CHRIS CHRISTIE: 6 NJ Residents File Lawsuit Over "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal (Sovereign Immunity Applies)

#BRIDGEGATE


6 NJ RESIDENTS SUE STATE.....CHRISTIE.....& PORT AUTHORITY OVER "BRIDGEGATE" BUT THEY WON'T GET ANYTHING DUE TO SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

Documents detailing an Investigation of the "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal will be released Friday by members of the NJ General Assembly.

Can you say "2016 Politics"??

#BRIDGEGATE

BREAKING CHRISTIE BEFORE 2016 ARRIVES: DEMOCRATS & THE TEA PARTY

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2016 NOMINATION HILLARY CLINTON & MARTIN O' MALLEY!!

Although I still believe NJ Gov CHRIS CHRISTIE handled himself very well Thursday during his "BRIDGEGATE" Presser, it ain't over yet!

By the time OBAMA'S Election Machine (for HILLARY)........NSA "Big Brother" Surveillance......and CLINTON Loyalists, are through with CHRISTIE I doubt he'll be in any shape to ever seek Public Office again.

That's too bad.

I really wanted to see another Meat & Potatoes Campaign in 2016 between HILLARY & CHRISTIE, just as it was with OBAMA & ROMNEY in 2012.

Unfortunately for CHRISTIE even the TEA PARTY hates him.

People like LINDSEY GRAHAM and his SOUTH CAROLINA RACISM are sitting somewhere laughing hard right about now.

RAND PAUL appears to be a good guy but he's linked to the TEA PARTY.

The TEA PARTY has undeniably RACIST Roots.

I don't care if there are a few BLACKS in the TEA PARTY (David Webb), it's still by and large a RACIST Organization.

So thanks to Stupid RACIST TEA PARTY Supporters, DEMOCRATS are most likely going to WIN again in 2016.

Why??

There is absolutely NO way a TEA PARTY Candidate can Defeat HILLARY CLINTON.

NEVER!!

So when HILLARY'S name is called as the WINNER in Nov 2016, I don't want to hear a peep from the GOP.....RNC.....nor any TEA PARTY Leaders because You had someone who could have went toe-to-toe with HILLARY and You blew it!

2016 WILL BE A WALK IN THE PARK FOR HILLARY.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2016 NOMINATION HILLARY CLINTON & MARTIN O' MALLEY!!

I CAN HARDLY WAIT.

BREAKING CHRISTIE BEFORE 2016 ARRIVES: DEMOCRATS & THE TEA PARTY






ARTICLE: "Bridgegate: Six N.J. Residents File Lawsuit Against Christie, Port Authority"

Six New Jersey residents have filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Chris Christie, the state of New Jersey, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and others over traffic jams in September.

The suit filed in federal court Thursday appears to be the first civil claim over traffic that appear to have been caused as political punishment for the Fort Lee mayor.

The plaintiffs want it certified as a class action.

Lawyer Rosemarie Arnold says she filed it after learning this week that lane closures on an approach to the George Washington Bridge were "deliberate actions." She says that her clients were late for work and that one suffered a panic attack.

Christie has denied involvement. His spokesman did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Sources: AP, CNN, NJ.com, NorthJersey.com, Youtube

CHRIS CHRISTIE: Woman Says Her Mother's Death Was Not Caused By "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal (Florence Genova)

#CHRISTIE

VILMA OLERI says "BRIDGEGATE" did Not cause the Death of her Mother Florence Genova, 91 as CNN Hosts proclaimed.

OLERI'S Mother was a Fort Lee, NJ resident & a CHRISTIE Supporter.


ARTICLE: "Woman Says Lane Closings Were Not To Blame For Her Mother’s Death"

The daughter of a 91-year-old woman from Fort Lee, N.J., who died on the day of a major traffic jam precipitated by top aides to Gov. Chris Christie said on Thursday that she did not believe the inability of an ambulance to reach her mother’s house was a factor in her death.

“I honestly believe it was just her time,” said Vilma Oleri, whose mother, Florence Genova, died on the morning of Sept. 9, the first day that the closing of local lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge set off the snarls.

