BridgeGhazi!! Chris Christie's Bridge to Nowhere

Umm umm...I love hearing the sizzle of lard when it hits the frying pan.  
If you believe Chris Christie still has a chance to be president, I've got a (GW) Bridge to sell you

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I assume you've all heard about this by now:

 

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A series of newly obtained emails and text messages shows that Gov. Chris Christie’s office was closely involved with lane closings on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge in September, and that officials closed the lanes as retribution against the Democratic mayor whose town was gridlocked as a result.

   (snip) In the documents, obtained by The New York Times and other news outlets Wednesday, Bridget Anne Kelly, a deputy chief of staff in Mr. Christie’s office, gave a signal to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to close the lanes about two weeks before the closings occurred.

   “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she emailed David Wildstein, Mr. Christie’s close friend from high school, and one of his appointees at the Port Authority, which controls the bridge. Mr. Christie and some officials at Port Authority have said the closings were done as part of a traffic study, but they caused havoc for days, backing up traffic for hours.

And, as Jed Lewison reminded us, the governor told us all a week ago that his staff had told him "everything we know."

Christie has placed himself inside a trap. He has said that his office and his campaign had nothing to do with the bridge closing. He has said he knows everything that his staff did relating to the closing. Now we know that a high-ranking staffer clearly was involved in the closing. In other words, Chris Christie has been caught in a lie. And this is not just any lie, it is a lie about abuse of power, an abuse of power that (unlike one involving, say, an adulterous affair with an intern) had a direct, harmful effect on the daily lives of average citizens.

Chris Christie is running in a large field for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. There are many, many other choices that Republican voters have. In addition, there is a significant bloc (tea partiers/right-wingers) who see him as a grave threat to their goal of moving their party rightward. This bloc will be relentless in exposing any weakness of a candidate they oppose. Christie has just handed them everything they could have asked for.

It's one thing to be a bully who yells at people Republicans don't like anyway (teachers, liberals). It's another to be a bully who puts people lives at risk. And it's another to be someone who lies about it. People don't like being lied to, especially not to their face. Republicans will never nominate Chris Christie. That's the real result of today's news.

Investigations will start from the left while teabaggers and hate radio hosts who already depise him will finish the job from the right.

Might as well put an apple in his mouth and stick a fork in him. He's done! A lot more space just got created in the clown car. 

Since we're on the topic of doing things for petty political reasons ….

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-strategy/194673-hillary-opposed-iraq-surge-for-political-reasons-gates-says

January 07, 2014, 04:11 pm

Hillary Clinton opposed Iraq surge for political reasons, Gates says in memoir

By Mario Trujillo
Greg Nash

Hillary Clinton once said her opposition to the troop surge in Iraq was politically motivated, according to former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
In Gates’s new memoir, obtained by The Washington Post, he paraphrases Clinton in a meeting saying she opposed the surge because she would have to face then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama in the Democratic primary.
Gates also paraphrases President Obama during the same meeting as “vaguely” conceding that his opposition to the surge was politically motivated as well.
The former Pentagon chief said hearing the admissions from the president and secretary of State was “as surprising as it was dismaying.”
According to the Post, Gates writes: “Hillary told the president that her opposition to the [2007] surge in Iraq had been political because she was facing him in the Iowa primary.  . . . The president conceded vaguely that opposition to the Iraq surge had been political. To hear the two of them making these admissions, and in front of me, was as surprising as it was dismaying.”

Artie60438 wrote:

Umm umm...I love hearing the sizzle of lard when it hits the frying pan.  
If you believe Chris Christie still has a chance to be president, I've got a (GW) Bridge to sell you

Quote :

I assume you've all heard about this by now:

 

Quote :

A series of newly obtained emails and text messages shows that Gov. Chris Christie’s office was closely involved with lane closings on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge in September, and that officials closed the lanes as retribution against the Democratic mayor whose town was gridlocked as a result.

   (snip) In the documents, obtained by The New York Times and other news outlets Wednesday, Bridget Anne Kelly, a deputy chief of staff in Mr. Christie’s office, gave a signal to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to close the lanes about two weeks before the closings occurred.

   “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she emailed David Wildstein, Mr. Christie’s close friend from high school, and one of his appointees at the Port Authority, which controls the bridge. Mr. Christie and some officials at Port Authority have said the closings were done as part of a traffic study, but they caused havoc for days, backing up traffic for hours.

