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Fast Money & Foreign Objects
By PATRICK McGEEHANAUG. 10, 2016
Gov. Chris Christie discussing the George Washington Bridge case at a news conference in December 2013. CreditMel Evans/Associated Press
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey lied to reporters when he said he did not believe any senior member of his staff knew about the plot to block traffic to the George Washington Bridge, one of his aides told a colleague in a text message that was part of a court document filed on Wednesday.
“Are you listening?” the aide, Christina Renna, texted a colleague. “He just flat out lied,” Ms. Renna wrote. Then she added that if certain emails were discovered, “it could be bad.”
According to a filing in United States District Court in Newark, Ms. Renna sent those texts on Dec. 13, 2013, as Mr. Christie was fielding questions from reporters about his knowledge of the alleged scheme to tie up traffic three months earlier on the New Jersey side of the bridge. The filing was made by lawyers for Bill Baroni, who was Mr. Christie’s top executive appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.
Photo
Christina Renna, an aide to the governor, texted a colleague about his remarks. “He just flat out lied,” she wrote. CreditRichard Perry/The New York Times
Federal prosecutors contend that two lanes leading to the bridge were abruptly closed to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., for declining to endorse Mr. Christie’s bid for re-election. Mr. Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, a Republican, are scheduled to stand trial in that case next month.
Mr. Christie said he had been unaware of any plot at the time of the Dec. 13 news conference and had been assured by his staff members that they too were unaware. He said his campaign chief, Bill Stepien, had also vowed that he had no knowledge of such a plot.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve spoken to Mr. Stepien, who’s the person in charge of the campaign, and he has assured me the same thing,” Mr. Christie said during the news conference.
As soon as Ms. Renna heard that, she suggested to Peter Sheridan, a campaign worker, that the governor was not telling the truth. “He just flat out lied about senior staff and Stepien not being involved,” she texted.
Photo
[img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/10/nyregion/10BRIDGE-WEB/00BRIDGE-WEB-master675.jpg" alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/10/nyregion/10BRIDGE-WEB/00BRIDGE-WEB-superJumbo.jpg" data-mediaviewer-caption="A text from Christina Renna, an aide to Mr. Christie, to a colleague during the governor’s news conference on Dec. 13, 2013. Read the document.
Mr. Sheridan responded that Mr. Christie was “doing fine” and “holding his own up there,” according to the filing.
Ms. Renna replied: “Yes. But he lied.”
Mr. Christie, speaking to reporters Wednesday morning after appearing on a sports talk radio show, disputed Ms. Renna’s claim, according to The Associated Press.
“I absolutely dispute it,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. It’s nothing new. There’s nothing new to talk about.”
Kevin Marino, a lawyer for Mr. Stepien, said in a statement that “the government investigated the Bridgegate affair for more than 16 months and did not charge Mr. Stepien. The suggestion that Mr. Stepien was nonetheless involved in a conspiracy to close access lanes to the George Washington Bridge based on a text message exchange that has been in the government’s possession for years is categorically false and irresponsible.”
Henry Klingeman, a lawyer for Ms. Renna, said that “Ms. Renna will answer questions publicly when she testifies at the upcoming trial, not before.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/n...on-bridge-case.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur
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Gov. Chris Christie discussing the George Washington Bridge case at a news conference in December 2013. CreditMel Evans/Associated Press
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey lied to reporters when he said he did not believe any senior member of his staff knew about the plot to block traffic to the George Washington Bridge, one of his aides told a colleague in a text message that was part of a court document filed on Wednesday.
“Are you listening?” the aide, Christina Renna, texted a colleague. “He just flat out lied,” Ms. Renna wrote. Then she added that if certain emails were discovered, “it could be bad.”
According to a filing in United States District Court in Newark, Ms. Renna sent those texts on Dec. 13, 2013, as Mr. Christie was fielding questions from reporters about his knowledge of the alleged scheme to tie up traffic three months earlier on the New Jersey side of the bridge. The filing was made by lawyers for Bill Baroni, who was Mr. Christie’s top executive appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.
Photo
Christina Renna, an aide to the governor, texted a colleague about his remarks. “He just flat out lied,” she wrote. CreditRichard Perry/The New York Times
Federal prosecutors contend that two lanes leading to the bridge were abruptly closed to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., for declining to endorse Mr. Christie’s bid for re-election. Mr. Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, a Republican, are scheduled to stand trial in that case next month.
Mr. Christie said he had been unaware of any plot at the time of the Dec. 13 news conference and had been assured by his staff members that they too were unaware. He said his campaign chief, Bill Stepien, had also vowed that he had no knowledge of such a plot.
“Oh, yeah, I’ve spoken to Mr. Stepien, who’s the person in charge of the campaign, and he has assured me the same thing,” Mr. Christie said during the news conference.
As soon as Ms. Renna heard that, she suggested to Peter Sheridan, a campaign worker, that the governor was not telling the truth. “He just flat out lied about senior staff and Stepien not being involved,” she texted.
Photo
[img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/10/nyregion/10BRIDGE-WEB/00BRIDGE-WEB-master675.jpg" alt="" class="media-viewer-candidate" data-mediaviewer-src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/08/10/nyregion/10BRIDGE-WEB/00BRIDGE-WEB-superJumbo.jpg" data-mediaviewer-caption="A text from Christina Renna, an aide to Mr. Christie, to a colleague during the governor’s news conference on Dec. 13, 2013. Read the document.
Mr. Sheridan responded that Mr. Christie was “doing fine” and “holding his own up there,” according to the filing.
Ms. Renna replied: “Yes. But he lied.”
Mr. Christie, speaking to reporters Wednesday morning after appearing on a sports talk radio show, disputed Ms. Renna’s claim, according to The Associated Press.
“I absolutely dispute it,” he said. “It’s ridiculous. It’s nothing new. There’s nothing new to talk about.”
Kevin Marino, a lawyer for Mr. Stepien, said in a statement that “the government investigated the Bridgegate affair for more than 16 months and did not charge Mr. Stepien. The suggestion that Mr. Stepien was nonetheless involved in a conspiracy to close access lanes to the George Washington Bridge based on a text message exchange that has been in the government’s possession for years is categorically false and irresponsible.”
Henry Klingeman, a lawyer for Ms. Renna, said that “Ms. Renna will answer questions publicly when she testifies at the upcoming trial, not before.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/11/n...on-bridge-case.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur
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