A Fort Lee emergency official has said that the traffic jam prevented an ambulance from Englewood Hospital from reaching Ms. Genova’s home.

Ms. Oleri spoke inside her home in Closter, N.J. She said she had gone that morning to check on her mother, who lived alone in a two-story, red brick house on Harvard Place in the southern part of Fort Lee. Ms. Oleri said she called 911 after her mother went into the bathroom before breakfast and did not come out.
Related Coverage

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey greeted residents after leaving City Hall in Fort Lee on Thursday.
Christie Fires Aide in Bridge Scandal as U.S. Opens InquiryJAN. 9, 2014

Paul E. Favia, the emergency medical services coordinator in Fort Lee, complained in a letter to the mayor on Sept. 10 that the traffic problems caused “unnecessary delays for emergency services.”

Just before the call about Ms. Genova, Mr. Favia wrote that it took him seven minutes instead of the usual four minutes to arrive at the scene of a car crash where four people needed to be taken to the hospital.

“I, myself, was stuck in traffic on Fletcher Avenue and had to jump the curb and cut up West Street in order to avoid the standstill traffic,” he wrote.

It took a Fort Lee E.M.S. crew seven minutes to reach Ms. Genova, after they were detoured away from the traffic accident.

“The response time was only shortened by the fact that they were heading to the accident scene to assist when dispatched” to Ms. Genova, the letter says. Ms. Genova had gone into “cardiac arrest,” according to Mr. Favia’s letter.

Ms. Oleri said that Fort Lee emergency responders tried to revive her mother at her home, but that her mother showed no signs of life.

A neighbor said she watched the paramedics rush Ms. Genova onto a stretcher inside their waiting ambulance.

Mr. Favia wrote in his letter that after an ambulance with paramedics from Englewood Hospital could not get to Ms. Genova’s house, it met the Fort Lee ambulance on a street. The hospital paramedics tried again, but failed, to revive Ms. Genova. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

“We believe she died in her home, but they couldn’t pronounce her until she got to the hospital,” said Ms. Oleri’s husband, Frank Oleri. “The traffic didn’t make any difference.”

Ms. Oleri said she had no idea until Wednesday that her mother’s death had become a source of controversy.

“We want to stay out of it,” Ms. Oleri said. “It’s not political.”

She said her mother married an immigrant from Italy and had lived in the same Fort Lee house for more than 50 years. Though her eyesight kept her from driving a car for most of the last half of her life, she insisted on keeping a car in her garage even after her husband died, because she believed it would deter burglars by signaling that a man lived there.

“She was a pip,” Mr. Oleri said.

Ms. Genova was so secretive about her age — it was one of the few details that became public when the traffic scandal gave her posthumous notoriety — that she never told her family. A decade ago, she fell and broke her hip. Ms. Oleri said her mother yanked an emergency responder’s ear to her lips and whispered her age.

“She never told me; she was like that,” Ms. Oleri said. “I sneaked a look on the paramedic’s clipboard.”

Neighbors said Ms. Genova liked to sit in her dining room with the window shade open. Occasionally, a home health aide would visit, and sit her in the sunshine on her front stoop.

“That’s how we knew she was O.K.; the blind would be up,” said Connie Ciongoli, Ms. Genova’s neighbor for more than 50 years. “We would check on her.”

Ms. Genova and her husband were married more than 50 years. She loved her son and daughter and three grandchildren, Ms. Oleri said, though in recent years her memory had began to fail her.

Because of that, she did not vote in the last election of a governor. But she did in the one before.

“She voted for Christie,” Ms. Oleri said.


Sources: AP, LinkedIn, NY Times

CHRIS CHRISTIE: Top CHRISTIE Aide DAVID WILDSTEIN Pleads 5th During "BRIDGEGATE" Hearings

#DAVIDWILDSTEIN5TH


Long time CHRISTIE ally DAVID WILDSTEIN plead the 5th this afternoon during an official Hearing on the "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal.




ARTICLE: "Ex-Christie Appointee Wildstein Accused Of Contempt In Assembly Hearing"


The Assembly committee investigating the George Washing Bridge lane closures unanimously referred the actions of David Wildstein to authorities to be considered for a contempt charge.