And, as Jed Lewison reminded us, the governor told us all a week ago that his staff had told him "everything we know."

Christie has placed himself inside a trap. He has said that his office and his campaign had nothing to do with the bridge closing. He has said he knows everything that his staff did relating to the closing. Now we know that a high-ranking staffer clearly was involved in the closing. In other words, Chris Christie has been caught in a lie. And this is not just any lie, it is a lie about abuse of power, an abuse of power that (unlike one involving, say, an adulterous affair with an intern) had a direct, harmful effect on the daily lives of average citizens.

Chris Christie is running in a large field for the Republican nomination for president in 2016. There are many, many other choices that Republican voters have. In addition, there is a significant bloc (tea partiers/right-wingers) who see him as a grave threat to their goal of moving their party rightward. This bloc will be relentless in exposing any weakness of a candidate they oppose. Christie has just handed them everything they could have asked for.

It's one thing to be a bully who yells at people Republicans don't like anyway (teachers, liberals). It's another to be a bully who puts people lives at risk. And it's another to be someone who lies about it. People don't like being lied to, especially not to their face. Republicans will never nominate Chris Christie. That's the real result of today's news.

Investigations will start from the left while teabaggers and hate radio hosts who already depise him will finish the job from the right.

Might as well put an apple in his mouth and stick a fork in him. He's done! A lot more space just got created in the clown car. 

Yeah. Well I watched his press conference this morning, and am really impressed with the way he handled it.  

If, and this is a big if, there is nothing new that comes out on this subject going forward, then I think that Christie will put this scandal behind him, and he will win the nomination - if he decides to pursue it.

Scorpion wrote:

Yeah. Well I watched his press conference this morning, and am really impressed with the way he handled it.

 
Really? What I saw is Christie acting like he's the victim. He can claim he's taking responsibility all he wants,but that doesn't excuse the fact that he allegedly had no idea of what his top aides and confident's were doing. The word I'm thinking to describe it is 'Nixonian" along with poor judgment and being out of touch.

Scorpion wrote:

If, and this is a big if, there is nothing new that comes out on this subject going forward, then I think that Christie will put this scandal behind him, and he will win the nomination - if he decides to pursue it.

David Wildstein his close confident and his eyes and ears inside the Port Authority is being questioned right now and is taking the 5th to all questions.
Drip....drip...drip.

Artie60438 wrote:

Scorpion wrote:

Yeah. Well I watched his press conference this morning, and am really impressed with the way he handled it.

 
Really? What I saw is Christie acting like he's the victim. He can claim he's taking responsibility all he wants,but that doesn't excuse the fact that he allegedly had no idea of what his top aides and confident's were doing. The word I'm thinking to describe it is 'Nixonian" along with poor judgment and being out of touch.

Yeah. Well it's not "Nixonian" unless it's proven that Christie ordered the closures himself.  If he did, and that's proven to be the case, then he's toast.  As it stands, it appears that he was "betrayed" by one of his aides.  Is that damaging politically?  Sure it is.  But that doesn't mean that Christie can't recover.

Artie60438 wrote:

David Wildstein his close confident and his eyes and ears inside the Port Authority is being questioned right now and is taking the 5th to all questions.

Means nothing, at least to Christie.  IIRC, according to Christie's account, he had no contact with Wildstein on this matter.  If that's proven to be false, or anything else that Christie said today is proven to be false, then Christie is finished.  

But if nobody contradicts what he said today, then I personally believe that he will survive this politically.

happy jack wrote:

Since we're on the topic of doing things for petty political reasons ….

That's right, it's about Chris Christie, Ann Coulter's wet dream and the front runner for the GOP nomination in 2016.
So jack, do you have an opinion about this topic?

[quote="Artie60438"]

Scorpion wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

David Wildstein his close confident and his eyes and ears inside the Port Authority is being questioned right now and is taking the 5th to all questions.

Means nothing, at least to Christie.  IIRC, according to Christie's account, he had no contact with Wildstein on this matter.  If that's proven to be false, or anything else that Christie said today is proven to be false, then Christie is finished.  

But if nobody contradicts what he said today, then I personally believe that he will survive this politically.

Wildstein's refusal to testify splashes back on Christie whether he likes it or not. Every single time this scandal gets mentioned,CC's name will be associated with it. US Attorney will also be taking up the case shortly.

