Here comes the notorious internal report by Governor Christie's lawyer we've been hearing about about. NJ.Com reports. Internal bridge scandal review absolves more Christie staff, report says. The big problem is that Randy Mastro doesn't actually interview any of he most key witnesses and actors in the case.
TRENTON — An internal review commissioned by Gov. Chris Christie’s administration not only clears the governor of involvement in the controversial closure of lanes to the George Washington Bridge, but also additional members of his inner circle, according to a published report.
The 300-page review will be released later this morning in concert with a news conference at the New York offices of the law firm Gibson Dunn and Crutcher, which conducted the review. The full report, with exhibits and appendices, will be available at 11:30 a.m. at: www.GDCReport.com.
Led by attorney Randy Mastro, Gibson Dunn’s findings “narrow responsibility” for planning the September lane closures to Christie’s former deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly and David Wildstein, a former ally of the governor and top official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Wall Street Journal reported today. ...
Of course, this reports does not mean much. Not only was it done by Chris Christie's lawyer, but Randy Mastro did not interview any of the most central figures in the case including Bridget Kelly, David Wildstein, Bill Stepien, Bill Baroni, Dawn Zimmer, or Mark Sokolich. I'm not sure whether or not he interviews David Samson, or to what extent, or what question he asks Governor Chris Christie.
Mastro’s will share his report with both the U.S. Attorney, and the legislative investigaive committee.
Christie is also scheduled to appear on ABC World News tonight with Diane Sawyer.
This makes me think Team Christie must be expecting bad news soon, and they are trying to get in early to shape pubic opinion.
Governor Christie should appear for as many long interviews as is necessary to exhaust all questions and he should volunteer to testify under oath before the legislative committee.
8:30 AM PT: Please check out these other recent HoundDog posts. I'm on the last few days of an intense diet and weigh in tomorrow. Intense writing is the best way of distracting me from thinking about food. I've lost 7 pound in the last month, but if I'm not careful I could can it all back by tomorrow. I have one more to go to be on target. I hate it when I wait to he last minute. So if you see my whipping off posts on every conceivable topic don't worry, I'm not having a manic episode, just trying to lose weight.
PS Does anyone know how many calories are burned by typing really fast? I mean really, really fast, not even going back to check for spelling fast!
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Isherwood asks 5 Bridgegate questions he fears may never be answered
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8:58 AM PT: Darryl Isherwood, of NJ.com asks 5 Bridgegate questions that may never be answered. He worries that the court grants Bridget Kelly's and Bill Stepien's request for 5th Amendment protection against the NJ legislative investigative committee's subpoena we may never know the answers to.
1. Why were the GWB lanes closed, was it to "retaliate" against Mayor Sokolich, or some other reason, such as to pressure the real estate development to go to Samson's law firm for a payoff?
2. Who actually came up with the misguided scheme?
Bill Baroni was in on the cover up, but was he in on the planning? The committee has not asked him to testify since his original false testimony in November. Why not? We also do not know if U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman has spoken with him.
3. What was Port Authority Chairman David Samson's role in the bridge debacle? On CNN Randy Mastro admits he never interviewed David Samson but accepted his public denials.
There is no doubt Samson, a former state attorney general, has taken a beating since Bridgegate was revealed. But Samson's woes have not stemmed from the diverting of the lanes, but rather from sunlight being shined for the first time on his business dealings - dealings that have profited him immensely since taking over as the chairman of the agency.
David Samson's conflicts of interest as Port Authority Chairmen are many and he needs to resign for these alone. These conflicts are so egregious many have forgotten the original question had to do with whether or not he was the master mind, with Christie of the lane closures. As I've noted many times, it is hard to imagine relatively low level, and "outside" appointees, in an organization as political and contentious as the Port Authority, having sufficient power to pull off such a conspicuous stunt without a high level internal backer such as Samson. What was Samson's role in the GWB lane closures?
Remember David Wildstein's memo indicated "Samson is helping us retaliate? Isherwood brings up the possibility that Wildwood could have been "posturing", although this seems doubtful to me, his lawyers will not doubt present this line.
4. What was the significance of an August meeting between Samson and Christie?
In documents released by Wildstein in response to a subpoena from the committee were references to a meeting planned between Christie and Samson during the week of August 4. The inclusion of the emails in Wildstein's response led committee members to believe the meeting must somehow be relevant to the lane diversions, or why would Wildstein have submitted them as part of the subpoena?