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Scandal upstages Christie’s State of the State speech
Scandal upstages Christie’s State of the State speech
By Robert Costa and Sean Sullivan
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday vowed in a high-profile speech to take steps to ensure the “breach of trust” that led to the turbulent political scandal rocking his office will not happen again.
“The last week has certainly tested this administration,” Christie said. “Mistakes were clearly made. And as a result, we let down the people we are entrusted to serve. I know our citizens deserve better. Much better.”
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Christie’s policy prescriptions were upstaged by the continuing controversy over a scheme in which top aides to the governor worked to paralyze traffic in Fort Lee, N.J., in an apparent plot against the town’s Democratic mayor. A separate inquiry from the federal government about the use of disaster-relief funds has also complicated the governor’s outlook.
“I’m the governor and I am ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch — both good and bad,” said Christie.
A new element of the unfolding traffic story emerged Tuesday when the Wall Street Journal published a Sept. 11 photo of Christie and David Wildstein, the Port Authority official who helped orchestrate lane closures that led to the traffic. The two appeared at a ceremony commemorating the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The traffic jam began Sept. 9 and lasted four days.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/scandal-upstages-christies-state-of-the-state-speech/2014/01/14/6754b1ea-7d31-11e3-93c1-0e888170b723_story.html
By Robert Costa and Sean Sullivan
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday vowed in a high-profile speech to take steps to ensure the “breach of trust” that led to the turbulent political scandal rocking his office will not happen again.
“The last week has certainly tested this administration,” Christie said. “Mistakes were clearly made. And as a result, we let down the people we are entrusted to serve. I know our citizens deserve better. Much better.”
<...>
Christie’s policy prescriptions were upstaged by the continuing controversy over a scheme in which top aides to the governor worked to paralyze traffic in Fort Lee, N.J., in an apparent plot against the town’s Democratic mayor. A separate inquiry from the federal government about the use of disaster-relief funds has also complicated the governor’s outlook.
“I’m the governor and I am ultimately responsible for all that happens on my watch — both good and bad,” said Christie.
A new element of the unfolding traffic story emerged Tuesday when the Wall Street Journal published a Sept. 11 photo of Christie and David Wildstein, the Port Authority official who helped orchestrate lane closures that led to the traffic. The two appeared at a ceremony commemorating the 12th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The traffic jam began Sept. 9 and lasted four days.
- more -
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/scandal-upstages-christies-state-of-the-state-speech/2014/01/14/6754b1ea-7d31-11e3-93c1-0e888170b723_story.html
5 things we learned from Chris Christie's State of the State address
By Darryl Isherwood/NJ.com
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1. Not all Bridgegate investigations are equal
The governor opened his speech today with a discussion of the scandal that has plagued his administration over the past week, apologizing again for the debacle and promising that it will never happen again.
In making that promise, the governor vowed to cooperate with all "appropriate" investigations of the issue. With the Assembly forming a special committee to investigate the matter and the Senate looking to do the same, the question has to be asked, which investigations will be deemed "inappropriate."
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http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/5_things_we_learned_from_chris_christies_state_of_the_state_address.html
By Darryl Isherwood/NJ.com
<...>
1. Not all Bridgegate investigations are equal
The governor opened his speech today with a discussion of the scandal that has plagued his administration over the past week, apologizing again for the debacle and promising that it will never happen again.
In making that promise, the governor vowed to cooperate with all "appropriate" investigations of the issue. With the Assembly forming a special committee to investigate the matter and the Senate looking to do the same, the question has to be asked, which investigations will be deemed "inappropriate."
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http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/01/5_things_we_learned_from_chris_christies_state_of_the_state_address.html
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NJ Democrat: 'Hard to believe' Christie didn't know about lane closures earlier
(CNN) - Democratic New Jersey State Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski is leading a special committee investigating the traffic snarl apparently created through Gov. Chris Christie's office, and he has raised the possibility of impeachment against the governor, though Wisniewski told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" that the Assembly is "not there yet."
"An assembly committee could always vote articles of impeachment, but we have no direct evidence that the governor ordered the lane closure," said Wisniewski.
"
Christie) says he didn't know about it, we find that a little hard to believe. But we're not at anything close to impeachment," said Wisniewski.
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"But there's an entire senior staff during the election year that knows about that. It's hard to believe that his entire senior staff gets an e-mail that says laws were broken, and his chief counsel doesn't pick up the phone and say, 'Hey governor, you ought to know that they're accusing your appointees of breaking the law,'" said Wisniewski.
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http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/14/nj-democrat-hard-to-believe-christie-didnt-know-about-lane-closures-earlier/
(CNN) - Democratic New Jersey State Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski is leading a special committee investigating the traffic snarl apparently created through Gov. Chris Christie's office, and he has raised the possibility of impeachment against the governor, though Wisniewski told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper" that the Assembly is "not there yet."
"An assembly committee could always vote articles of impeachment, but we have no direct evidence that the governor ordered the lane closure," said Wisniewski.
"
Christie) says he didn't know about it, we find that a little hard to believe. But we're not at anything close to impeachment," said Wisniewski.
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"But there's an entire senior staff during the election year that knows about that. It's hard to believe that his entire senior staff gets an e-mail that says laws were broken, and his chief counsel doesn't pick up the phone and say, 'Hey governor, you ought to know that they're accusing your appointees of breaking the law,'" said Wisniewski.
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http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/14/nj-democrat-hard-to-believe-christie-didnt-know-about-lane-closures-earlier/