His extremely poor judgment in surrounding himself with such stupid and callous people is going to damage him.
Claiming he was "blindsided" isn't a good tactic either as it shows he is unaware of what the people he is in charge of are doing.

Scorpion wrote:

Well it's not "Nixonian" unless it's proven that Christie ordered the closures himself. If he did, and that's proven to be the case, then he's toast. As it stands, it appears that he was "betrayed" by one of his aides. Is that damaging politically? Sure it is. But that doesn't mean that Christie can't recover.

Yeah, that's my take on things, too.

Heretic wrote:

Scorpion wrote:

Well it's not "Nixonian" unless it's proven that Christie ordered the closures himself.  If he did, and that's proven to be the case, then he's toast.  As it stands, it appears that he was "betrayed" by one of his aides.  Is that damaging politically?  Sure it is.  But that doesn't mean that Christie can't recover.

Yeah, that's my take on things, too.

I was thinking more along the lines of Nixon's underlings like Haldeman,Erlichman.etc. As in "All the President's Men".

Either CC is lying or he's incompetent.

When it rains it pours  
CNN exclusive: Feds investigating Christie's use of Sandy relief funds

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WASHINGTON (CNN) - Just days after dismissing two top advisers for their roles in the George Washington Bridge scandal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is facing questions over the use of Superstorm Sandy relief funds.

CNN has learned that federal officials are investigating whether Christie improperly used those relief funds to produce tourism ads that starred him and his family.

The news couldn't come at a worse time for the scandal-plagued Republican, who is facing two probes into whether his staff tied up traffic near the country's busiest bridge to punish a Democratic mayor who refused to endorse his successful re-election bid.

If the Sandy inquiry finds any wrongdoing, it could prove even more damaging to Christie's national ambitions. His performance during and after the superstorm has been widely praised and is a fundamental part of his straight-shooting political brand.

In the new probe, federal auditors will examine New Jersey's use of $25 million in Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore after Sandy decimated the state's coastline in late 2012, New Jersey Democratic Rep. Frank Pallone told CNN

In an August letter, Pallone asked the Department of Housing and Urban Development inspector general to look into how Christie chose to spend the marketing money approved by the department.

Neither the governor's office nor the inspector general's office has replied to CNN's request for comment on the investigation.

Pallone wrote that he was concerned about the bidding process for the firm awarded the marketing plan; the winning firm is charging the state about $2 million more than the next lowest bidder. The winning $4.7 million bid featured Christie and his family in the advertisements while the losing $2.5 million proposal did not feature the Christies.

On Sunday, Pallone told CNN that the inspector general conducted a preliminary review of the spending and concluded that there was enough evidence to launch a full-scale investigation into the state's use of federal funds. The audit will take several months, and the findings will be issued in an official report, he said.

Pallone, a 27-year veteran of the House and vocal Christie critic, said this is not about politics.

"This was money that could have directly been used for Sandy recovery. And, as you know, many of my constituents still haven't gotten the money that is owed them to rebuild their homes or raise their homes or to help," he told CNN.

Democrats slammed Christie over the summer for starring in taxpayer-funded ads as he was running for re-election in November, arguing it gave him an unfair advantage. Christie aides said at the time that the winning bid provided more value.

Does this mean we can look forward to another 1oo plus minutes I I I Me Me Me Me press conference. :bball:

Hrrrmmm: Christie Memory Edition

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Gov Christie says he had not had any contact with David Wildstein in a long time. "I have had no contact with David Wildstein in a long time, a long time, well before the election." But now there are Pictures of him and Wildstein and Bill Baroni appearing together and talking at a 9/11 commemoration, on the third day of the traffic debacle.

In other news...
Prosecutor of Illinois' Blagojevich Joins Christie Probe
A former federal prosecutor who put corrupt former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich behind bars was hired

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Wednesday by the New Jersey General Assembly as special counsel in the expanding bridge-gate investigation that has embroiled Gov. Chris Christie, PolitickerNJ reported.

Reid Schar joins the Assembly's newly created committee investigating the politically motivated lane closings of the George Washington Bridge and whether Christie knew anything about the scheme. The governor has vehemently denied any involvement.

Shar is a partner at the Chicago-based law firm Jenner & Block LLP, which specializes in white-collar crimes, PolitickerNJ reported. The former U.S. attorney was the lead investigator and prosecutor working under U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in both corruption trials of Blagojevich.

