then began to signal a deal could be had. Today's disclosure likely cinches that deal.

Chris Christie may not be the Good-bye Guy yet, but he's in real chump territory now, and Bridgegate is no longer hyperbole. It's Father Time breathing down Christie's neck.

Schadenfreude, anyone?

Update. A second Christie aide, Bill Stepien, has taken the 5th and the 4th, actually, this time in refusing to turn over incriminating documents that had been subpoenaed. Shit's getting deep.

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