Two of Gov. Chris Christie's closest advisers had a "personal relationship" in the months leading up to the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, according to a report commissioned by the governor.
Bridget Anne Kelly, who sent the now-infamous email that said "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," and Christie's ex-campaign manager and top aide Bill Stepien were an item between April and early August of last year, the report by lawyer Randy Mastro revealed.
"At some point after Stepien's departure to run the campaign, Kelly and Stepien became personally involved, although, by early August 2013, their personal relationship had cooled, apparently at Stepien's choice, and they largely stopped speaking," the report said.
The report noted that Kelly, 41, replaced Stepien, 36, as Christie's deputy chief of staff last April when Stepien stepped down.
"Because Stepien was her 'benefactor,' Kelly relied heavily on him during this transition" before the relationship soured, the report said.
Kelly was fired after news of the "Bridgegate" scandal erupted in January. Neither was married during the time of the relationship.
The report was based on an investigation by Mastro's firm, Gibson Dunn, and is expected to cost New Jersey taxpayers more than $1 million.
It predictably cleared Christie of any wrongdoing and placed blame for the closures on Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff, and David Wildstein, a longtime Christie ally and appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The report also concluded that Stepien was aware of the plan to stall traffic.
Christie did not immediately comment, saying Wednesday night he was still reading the 360-page document.
But he will appear with Diane Sawyer on ABC World News Thursday night.
The normally motor-mouthed governor has not held a news conference since January.
The scheme to block two of the three access lanes approaching the GWB from Fort Lee, NJ, beginning last Sept. 9 was widely believed to be retaliation against Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who didn't endorse Christie for re-election.
But Mastro's report didn't offer a motive.
"What motivated this act is not yet clear. The common speculation that this was an act of political retaliation because Mayor Sokolich failed to endorse the Governor for re-election is not established by the evidence that we have seen," it said.
The scandal has haunted the Republican governor since it broke and jeopardized any plans he had to run for the White House in 2016.
But Christie said Wednesday night that he has made no decisions about his political future.
"There is certainly nothing that has happened in the last number of months … that would make me think any differently about my ability to pursue that job or to perform in it," Christie said on his monthly radio call-in program, TownSquare Media's "Ask the Governor."
Mastro said that Christie, 51, turned over his cellphone and allowed his email accounts to be searched.
The Mastro-led team of lawyers interviewed more than 70 people and reviewed roughly 250,000 documents.
But Democrats have said the report is incomplete because it does not include interviews with people central to the plot, including Kelly, Wildstein, Stepien, Sokolich or former Port Authority appointee Bill Baroni.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski, chairman of a legislative panel investigating the lane closings, also raised questioned the objectivity of a report on the governor commissioned by the governor and compiled by an ally.
Like Christie, Mastro is a former federal prosecutor. He was also chief of staff for Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, another former prosecutor who has staunchly defended Christie on talk shows since the scandal broke open in January.
Federal authorities also are investigating the lane closings and related allegations that two members of Christie's Cabinet threatened to withhold Superstorm Sandy recovery aid to a flooded city unless its mayor OK'd a favored redevelopment project.
Five people close to Christie have lost their jobs in the wake of the scandal, including Kelly, whom he fired, and Stepien, who managed both of Christie's gubernatorial campaigns and was said to be in line to run any presidential bid.
Emails already released during the investigation show that Stepien was aware of the lane closings while they were happening.
Christie maintains he knew nothing about the plot's planning or execution, and found out about it later.
The review will be given to a special Legislative committee and the US Attorney's office, which are investigating the scandal as well as the way Hurricane Sandy relief funds were used.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Christie aides had ‘personal relationship’ ahead of Bridgegate
Dengan url
http://solusiagarsehat.blogspot.com/2014/03/christie-aides-had-apersonal.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Christie aides had ‘personal relationship’ ahead of Bridgegate
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Christie aides had ‘personal relationship’ ahead of Bridgegate
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar