Ask and you shall receive:
"A Democratic New Jersey lawmaker who called for a federal investigation into the controversial lane closures to the George Washington Bridge last fall has gotten his wish."
"Paul Fishman, New Jersey’s U.S. attorney, announced Thursday that an investigation had begun into the circumstances surrounding reports that top aides to Christie organized lane closures on the bridge as political retaliation."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/chris-christie-federal-probe-101961.html#ixzz2pxC1SU5Y
This is what needs to happen. When the public trust is betrayed to this extent we simply must get to the bottom of it. Yes, there are GOPers comparing this to Benghazi, IRSgate, Obamacare and 'you can keep your plan' but this is nothing like those incidents. Whatever happened in Obamacare for example, there were not malign intentions involved as they were in New Jersey.
Today Christy did everything he could and everything he was supposed to do. He apologized deeply for being mislead, he's fired those who mislead him.
An “embarrassed and humiliated” Chris Christie apologized Thursday to a long cast of characters and fired a top aide for lying to him about her involvement with an apparent act of political retribution that sparked dangerous traffic jams around the New Jersey city of Fort Lee."
"Christie announced he had immediately fired Bridget Kelly, a deputy chief of staff in his office who sent an email that it was “time for traffic problems in Fort Lee” at a time when Christie’s campaign was seeking an endorsement from the Democratic mayor of the city. Christie said Kelly had failed to come forward to explain earlier when he challenged his staff say if they had knowledge of the lane closures."
"A Democratic New Jersey lawmaker who called for a federal investigation into the controversial lane closures to the George Washington Bridge last fall has gotten his wish."
"Paul Fishman, New Jersey’s U.S. attorney, announced Thursday that an investigation had begun into the circumstances surrounding reports that top aides to Christie organized lane closures on the bridge as political retaliation."
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/chris-christie-federal-probe-101961.html#ixzz2pxC1SU5Y
This is what needs to happen. When the public trust is betrayed to this extent we simply must get to the bottom of it. Yes, there are GOPers comparing this to Benghazi, IRSgate, Obamacare and 'you can keep your plan' but this is nothing like those incidents. Whatever happened in Obamacare for example, there were not malign intentions involved as they were in New Jersey.
Today Christy did everything he could and everything he was supposed to do. He apologized deeply for being mislead, he's fired those who mislead him.
An “embarrassed and humiliated” Chris Christie apologized Thursday to a long cast of characters and fired a top aide for lying to him about her involvement with an apparent act of political retribution that sparked dangerous traffic jams around the New Jersey city of Fort Lee."
“It is heartbreaking to me that I wasn’t told the truth,” the New Jersey governor and potential 2016 presidential candidate told reporters at a 107-minute news conference in Trenton. “I’m a very loyal guy, and I expect loyalty in return, and lying to me is not an exhibition of loyalty.
"I am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. There is no doubt in my mind that the conduct they exhibited is completely unacceptable,” he added. “It showed a lack of respect for the appropriate role of government and the people that were trusted to serve.”
"Christie announced he had immediately fired Bridget Kelly, a deputy chief of staff in his office who sent an email that it was “time for traffic problems in Fort Lee” at a time when Christie’s campaign was seeking an endorsement from the Democratic mayor of the city. Christie said Kelly had failed to come forward to explain earlier when he challenged his staff say if they had knowledge of the lane closures."
“She was not given the opportunity to explain why she lied,” Christie said
"The governor also said he was essentially dismissing a close adviser, Bill Stepien, who had managed his campaign and who was on track to take over the New Jersey state Republican Party and to be an adviser to the Republican Governors Association, which Christie currently chairs. Stepien had also told Christie he knew nothing about the issue, but emails disclosed Wednesday showed him involved in communications mocking the citizens of Fort Lee over the traffic caused by the closures after it happened."
"Later in the day, Christie traveled to Fort Lee to personally apologize to the mayor, Mark Sokolich. The mayor, who initially said Christie should stay away for now, met with the governor and told reporters afterward that he had accepted the apology."
How long can he maintain this posture? My aides lied to me about punishing people who weren't loyal to me, lied to me on my own behalf for payback for not supporting me. 'My campaign manager talked about deliberately targeting those who voted against me-all against my knowledge and will-though in my own interests.'
We can talk about what this means for 2016-it almost assuredly tarnishes him. Normally, you put out a few sacrificial lambs like Bridget Kelly and Bill Stepien and with the passage of time, the public forgets. I don't know about this time. This is too bizarre, too unbelievable, too egregious. I don't think this will ever be a topic that won't kill him in any campaign. Yet, maybe the question is not whether he's still viable for 2016 but whether he will make it through his term.
There's a Port Authority investigation due to come out tomorrow, we saw above the first rumblings of a federal investigation and you have to think there will be many more investigations. When does impeachment become a real possibility? It already has I'd think. This may not be the kind of thing any elected official of high office can live down, and rightfully so, thankfully so.
As to the idea that he knew nothing about it, it's all his aides' fault, all his campaign manager's fault, it might be logically possible but hardly practically so. Actually the more you think about it, the less it's even logically possible. The trouble is that even if you can't find a hint of his involvement the buck stops with him. There is little to tie the conspirators in Watergate to Nixon but they were certainly following what they believed his orders were. Some of them have since said that while Nixon never said anything to them it was pretty clear to them what he wanted. It's tough to imagine this wasn't with his blessing. This the investigations will hopefully be mindful of.
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