Wildstein, the former Port Authority executive at the center of the lane closing controversy, refused to testify saying the Constitution protected him from self incrimination Thursday after a Superior Court judge refused to block the Legislature’s subpoena.

The statement came after Governor Christie gave a lengthy press conference apologizing for the lane closures and the part senior members of his staff played in the closure.

Assemblyman John Wisniewski, head of the transportation committee, asked questions during the hearing with Wildstein, who gave the order to close two of three entrance lanes from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge, repeatedly asserting that he is using his right to remain silent.

Wildstein’s statements came at the advice of counsel.

During an earlier news conference on Thursday, Christie disavowed Wildstein as a friend and a close colleague. Numerous media reports have said that Christie and Wildstein are high school friends.

“That conveys and emotional closeness that doesn’t exist,” Christie said.

Christie said that he met Wildstein for the first time in 1977 as a volunteer for Gov. Tom Kean’s campaign. But they did not remain friends.

“I was class president and an athlete in high school,” Christie said. “I don’t know what he was doing.”

Furthermore, he said that he could not remember any instance when he had a personal meeting with Wildstein.

Christie said that he did not want to speak to Wildstein, former Port Authority Executive Director Bill Baroni and others expected to be called to testify at the Assembly hearings because he wanted to avoid accusations of witness tampering.

On Thursday, when Wildstein informed the committee he would not answer their questions, the audience groaned.

After Wildstein asserted his right to remain silent, Wisniewski continued to ask questions about specific emails that landed in the Record yesterday connecting members of Christie’s senior staff to the decision to close lanes leading up to the bridge.

As Wisniewski continued to question Wildstein, two screens displayed their content on each side of the room near the witness table.

This morning, Wildstein’s attonery, Alan Zegas, tried to quash the subpoena in Superior Court and failed.

Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled Thursday morning the Assembly Transportation committee has the power to compel former Port Authority executive Wildstein to testify.

Wildstein went to court to try to quash a subpoena compelling him to testify before the Assembly’s transportation committee at noon today.

The lawsuit was filed yesterday after emails and text messages linked the decision to close the lanes to Christie’s staff and indicated it was done in retaliation, presumably for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich’s decision not to endorse the governor for reelection.

The judge said the subpoena powers provided to Middlesex Democrat John Wisniewski’s committee were broad enough to withstand any objections by Wildstein’s lawyer.

The judge said she had the power to rule on one of the three problems cited in Zegas’s lawsuit – the jurisdiction of the subpoena, which was first issued to investigate the Port Authority’s decision to raise tolls.

“[The subpoena] certainly seems to fall within this very broad charge,” said Jacobson.

Zegas afterward said he disagreed with the judge’s ruling but would not comment about whether he would file a further appeal or whether or not Wildstein would appear at noon today.

Zegas said before a determination could be made, he would need to speak with his client.

The appeal began a whirlwind day of hearings, press conferences and media attention to what role Christie played, if any, in the closing of the George Washington Bridge in September.

Zegas questioned the validity of Assemblyman John Wisniewski's signature on the subpoena but Judge Jacobson said she could not rule on that matter.


Sources: AP, NorthJersey.com

CHRIS CHRISTIE Fires Top Aide BRIDGET ANNE KELLY For Her Direct Involvement In "BRIDGEGATE"

#BRIDGETKELLY


POLITICAL SCANDALS 101: HOW TO FIRE SOMEONE SWIFTLY


When faced with a POLITICAL SCANDAL it is imperative Elected & Appointed Officials Terminate someone.

Especially those Individuals Responsible.

It's a fact that Someone has to be FIRED Swiftly!

Someone has to be the "Fall Guy or Fall Fall Girl"!

If Not.........

Then Constituents will view the SCANDAL as an act of IMPROPRIETY........ CRONYISM........or WEAKNESS.

And if Voters don't TRUST their POLITICIANS all is lost!

Prior to speaking at his "BRIDGEGATE" Press Conference, Gov CHRISTIE Terminated one of his Top Aides BRIDGET ANNE KELLY aka the "Fall Girl".

A "Fall Girl" who was deeply mired in this "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal of her own free will.

STUPID!