And in the now percolating Sandy AdGate...
Is this woman Christie's 'Achilles heel'? The Governor's aide who racked up huge travel expenses with him. . . and whom he secretly loaned $46,000

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Chris Christie's 'Achilles heel' may be a woman at the center of a fresh scandal about the use of federal relief funds after Superstorm Sandy - a woman he loaned $46,000 and who was revealed in an investigation to have racked up huge expenses while traveling with him.

Michele Brown, a long-time Christie aide and ally who lives in the governor's neighborhood, sat on a committee that awarded a prized $22 million ad campaign contract to a firm that featured Christie and his family in its TV spots during a tense election year.

Brown is the second woman in Christie's inner circle to emerge into the spotlight after the recent Bridgegate scandal blew up.

Christie appointed Brown CEO of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority in August 2012, despite a lack of experience in business development, tourism or marketing.

She earns $225,000 per year in the job, a salary higher than the governor's $175,000 in annual pay.

An aide to Democratic state assemblymen and women at New Jersey's capitol in Trenton told MailOnline Tuesday night that Brown 'could be the biggest Achilles heel Christie has.'

The puddle keeps getting bigger and bigger and we're less than a week into it. 

'Zero evidence' of a 'legitimate traffic study' in Christie lane closures

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One of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's most bizarre statements about the unfolding George Washington Bridge lane closures scandal was that "Whether there was a traffic study or not, I don't know." By that time, it was clear to everyone else that there was no traffic study. But for Christie and anyone else who remained in doubt, a statement from Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chair of the Senate transportation committee, is crystal clear:

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The Port Authority’s response provides zero evidence that the purpose of these closures was to conduct a legitimate traffic study.

Let's repeat: "zero evidence that the purpose of these closures was to conduct a legitimate traffic study."

Poor Christie, lied to in so many ways and, in the tenderness of his heart, believing them all (at least the ones that benefited him).

Hoboken Mayor Meets with U.S. Attorney

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Hoboken, NJ Mayor Dawn Zimmer "said she met with federal prosecutors today, a day after she alleged members of Gov. Chris Christie's administration threatened to withhold Hurricane Sandy aid from her city if she did not approve a real estate project," the Newark Star Ledger reports.

"Zimmer said she met for hours this afternoon with staff from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, providing a copy of her daily journal and other documents. Zimmer, who leveled the bombshell allegation on Saturday, said the meeting was requested by prosecutors."

Wow! Meeting with Fed Prosecutors on a Sunday?

Artie60438 wrote:

Hoboken Mayor Meets with U.S. Attorney

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Hoboken, NJ Mayor Dawn Zimmer "said she met with federal prosecutors today, a day after she alleged members of Gov. Chris Christie's administration threatened to withhold Hurricane Sandy aid from her city if she did not approve a real estate project," the Newark Star Ledger reports.

"Zimmer said she met for hours this afternoon with staff from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, providing a copy of her daily journal and other documents. Zimmer, who leveled the bombshell allegation on Saturday, said the meeting was requested by prosecutors."

Wow! Meeting with Fed Prosecutors on a Sunday?

Now this story has the potential to be really damaging... if it's true, of course. All I can say is that Mayor Zimmer certainly sounds convincing. It's doubtful that she just made the whole thing up...

But what I did notice about the story she told this weekend was that it doesn't sound like she ever tried to speak with Christie directly about the Sandy funds? That's kind of strange, don't you think?

Scorpion wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

Hoboken Mayor Meets with U.S. Attorney

Quote :

Hoboken, NJ Mayor Dawn Zimmer "said she met with federal prosecutors today, a day after she alleged members of Gov. Chris Christie's administration threatened to withhold Hurricane Sandy aid from her city if she did not approve a real estate project," the Newark Star Ledger reports.

"Zimmer said she met for hours this afternoon with staff from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark, providing a copy of her daily journal and other documents. Zimmer, who leveled the bombshell allegation on Saturday, said the meeting was requested by prosecutors."

Wow! Meeting with Fed Prosecutors on a Sunday?

Now this story has the potential to be really damaging... if it's true, of course.  All I can say is that Mayor Zimmer certainly sounds convincing.  It's doubtful that she just made the whole thing up...

But what I did notice about the story she told this weekend was that it doesn't sound like she ever tried to speak with Christie directly about the Sandy funds?  That's kind of strange, don't you think?    

