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Chris Christie To Hold 11 AM Press Conference
By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 9, 2014
Modified Jan 10, 2014
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By
Jen Chung
Published Jan 9, 2014
Modified Jan 10, 2014
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NJ Governor Chris Christie is holding an 11 a.m. press conference today, probably to discuss the George Washington Bridge gridlock political payback scandal that one of his deputy chiefs of staff has been linked to, as well as two of his appointees to the Port Authority. But let's face it, his press conference will never top "I am a gay American."
Local coverage of a nearly week-long commuting nightmare for anyone driving through Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge last September sparked what seemed like a Democratic conspiracy theory: That Christie's cronies in the Port Authority closed two of three lanes in Fort Lee because the Democratic mayor wouldn't endorse Christie (the likely presidential candidate was seeking a resounding show of bipartisan support).
The Christie Port Authority appointees claimed there was a traffic study, but other employees and the top Cuomo-appointed Port Authority executive suggested that was ludicrous and a public safety danger. Then the smoking email emerged: Christie's deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly had emailed the governor's childhood buddy David Wildstein at the Port Authority in August, "Time for traffic problems in Fort Lee."
Now it turns out that emergency response times were basically doubled during the gridlock. The Record reports, "On Sept. 9, the first day of the traffic paralysis, EMS crews took seven to nine minutes to arrive at the scene of a vehicle accident where four people were injured, when the response time should have been less than four minutes, he wrote. It also took EMS seven minutes to reach an unconscious 91-year-old woman who later died of cardiac arrest at a hospital. Although he did not say her death was directly caused by the delays, Favia noted that 'paramedics were delayed due to heavy traffic on Fort Lee Road and had to meet the ambulance en-route to the hospital instead of on the scene.'"
Now, consider this video compilation of Christie denying that his staff knew anything about it:
The lawsuits should be a trip.
The NY Times says that the issue has "exploded into a full-bore political scandal for Gov. Chris Christie" while the Wall Street Journal deems it a "major test for the national ambitions of a popular Republican considered a leading 2016 presidential contender."
In a statement yesterday that stopped short of an apology, Christie claimed ignorance and outrage, "This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions."
Tagged
bridgegate
bridget anne kelly
Chris Christie
david wildstein
fort lee
George Washington Bridge
port authority
scandal
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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