ARTICLE: "Gov. Christie apologizes For GWB Scandal/ Fires Bridget Anne Kelly"

Governor Christie has fired Bridget Anne Kelly, the deputy chief of staff who ordered the lane closure at the George Washington Bridge in September as political payback to the Fort Lee mayor who did not endorse the governor for re-election.

Christie also instructed his close advisor Bill Stepien to withdraw from pursuing state GOP chairmanship and his consultancy for the Republican Governor’s Association – the powerful group that Christie is leading in 2014.

At a packed news conference in Trenton where he announced the firing, Christie apologized “for my failure to understand the true nature of this problem sooner than I did.”

At a packed news conference in Trenton where he announced the firing, Christie apologized “for my failure to understand the true nature of this problem sooner than I did.”

He also said he had "no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or execution" and was stunned by the "abject stupidity that was shown." Nevertheless, he said, he was responsible for what happened.

He said it was “completely unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for the appropriate role of government and the people we're are trusted to serve.”

He also said he had "no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or execution" and was stunned by the "abject stupidity that was shown."

Nevertheless, he said, he was responsible for what happened.

He said it was “completely unacceptable and showed a lack of respect for the appropriate role of government and the people we're are trusted to serve.”

The governor said he has instructed his staff to cooperate with the General Assembly investigation, the Port Authority Inspector General Investigation and any law enforcement investigation.

“I have nothing to hide,” Christie said. “We have nothing to hide. My administration has nothing to hide.”

He said he plans to personally interview his staff to root out if others had knowledge of or were involved in the lane closures. He said that if anything else is discovered he will make it public.

Christie said he was "embarrassed and humiliated" by his staff, one day after emails and text messages revealed his administration may have closed highway lanes to exact political retribution.

He added he was firing Kelly, "because she lied to me."

Christie said he is going to Fort Lee later today to apologize to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and borough residents.

The mayor has said he does not want to meet with the governor, but Christie is traveling to Fort Lee anyway.

The Record and other media reported Wednesday that Kelly, one of Christie's deputy chiefs of staff, had sent an email to David Wildstein, a Christie appointee at the Port Authority, saying "It's time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

While many believed the closures were retribution against Sokolich, a Democrat who did not join other members of his party in endorsing Christie, Christie said previously that his staff and campaign had no knowledge of what caused the days-long tragic jam in Fort Lee. He said he believed Bill Baroni, who he appointed as deputy executive director of the transportation agency, who said the traffic jams were caused by a traffic study.

Both Wildstein and Baroni have resigned.

Christie said he was “blindsided” by the news.

Christie said he first learned of the issue after he had finished his workout and was called by communications staff that the story had broken on The Record’s website: NorthJersey.com.

“This is not the tone I set over the last four years in this building,” Christie said.

After the documents revealed Christie's staff and campaign had knowledge of the lane closures and Kelly apparently ordered them, the governor cancelled a planned Superstorm Sandy recovery announcement Wednesday. Six hours later Christie released a statement saying he had been "misled" by a staff member and that "people will be held responsive for their actions."

Christie said he knew nothing about the lane closures until they were eventually reopened four days later.

“I first found out about it after it was over,” he said.

He said he isn’t a micro-manager and gives his subordinates — staff and cabinet — discretion to make decisions. Christie said he didn’t know his campaign was even trying to pursue Sokolich’s endorsement. “I didn’t see this as political retribution because I didn’t see him do anything to us,” Christie said of Sokolich.

Christie said has not spoken to Kelly since the e-mail came out and does not know why she ordered the lane closure. He said he spoke to Port Authority Chairman David Samson on Wednesday and was convinced he did not know about the lane closure scheme.

Christie also apologized for a flip remark he made at a previous news conference that he had arranged the traffic cones himself when asked about the closures.

“I would never have made that joke if I knew the facts that came out yesterday,” Christie.

Christie said Stepien, his campaign manager on his last year’s reelection, was asked to leave his organization at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Kelly was fired at 9 a.m. today, Christie said.

He said Stepien had told him earlier that he had no involvement in the lane closures.

“I lost confidence in his judgment,” Christie said.