Not really,considering the alleged intimidation practices of the Christie admin. She also didn't endorse him for reelection so getting a meeting may have been extremely dificult. I know that there's evidence that he cancelled events with another mayor for similar reasons, Ever see Godfather Part 2? Seems like Christie had a lot of "buffers".


The Family Had a Lot of Buffers

Yeah. Well unless one of his people confirms that Christie knew about this stuff, it's all just allegations and conjecture. Wildstein's lawyer says that Wildstein is looking for an immunity deal. Perhaps Wildstein will implicate the Governor... or he might totally exonerate him.

If Christie survives all of this, he could actually emerge as a stronger candidate for the Republican nomination.

Scorpion wrote:

Yeah. Well unless one of his people confirms that Christie knew about this stuff, it's all just allegations and conjecture.  Wildstein's lawyer says that Wildstein is looking for an immunity deal.  Perhaps Wildstein will implicate the Governor... or he might totally exonerate him.

Wildstein already took the 5th. I can't see him exonerating him unless he wants to go to jail. We know there was never any traffic study.
The Hoboken Mayor story may end up the bigger story. Meanwhile once they start sifting through emails and documents,who knows what more might come out.

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If Christie survives all of this, he could actually emerge as a stronger candidate for the Republican nomination.

How do you figure that? All it would prove is that he's a frickin idiot that didn't know what his hand-picked staff was doing while at the same time he ignored major traffic problems that were a major news story.
The Anti-Christie ads write themselves and his wingnut opponents will only be too happy to constantly air them....
MSNBC Host Airs His Own Anti-Christie 2016 Ad (VIDEO)

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Wall-to-wall election programming may have gotten an early start on Wednesday night, at least if you happened to be watching MSNBC.

Lawrence O'Donnell, host of 'The Last Word,' attempted to explain how potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates would eviscerate embattled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) should he decide to throw his hat in the ring. So he wrote a mock campaign ad using clips from a press conference the governor held following revelations that his aides were involved in ordering the closure of the George Washington Bridge.

“I mean, I wrote that ad in a few minutes,” he said. “I was just sitting there listening to him, just grabbed those quotes and wrote it. You can do this at home, it’s easy.”

But the segment was criticized for doing the bidding of Democrats and even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is widely expected to be the party's frontrunner if she runs.

"MSNBC is now doing the Democrat National Committee’s work for them," is how the National Review put it.

Artie60438 wrote:

Scorpion wrote:

If Christie survives all of this, he could actually emerge as a stronger candidate for the Republican nomination.

How do you figure that? All it would prove is that he's a frickin idiot that didn't know what his hand-picked staff was doing while at the same time he ignored major traffic problems that were a major news story.

Like I said in the beginning, It all depends on if Christie survives all of this politically, and if nothing new or credible comes out, there is no doubt in my mind that he will.  All this coverage is incredibly damaging to Christie now. Did you see the latest poll vs. Hillary?  

But if the press keeps going after him like he is the reincarnation of Nixon, and what we know already is all there is to know, then I just don't think that this will still be an issue a year from now.

Most people understand betrayal. If he was truly "betrayed" as he claims he was, then he will be forgiven.  There is no doubt in my mind about that.  (Of course, if he's lying about anything, he is in really, really deep trouble)

The longer this goes on, the more it begins to look like a witch hunt, if no wrongdoing by the governor is brought to light. Voters know what a witch hunt looks like when they see it, and they won't like it. They'll eventually tune out and begin to actually feel sympathy for Christie. If that happens, the political ads won't work, either.

That's "how I figure that."  Hey, I've been wrong before (but not very often.) I call 'em like I see 'em.  A lot depends on how Christie acts as well, but I'm assuming that he is a smart enough politician to know how to play this out.

I guess we'll see what happens.

Scorpion wrote:

The longer this goes on, the more it begins to look like a witch hunt...

Yup. He can totally come out of this better off than going in. The GOP loves the victim card. It feeds into the entire us vs them/conspiracy narrative of the party. If he continues to take a beating in the press despite any evidence linking him to this, it will only take a few sob stories of betrayal and complaints about the "liberal media" during a few interviews and he'll come out of this looking like a fucking battle-hardened hero to them. Palin was able to do much more with far less. Someone as smart as Christie won't have any problem pulling their strings.

Scorpion wrote:

The longer this goes on, the more it begins to look like a witch hunt, if no wrongdoing by the governor is brought to light. Voters know what a witch hunt looks like when they see it, and they won't like it. They'll eventually tune out and begin to actually feel sympathy for Christie. If that happens, the political ads won't work, either.

