Fishman said that the Esquire story was “almost entirely incorrect.”
http://www.nj.com/...
“Fishman was asked about an article in Esquire magazine last month that said he was closing in on criminal targets and indictments were imminent.”
"I will say this: Reports in the press that purport to describe what I might be thinking or what the people who are working on that matter might be thinking or contemplating have been almost entirely incorrect," he said. "And you should be wary of reports that attribute, for attribution or otherwise, what we’re thinking or what we’re doing."
Let’s see if we can unpack that?
If Fishman is interviewing them and/or they have or will testify before the Grand Jury, they are not targets of the investigation.
That includes everyone we know from more than one source has met with Fishman (Wildstein) and everyone who has testified before the legislature (not Baroni).
That is: Christie’s Chief of Staff, Kevin O’Dowd, Bridget’s deputy chief of staff Christina Genovese Renna; Christie’s press secretary Michael Drewniak; Port Authority Commissioner William “Pat” Schuber; and Christie’s incoming Chief of Staff, Regina Egea.
Of these we don’t know who had already testified before Fishman’s Grand Jury, but we can guess (all of them).
Esquire reported two Grand Juries.
The Wall Street Journal thinks so too:
http://online.wsj.com/...
A special federal grand jury has been impaneled and it has been hearing testimony exclusively on the George Washington Bridge lane closures that have roiled the administration of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, according to people familiar with the matter.
Witnesses from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the administration have steadily been called to testify, the people said. U.S. attorney Paul Fishman has brought in an extra attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice to assist in the investigation, the people said.
Here’s information I didn’t know about ‘sitting’ grand juries:
Prosecutors tend to impanel a special grand jury when they have a long, complex case, said Aidan O'Connor, an attorney with Pashman-Stein in Hackensack, N.J., and a former federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Grand juries in New Jersey last for 18 months and meet about weekly, but a sitting one must be shared with other cases occurring in the jurisdiction. A special grand jury can just focus on witnesses for one particular case.
We have new news, Regina Egea testifed before the legislature, and so she must have already testified before the Grand Jury, because she had some interesting things to say, and since she was still covering herself, she probably wasn't given immunity because she didn't need it, was never a target because she didn't have any direct responsibility. So she can continue to claim ignorance.
Says she deleted the emails, but had sent them to Christie:
A close aide to Gov. Chris Christie sent him text messages related to fallout from the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge and later deleted them, she told a legislative committee in Trenton on Thursday.
Regina Egea, then the governor's liaison to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said the messages discussed testimony related to the bridge and complimented an employee on his "professionalism."
Ms. Egea, whom Mr. Christie has named to be his next chief of staff, said she would text the governor infrequently, and he would respond "at times."
http://online.wsj.com/...
Found out that Wisniewski’s nickname is “wiz,” and also that he doesn’t know much:
http://www.politickernj.com/...
“Look, this is not a made for TV reality show,” Wisniewski, a 52-year-old veteran lawmaker, told reporters Thursday evening after his committee heard testimony from its latest witness, Christie’s incoming Chief of Staff Regina Egea. “I keep telling these guys this. People may want to take a long commercial break because it’s a little boring, but these things take time.”
“There seems to be no solid connection either real or imagined of why that would be worth it,” Wiz said. “None of the theories proposed so far” -- which range from a governor scorned by his failure to win a re-election endorsement from Fort Lee’s mayor to games of political one-upmanship at the Port Authority -- “make sense in the context of the size of the retribution.”
Another obstacle that has held up the committee’s progress is that it’s had to yield -- willingly, Wiz says -- to the U.S. Attorney General’s own investigation. Conflicting schedules forced Wisniewski’s investigative committee to knock down the number of desired witnesses from 13 to nine after Fishman announced he wanted to question them first. “Starting in July there were a number of people we had hoped to call and there was an understanding that we would have access to them and it seems that that’s changed,” Wiz says, though he added the committee respects the supremacy of Fishman’s investigation.
http://online.wsj.com/...
Fishman wants Wiz to hold off on Mike DuHaime, Christie’s political strategist, Charles McKenna, his former chief counsel; the Fort Lee Mark Sokolich, N.J. mayor, Patrick Foye, Nicole Crifo, Christie’s public authorities lawyer, Port Authority's deputy executive director Deborah Gramiccioni; Philip Kwon (the Port Authority deputy chief counsel who helped prepare Barnoi and sat behind him when he testified), Philippe Danielides (David Samson’s adviser) and the former Port Authority Police Union President, Paul Nunziato.
“At least one of the nine has since spoken to investigators and been cleared to testify before the committee, a person familiar with the matter said.”
Fishman approved four witnesses: Regina Egea, Evan Ridley, Christopher Porrino; and Paul Matey. (so they’ve probably already testified before the Grand Jury).
Marc L. Mukasey, an attorney representing Mr. DuHaime, said he would evaluate a request to testify before the committee if and when it is made. An attorney representing Mr. Nunziato said the union president would cooperate with the legislative committee if asked. John Azzarello, an attorney for Mr. McKenna, said that his client has "always been willing to assist the investigations into this matter."
Attorneys for Messrs. Kwon and Sokolich declined to comment, as did a Port Authority spokesman. Attorneys for Ms. Gramiccioni and Ms. Crifo didn't respond to requests for comment. Mr. Danielides couldn't be reached for comment.