Sources: AP, NorthJersey.com

CHRIS CHRISTIE: "How To Handle Political Scandals 101" (John Boehner Approves)

#CHRISTIE

HOW TO CORRECTLY HANDLE POLITICAL SCANDALS 101:

Today NJ Gov CHRIS CHRISTIE taught every Elected & Appointed Official in America how to CORRECTLY handle POLITICAL SCANDALS.

In fact his Press Conference was so polished & so Sincere, that House Speaker JOHN BOEHNER still views CHRISTIE as a "Viable GOP Presidential Contender for 2016".

WOW!










Sources: AP, Gov Christie's office, NJ.com, Roll Call, Youtube

CHRIS CHRISTIE PRESSER: He Apologizes, Takes Responsibility, Fires Key Staffer Bridget Kelley (GREAT DAMAGE CONTROL!)

#BRIDGEGATE


HOW TO CORRECTLY HANDLE POLITICAL SCANDALS 101:

GREAT DAMAGE CONTROL GOV CHRISTIE!

Today I was extremely Impressed with the way Gov CHRIS CHRISTIE handled his "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal during his Press Conference.

All eyes were on him as America listened intensely to his comments.

I have to be Fair & award KUDOS to CHRISTIE for how well he handled himself this morning on the National Stage.

He publicly APOLOGIZED.

He accepted Full RESPONSIBLITY.

He took Swift ACTION.

He is working to quickly regain the TRUST of his CONSTITUENTS.

He was Polite to REPORTERS & JOURNALISTS.

and......

He did NOT Protect His CLOSE FRIENDS!

These attributes demonstrate a great level of INTEGRITY & LEADERSHIP.

The OBAMA Administration should have done the same when faced with the IRS Targeting Scheme.

I'm just saying.








Sources: Gov Christie's office, NJ.com, Roll Call, Youtube

CHRIS CHRISTIE: Can He Recover From His "BRIDGEGATE" Scandal Before 2016??

#BRIDGEGATE


CHRISTIE'S "BRIDGEGATE" SCANDAL:

Can CHRIS CHRISTIE recover from his GW Bridge Scandal??

Or has his chances for a U.S. Pres bid in 2016 been completely ruined??

Gov CHRISTIE claims he wasn't aware of any wrongdoing regarding this "BRIDGEGATE" situation just as Pres OBAMA claims he wasn't aware of the IRS Targeting Innocent Citizens.






ARTICLE: "Chris Christie Bridge Scandal Is 'Nixonian,' Hard To See How He Recovers: Opinion"

The Fort Lee traffic scandal, once dismissed by the governor as an exaggerated kerfuffle, has captivated the national blogosphere today.

Political pundits warn of two outcomes: First, the hardening of Gov. Chris Christie's reputation as a bully into indelible fact. And second, his presidential prospects in 2016, washed away in mere days.

Much of this depends on how Christie handles the fallout. After ducking the limelight today, he released a statement this evening saying he is "outraged" to learn that he was misled by a member of his staff, and that the culprits will be held responsible.

Is the governor being honest about his ignorance?

The real test will be whether he comes clean with all the evidence, without trying to invoke executive privilege to hide anything from the public.

In the meantime, the revelation that Christie's top officials paralyzed traffic in Fort Lee because its mayor failed to endorse him has breathed new life into what critics have long charged -- that Christie retaliates ruthlessly against those who dare to cross him.

At Slate, John Dickerson wonders, "Will Christie apologize?" Ultimately, that's what will determine the fate of his presidential campaign, he argues.

Ezra Klein at Wonkblog believes "Chris Christie's problem is that he's really, truly a bully" -- and a bully with power is a dangerous combination.

"It's hard to see how Christie recovers from this," says Jamelle Bouie, a columnist at the Daily Beast.

"Nixonian," a headline at Talking Points Memo cries.

Rachel Maddow told the Star-Ledger's Stephen Stirling that state reporters were right to keep the heat on Christie: "The national press owes the New Jersey papers a huge debt of gratitude."

And New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait seems to think it's all over for the golden governor, titling his piece, "Chris Christie 2016: A Bridge to Nowhere."

What do you think? Can Christie bounce back from Bridgegate?


Sources: AP, CBS News, CNN, NJ.com, Rawstory, Youtube