# Did Christie (or his staff) intentionally cause the Fort Lee traffic jam? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 9, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351 "2014-01-09T13:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2014, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/481 "2014-01-26T02:08:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Just saying that he’s fat isn’t tasteless (unless you say it to his face or something), but the jokes about it can be. …if you do them right. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/482 "2014-01-27T10:56:48Z")
Edit: Ignore this posted in wrong thread ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/483 "2014-01-27T13:13:36Z")
[Yet another instance of abuse of power emerges.](http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2014/01/another_cover-up_in_chris_chri.html) > [@](#): > > Barlyn says that after he secured an indictment in 2010 against Hunterdon County Sheriff Deborah Trout, a Republican with political ties to Christie, he was fired and the case hastily killed by Christie’s appointed attorney general at the time, Paula Dow. The real story isn’t the mundane crimes that were alleged: hiring without proper background checks, making employees sign loyalty oaths, threatening critics and producing fake police badges for a prominent Christie donor. It’s the possible abuse of power by the administration’s head prosecutor. > > Barlyn is now trying to compel the state Attorney General’s Office to release the grand jury transcripts to prove his case had legs. Time for Christie to forget about the presidency, keeping the governor’s job is going to be difficult enough, staying out of prison should be his biggest worry. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/484 "2014-01-27T13:20:02Z")
That still puts a buffer between Christie and the alleged abuse of power, and I’m not seeing a crime here (although there is potential for a civil suit). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/485 "2014-01-27T20:09:16Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That still puts a buffer between Christie and the alleged abuse of power, and I’m not seeing a crime here (although there is potential for a civil suit). Obstruction of justice, perhaps? Anyhow, the more of these that show up, the greater the chance that someone is going to sing. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/486 "2014-01-28T06:33:45Z")
Hey, mistakes were made! And now that the Deputy Chief of Staff has been fired, she was the Big Enchilada, no need for further investigation, as Operation Candor will make clear. After all, the people of New Jersey have a right to know if their Governor is a crook, and he’s _keeping_ that little dog! ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/487 "2014-01-31T04:44:38Z")
I have a question: These are his aides, right? Under what authority did they exercise power? From what I understand, only an elected official or an appointee of an elected official exercising powers within his or her purview can actually order things. If these are just political aides, they didn’t have the authority to order anything. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/488 "2014-01-31T04:56:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I have a question: These are his aides, right? Under what authority did they exercise power? From what I understand, only an elected official or an appointee of an elected official exercising powers within his or her purview can actually order things. If these are just political aides, they didn’t have the authority to order anything. Bridget Kelly was Christie’s Deputy Chief of Staff - she would qualify as a “political aide”. But other figures involved in this held positions of authority and had the power to issue orders. David Wildstein was the Director of Interstate Capital Projects at the Port Authority, Bill Baroni was the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority (which made him Wildstein’s boss) and David Samson is the Chairman of the Port Authority Board of Commissioners. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/489 "2014-01-31T05:03:43Z")
Ah, okay, I was under the impression that they were “aides” which I’d understood to be a political position rather than an actual administrator. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/490 "2014-01-31T05:56:20Z")
The New York Times is putting resources into this story (as they should, given their large NJ readership and Christie’s high profile). Kevin Drum summarizes on his blog: [No Smoking Guns Yet, But the Noose Is Tightening Around Chris Christie – Mother Jones](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/01/no-smoking-guns-yet-noose-tightening-around-chris-christie) One quote provides some motivation: …the Christie political team, which was apparently obsessed with winning votes in Democratic-leaning towns. This wasn’t because the votes themselves were all that critical to Christie’s 2012 reelection campaign, but because winning in these places “would validate the governor’s argument that he would be the most broadly appealing Republican choice for president in 2016”: That seems right. Christie’s path to the Republican nomination was grounded upon his broad appeal. More at the link. I find the story interesting: NJ politics is pretty opaque; it’s nice to see a little sunshine on the subject. Of interest is the TPM article [What’s The Matter With Jersey?Understanding the Garden State’s Deep and Bipartisan Culture of Corruption](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/whats-the-matter-with-jersey). New Jersey is not Louisiana or even Illinois. Here’s the concluding paragraph, with emphasis added: We’ve spent centuries thinking about politics as a competition for power. We assume that a thirst for power is what animates almost all political acts. This assumption is so embedded in the vocabulary of government and the rhetoric of electioneering that we have been blinded to the possibility that another motive is exercising equal pull: greed. \*\*People can get rich, very rich, by dipping their toe in New Jersey politics. Until we understand how the linkage between patronage, development, and infrastructure makes that possible\*\*, the political culture of the state simply won’t be equipped to make any real reforms. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/491 "2014-01-31T06:25:51Z")
The latest Presidential preference polls show Christie falling behind Paul Ryan. It seems like the biggest beneficary off his fall is actually Jeb Bush. Which makes sense, Jeb’s actually the closest to Christie on the issues. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/492 "2014-01-31T21:00:51Z")
> [@](#): > > The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening, and that he had the evidence to prove it. [NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/nyregion/christie-bridge.html?_r=0) ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/493 "2014-01-31T21:05:33Z")
He HAD to know, he admitted he was putting out the cones. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/494 "2014-02-01T04:20:10Z")
the Presidential polling is looking ugly for Christie now. He already had challenges being the moderate guy, he couldn’t afford this. Problem is, it looks like most of his support has gone to Jeb Bush. Look what you’ve done, liberal media!!!🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/495 "2014-02-01T04:25:37Z")
2016: Clinton v Bush II: Eclectic Bugaboo. I don’t care if it was the liberal, right-wing, lamestream or underground media … thanks in advance for the Grade-A entertainment factor. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/496 "2014-02-01T04:28:48Z")
I don’t care either, this kind of thing needs to have a light shined on it, and I hope the notoriety brings more attention to how politicians reward their friends and punish their enemies. The politicians should be scared of the media looking into this kind of stuff and I hope it doesn’t stop with Christie. However, since the biggest beneficiary of this story seems to be Jeb Bush, it does make you wonder, doesn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/497 "2014-02-01T04:43:18Z")
\ ***Jeb 2016!!!** \* You can just feel the electric pulse of raw energy surging through the Republican Party! Yowzuh! Radical enough for the Tea Party, bland and soothing for Wall Street, like Tabasco sauce sprinkled on cottage cheese! Rally around a leader that just seethes with charisma and oozes leadership! ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/498 "2014-02-01T04:47:39Z")
> [@MacCat](#): > > [NY Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/01/nyregion/christie-bridge.html?_r=0) After reading that it seems to me today would be a bad day to be Christie’s dog. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/499 "2014-02-01T05:18:51Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > 2016: Clinton v Bush II: Eclectic Bugaboo. Or Clinton II v Bush III… ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351/500 "2014-02-01T16:43:33Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > …, like Tabasco sauce sprinkled on cottage cheese! Wow. That is the most unpleasant image I’ve seen in a long time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-christie-or-his-staff-intentionally-cause-the-fort-lee-traffic-jam/678351.md?page=26)