Chris Christie Protected Culprit in Bridge Lane Closings, Agency Head Testifies

Source: NY Times

While Mr. Christie is not charged, prosecutors have said he knew about the lane closings as they were happening, contrary to what the governor has said in the three years since. The closed lanes caused gridlock in the town, stymying ambulances, commuters and schoolchildren for four days.

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Testimony on Thursday morning by Patrick J. Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority, which operates the bridge, described a frenzied effort to cover up the punitive purpose of the closings in the three months afterward. Mr. Christie won a broad re-election that fall, becoming a front-runner for the Republican nomination for the presidency and prompting more interest, and more questions from reporters, about the events.

Mr. Foye testified that he conducted an internal review of the closings, talking to just three people at the Port Authority. But he could not ask Mr. Wildstein, a top official at the agency and a close ally of Mr. Christie’s, even a single question, he testified.

“Because you couldn’t?” asked Michael Critchley, a lawyer for one of the defendants, Bridget Anne Kelly, who was a deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie. “He was protected by Chris Christie, correct?”

“Yes,” Mr. Foye said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/nyregion/chris-christie-george-washington-bridge-trial.html?ribbon-ad-idx=4&rref=nyregion&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=N.Y.%20%2F%20Region&pgtype=article