The investigations into Gov, Chris Christie’s traffic scandal are finally getting serious. The documents subpoenaed by New Jersey legislators are scheduled to start arriving at committee offices this week.
And the big questions are still out there: Who really ordered the massive traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge last September? Why did the governor’s people want to make life so miserable for residents of Fort Lee trying to cross the world’s busiest bridge? Were they trying to retaliate against Fort Lee’s mayor for not supporting Mr. Christie in last year’s election? Did Mr. Christie know about the scheme before or while it was happening?
In the meantime, the press is focusing on what was happening over 30 years ago at a large public high school in northern New Jersey.
The Port Authority official who OK’d the lane closures, David Wildstein, went to the same high school as Mr. Christie, in Essex County in the late 1970’s. Until very recently, the two men were described as old friends.
But now the governor claims he barely knew his classmate.
In his marathon press conference and apology on January 9, Mr. Christie said, ”David and I were not friends in high school. We were not even acquaintances in high school.” He added. ”We didn’t travel in the same circles in high school. You know, I was the class president and athlete. I don’t know what David was doing during that period of time, and then we reacquainted years later in, I think, 2000.”
Even after all these decades, the class president is still kicking sand at a high school nobody.
But the nobody is still trying to defend himself..
In a letter to the Port Authority, Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer wrote that his client was obeying “the Christie administration’s order” and that “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.
Governor Christie’s people shot back, denying everything and unloading almost every negative comment about Mr. Wildstein they could Google. As an example of Mr. Wildstein’s “tumultuous” behavior, they noted in a memo to supporters that “as a 16 year old kid, [Mr. Wildstein] sued over a local school board election. He was publicly accused by his high school social studies teacher of deceptive behavior.”
So, here’s what’s missing in Mr. Christie’s attack on his former traffic wizard. If Mr. Wildstein was such a disaster, why did Mr. Christie hire him? And when Mr. Wildstein resigned late last year, why did the governor praise him as “a tireless advocate for New jersey’s interests at the Port Authority” and for his “commitment and dedication”?
Monday, February 3, 2014
Chris Christie Returns to High School
The investigations into Gov, Chris Christie’s traffic scandal are finally getting serious. The documents subpoenaed by New Jersey legislators are scheduled to start arriving at committee offices this week.
And the big questions are still out there: Who really ordered the massive traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge last September? Why did the governor’s people want to make life so miserable for residents of Fort Lee trying to cross the world’s busiest bridge? Were they trying to retaliate against Fort Lee’s mayor for not supporting Mr. Christie in last year’s election? Did Mr. Christie know about the scheme before or while it was happening?
In the meantime, the press is focusing on what was happening over 30 years ago at a large public high school in northern New Jersey.
The Port Authority official who OK’d the lane closures, David Wildstein, went to the same high school as Mr. Christie, in Essex County in the late 1970’s. Until very recently, the two men were described as old friends.
But now the governor claims he barely knew his classmate.
In his marathon press conference and apology on January 9, Mr. Christie said, ”David and I were not friends in high school. We were not even acquaintances in high school.” He added. ”We didn’t travel in the same circles in high school. You know, I was the class president and athlete. I don’t know what David was doing during that period of time, and then we reacquainted years later in, I think, 2000.”
Even after all these decades, the class president is still kicking sand at a high school nobody.
But the nobody is still trying to defend himself..
In a letter to the Port Authority, Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer wrote that his client was obeying “the Christie administration’s order” and that “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.
Governor Christie’s people shot back, denying everything and unloading almost every negative comment about Mr. Wildstein they could Google. As an example of Mr. Wildstein’s “tumultuous” behavior, they noted in a memo to supporters that “as a 16 year old kid, [Mr. Wildstein] sued over a local school board election. He was publicly accused by his high school social studies teacher of deceptive behavior.”
So, here’s what’s missing in Mr. Christie’s attack on his former traffic wizard. If Mr. Wildstein was such a disaster, why did Mr. Christie hire him? And when Mr. Wildstein resigned late last year, why did the governor praise him as “a tireless advocate for New jersey’s interests at the Port Authority” and for his “commitment and dedication”?
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