I don't see a witch hunt at all. It was Bridgit Anne Kelly's emails that finally triggered the investigations. The NJ legislature has already combined the 2 separate investigations into one which is a good thing and AFAIK there have been no leaks so far. The US Atty's investigation is a different investigation into a different matter and I doubt we'll see any leaks there either.

Mittens Romney vetted him for VP and didn't like what he saw.
If anything,Christie has been the media's darling up until now banging the drum for his POTUS run every chance they got. The present scandals are the result of Christie's own actions and lack of judgment,certainly not the result of any media witch hunt.

It's gonna be difficult for Christie to gain sympathy because he's been such an in your face bully in the past and I expect him to attempt to stonewall the investigations at every opportunity. I look forward to his future press conferences,if there are any.

More bad news for Chris Christie

Quote :

A new report further corroborates Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer's bombshell allegations

The investigation over “bridgegate” is by no means over, but it’s increasingly looking like a second, less-publicized scandal could be New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s biggest problem yet.

According to a report in the New York Times, federal officials in the Garden State have interviewed multiple witnesses about Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegation that the Christie administration threatened to withhold Superstorm Sandy relief funds unless she agreed to approve a development project Christie supported.

These witnesses have reportedly not only confirmed that Zimmer told them previously of Team Christie’s demands — but that she did so all the way back in May, well before bridgegate forever changed Christie’s public image.

Further, in an interview with the Times, Hoboken City Councilman David Mello said Zimmer had previously told him about the Christie administration’s threat. Mello said he was “upset” when he first heard of “this quid pro quo ultimatum” from the governor’s office.

Zimmer’s allegations were first reported by MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki.

So we now have corroborating witnesses on top of the Mayor's diary. It's time for a full-scale audit of how Christie's office distributed the funds.

Artie60438 wrote:

More bad news for Chris Christie

Quote :

A new report further corroborates Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer's bombshell allegations

The investigation over “bridgegate” is by no means over, but it’s increasingly looking like a second, less-publicized scandal could be New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s biggest problem yet.

According to a report in the New York Times, federal officials in the Garden State have interviewed multiple witnesses about Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s allegation that the Christie administration threatened to withhold Superstorm Sandy relief funds unless she agreed to approve a development project Christie supported.

These witnesses have reportedly not only confirmed that Zimmer told them previously of Team Christie’s demands — but that she did so all the way back in May, well before bridgegate forever changed Christie’s public image.

Further, in an interview with the Times, Hoboken City Councilman David Mello said Zimmer had previously told him about the Christie administration’s threat. Mello said he was “upset” when he first heard of “this quid pro quo ultimatum” from the governor’s office.

Zimmer’s allegations were first reported by MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki.

So we now have corroborating witnesses on top of the Mayor's diary. It's time for a full-scale audit of how Christie's office distributed the funds.

Yeah, well I saw no reason to doubt that the Mayor's diary entries, which are arguably based on her own perceptions, weren't genuine.  The real question is if Christie was actually tying the distribution of Sandy Funds to the proposed development of the Rockefeller property.

The fact that the mayor told someone about her perceptions certainly proves that she didn't falsify entries in her diary.  Unfortunately, that's all it proves.

If Christie was using the non-distribution of Sandy funds to extort concessions from the mayor, that's serious corruption.  It's going to be awfully tough to prove, especially now that the Lieutenant Governor has categorically denied that she said the things that Mayor Zimmer claims that she said...

Scorpion wrote:

Artie60438 wrote:

So we now have corroborating witnesses on top of the Mayor's diary. It's time for a full-scale audit of how Christie's office distributed the funds.

Yeah, well I saw no reason to doubt that the Mayor's diary entries, which are arguably based on her own perceptions, weren't genuine.  The real question is if Christie was actually tying the distribution of Sandy Funds to the proposed development of the Rockefeller property.

The fact that the mayor told someone about her perceptions certainly proves that she didn't falsify entries in her diary.  Unfortunately, that's all it proves.

If Christie was using the non-distribution of Sandy funds to extort concessions from the mayor, that's serious corruption.  It's going to be awfully tough to prove, especially now that the Lieutenant Governor has categorically denied that she said the things that Mayor Zimmer claims that she said...

My point is that besides the diary,the corroboration of other city officials offers probable cause to fully investigate the Mayor's allegations.