Did Christie (or his staff) intentionally cause the Fort Lee traffic jam?

Politics & Elections
881

(post shortened for clarity)

Sokolich is a central figure in many of the unfounded rumors being promoted to convince the public that Christie was actually involved in the Great NJ Lane Reassignment. A debacle that lasted for four days.

How can you just ignore Sokolich and his lackluster performance as mayor, or hint that I stop talking about it, when I see Sokolich’s inability to track down the proper Port Authority person (Foye) as being partially responsible for the non-study study lasting as long as it did. I believe a competent mayor would have kept contacting higher and higher placed Port Authority managers/directors until the traffic jam went away. But that is my expectation. Your expectation may be different.

882

Stop right there. I am not even reading your next post, because you obviously did not read mine, or your previous ones.

Summarized for clarity:
You were asked a question. Your responded that you have no authority in N.J.

You were asked why it was relevant that you have no authority N.J. You responded that it was not relevant.

You were asked why you responded with a statement that was not relevant. You responded that it was not relevant, but a response to a question.

I submit that nothing you are posting can be reasonably termed “relevant” or “a response”.

You are responding to posts one sentence at a time. You are conflating ‘clarity’ and ‘obfuscation’ when you do so.

You are arguing in weird illogical circles.

883

*NJ panel: Christie aide should turn over papers -
By ANGELA DELLI SANTI — Mar. 7, 2014 6:12 PM EST
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A judge should not allow New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s two-time campaign manager a blanket refusal to comply with a subpoena from a state legislative panel investigating a political payback scandal, lawyers for the panel said in a court filing Friday.

The lawyers say that in order to claim privilege, witnesses like Bill Stepien must raise specific objections to particular requests or questions.

…If granted, Stepien’s claim against self-incrimination would eviscerate the government’s ability to use subpoenas to conduct investigations, the lawyers argue.

…Kelly’s lawyer also filed papers Friday, asserting there’s a “real and substantial threat” of self-incrimination if she gives over what state lawmakers have requested.

In the filing, Kelly’s lawyers say federal authorities have requested interviews with Kelly, her parents, her ex-husband and former in-laws. The lawyers say none of them has been willing to talk.

…There has been no evidence directly linking Christie to the planning or execution of the plot. *

http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/ex-christie-aide-fights-order-give-records

This makes it sound like the state legislative panel is on a fishing expedition or is getting desperate. Stepien was dumped because he appeared insensitive to the plight of the people affected by the non-study study. Kelly, at least, was involved with Port Authority Wildstein and Baroni. But what information, relative to the state’s investigation, can come from Kelly’s parents? Or Kelly’s in-laws? And I’m sure Kelly’s ex-husband has only good things to say about his ex-wife. :rolleyes:

Is the government simply harassing Kelly’s relations in order to get her to provide/invent evidence against Christie or is it considered normal, in cases like this, to question the in-laws?

884

I accept your proposal. I will also refrain from reading your posts and addressing them. Good day.

885

Could not agree more.

886

Why do you keep referring to him as “Port Authority Wildstein”?

887

Wildstein worked for the Port Authority of NY and NJ. The lanes were reassigned by the Port Authority. Port Authority action created an unnecessary traffic jam in Ft Lee. The Port Authority and Wildstein are a central figures in the Great NJ Lane Reassignment debacle.

I prefer “Port Authority Wildstein” to the more commonly used “Christie appointee Wildstein” or “Christie aide Wildstein” repeatedly used by the media outlets.

888

It might be more accurate to say “Christie aide and Christie appointee to the Port Authority who has said that his only constituent was Chris Christie Wildstein”.

889

I’d venture to guess that they (parents and in-laws) were present when Bridget mentioned this whole affair, perhaps even mentioning Christie.

890

Calling the dude Port Authority Wildstein is like calling the mayor Newark Sokolich, or the governor New Jersey Christie.

891

It’s an attempt to create a meme to distract people from the fact that Wildstein is a Christie appointee.

Deflection and distraction work with the conservative base. ‘You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons.’

892

Well, that would make a degree of sense, which is kinda the problem.

893

Plus the whole blaming the victim that is the biggest distraction, followed closely by the pedantic debate about the proper label for Bridgegahzi. It’s all about creating a diversion. He is at least consistent.

894

Yet you do not refer the former deputy chief of staff Kelly as “Governor’s Office Kelly”.

Interesting.

895

Washingpost on CPAC
It appears Christie is being welcomed back into the fold.

896

Well, if you follow the convention to its logical conclusion, he’d have to refer to our president as “America Obama”.

And I don’t know if a Real American’s poor heart could take that.

897

Looks like yet another of the “mounting evidence” against the Christie administration bites the dust. There must be something “they” can charge Christie with. All of the unverified rumors can’t be wrong. Can they?

*Audit clears Christie on no-bid Sandy contract but raises other questions -
updated March 07, 2014 at 10:46 AM

TRENTON — A federal audit released Thursday concludes that Gov. Chris Christie’s administration did not violate any rules in awarding a no-bid contract to a politically connected company to haul away debris left by Hurricane Sandy. But the audit by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general also said municipalities that contracted with the firm — AshBritt Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla. — beyond a 60-day emergency period in the immediate aftermath of the storm might have violated federal guidelines.

…Christie’s office was quick to cite the report Thursday as vindication of how it handled the AshBritt contract, awarded without competitive bidding and offered to towns by well-connected political operatives. A spokesman for the governor said Democrats were wrong to criticize the administration in what he called “a rush to judgment.” “At the time, many Democrats (with complicit members of the media) jumped on this AshBritt news as some sort of breaking scandal,” read an email from the spokesman, Kevin Roberts.

…Then referring to the scandals that the governor’s office is now fending off, Roberts said: “Led by some of the same partisan Democrats that are attempting to politicize various issues today, a feeding frenzy ensued. Now, with the release of this independent third-party report from the IG, we learn that the partisans were wrong.”*

Appropriate questions were asked and the question was answered.

898

I’m sorry, has AshBritt even been mentioned in this thread?

899

Various “claims” against the Christie administration’s environment of “alleged” corruption have been mentioned here, and in the media, as proof that Christie must have been personally involved in the Great NJ Lane Reassignment debacle. As has Truman Burbank’s dessert cookie and Nixon. None of these have proven to be the smoking gun investigators require to charge Christie. Of course, that doesn’t stop the MSNBC-type “reporting” from trying to tie anything and everything wrong in NJ to Christie and the Christie administration. “They’re” bound to get one rumor correct very soon.

900

Or like repeatedly referring to Wildstein as Christie-appointee Wildstein.

It’s still the same Wildstein and Wildstein worked at the Port Authority. There is still no proof that Port Authority Wildstein reassigned the Ft Lee tollbooth lanes on Christie’s orders. There is only the assumption that he did.