Gina and I just returned from Florida, last night, and we are shocked, truly shocked, to discover Governor Christie has not been brought to justice yet. His stonewalling continues. So much for Governor Christie's promises of transparency and cooperating fully with "legitimate" investigations.
Christie announced, last night, that I'm done responding to bridge scandal "hysteria," and the The Fair Housing Center reports, today, that NJ won't release integrity monitor reports on Sandy contracts, that are required by state law. A law Governor Christie already delayed a year to implement.
The Fair Share Housing Center said it was notified late Wednesday afternoon that the state would not fulfill a public records request for the reports because “these reports are draft reports and as such are being exempted in their entirety as advisory and consultative documents. ...
Kevin Walsh, the associate director of the center that has previously sued the state over access to public documents regarding Sandy recovery, said "the denial of our public records for the integrity monitor reports request raises questions about why draft reports are being provided to the Christie Administration."
Is the Administration editing the reports provided to it? Are integrity monitors functioning in an independent fashion, as intended by the act requiring them, or simply acting as agents of the Administration that only reveal problems if and when the Administration allows them to see the light of day? Will both edited and unedited versions of their reports ever be released?"
The Department of Community Affairs has not yet responded to the Star Ledger's request for a comment.
The Fair Share Housing Center also said yesterday that NJ has not responded to a public records request for the regular reports HGI was supposed to submit.
In other Christie related news, Jed Lewison reported this morning that Christie aides joked about causing 'traffic problems' at rabbi's home, also suggesting how funny it would be if they could cause traffic problems in Tel Aviv.
Earlier in the week Ericlewis0 was kind enough to email two articles about PA Chairman David Samson. The New York Daily News calls for Port Authority Chairman to resign, which I fully agree with. Sack Samson, Port Authority chairman has to hit the road.
The shambles of vengeful politicking and ethical corner-cutting that goes by the name of the Port Authority is chaired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s close associate David Samson. ... As the saying goes, the fish rots from the head.
Samson’s three years leading the board of the bi-state agency have produced a list of disasters longer than the George Washington Bridge backups engineered by his underlings.
The shockwaves touched off by Bridgegate have made clear that Samson perverted the PA into a toll-financed dispensary of favors and punishments for Christie allies and enemies — as well as a benefactor of clients of Samson’s law firm.
And, the Wall Street Journal reports,
Port Authority Director Says Chairman Shouldn’t Lead Agency’s Board
The chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey isn’t fit to lead the bistate agency’s board of commissioners, the authority’s Executive Director, Patrick Foye, said Tuesday. ...
Mr. Foye declined to elaborate on his remark that he didn’t believe Mr. Samson was fit to continue as chairman, as news accounts and state legislators in New Jersey ask questions about his private business dealings while serving at the authority. Mr. Foye didn’t respond to a request for comment.
I just read somewhere this morning, that he board of directors of the Port Authority has chastised Executive Director Patrick Foye for speaking out against Sampson, but I'll have to put that in an update, because I went back to bed and forget where I read it.
Well, while it is discouraging to see Governor Christie continue to stonewall, at least I got a great deal on super deluxe sized popcorn from Costco. And, it is good to be home back in Boston despite frigid temperatures and more snow expected this weekend.
11:16 AM PT: New bridge scandal text messages 'disturbing,' Wisniewski says
TRENTON — The leader of a New Jersey legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closings said newly uncensored emails released today are “disturbing” and that the two officials at the center of the controversy acted like children.
“There’s no new ground been broken,” state Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the co-chairman of the committee, said today at the Statehouse. “But what it does show is kind of a juvenile, cavalier attitude toward their official responsibilities and joking about the power they had to create traffic or delay flights.”
The records released this morningshow David Wildstein, a top official at the Port Authority, and Bridget Anne Kelly, who at the time was a deputy chief of staff in Gov. Chris Christie’s office, joked about causing traffic problems for Rabbi Mendy Carlebach of the Chabad of North and South Brunswick. Carlebach, who is Orthodox and a close Christie ally, is a chaplain for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
"And he has officially pissed me off," Wildstein told Kelly in a text message.
"Clearly," Kelly wrote. "We cannot cause traffic problems in front of his house, can we?"
Wildstein replied, "Flights to Tel Aviv all mysteriously delayed."
"Perfect," Kelly wrote.
11:26 AM PT: The Associated Press reports War of words escalates inside Port Authority after Foye calls Samson 'unfit'
A day after Executive Director Patrick Foye slammed Chairman David Samson in print as unfit to lead the bistate agency, five members of the agency's board of commissioners sent a letter to Foye criticizing his "harsh personal attack."
The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, is signed by board members Anthony Sartor, Raymond Pocino, David Steiner, William Schuber and Richard Bagger. All are New Jersey appointees to the board, as is Samson, a Gov. Chris Christie appointee. Samson didn't sign the letter.
"Your inflammatory statement about the Chairman's 'moral authority' will breed division and dysfunction in our organization, serves to improperly undercut the leadership of this agency, undermines the lawful authority of our Board, and will damage the morale of the many hardworking Port Authority employees," the letter reads.
These board members have it backwards. What is really "inflammatory" and "dysfunctional" is a board who allows someone with as little "moral authority as Chairman Samson to remain on duty, after such a long series of revelations of clear conflict of interest, and even documented attempts to silence Foye after he discovered and nixed the bridge closing. It's clear these five board members need to resign as well, as they still do not get that this scandal extends beyond Governor Christie, to include themselves and the political use of government positions.