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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / Looks Like Christie Shouldn’t Have Dissed the Nerd

Looks Like Christie Shouldn’t Have Dissed the Nerd

by Anne Laurie|  January 31, 20144:32 pm| 114 Comments

This post is in: Republican Stupidity, Republican Venality, Assholes

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if this NYT story accurate, that means Christie LIED FOR TWO HOURS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE; # http://t.co/eTgPN0IJvb

— Eric Boehlert (@EricBoehlert) January 31, 2014

A refresher, January 10th, Alec MacGinnis in TNR:

… But during his two hours at the podium yesterday, Christie pushed back against this perception by telling the world that Wildstein was no chum of his:

Well, let me just clear something up, OK, about my childhood friend David Wildstein. It is true that I met David in 1977 in high school. He’s a year older than me. David and I were not friends in high school. We were not even acquaintances in high school. I mean, I had a high school in Livingston, a three-year high school that had 1,800 students in a three-year high school in the late ’70s, early 1980. I knew who David Wildstein was. I met David on the Tom Kean for governor campaign in 1977. He was a youth volunteer, and so was I. Really, after that time, I completely lost touch with David. We didn’t travel in the same circles in high school. You know, I was the class president and athlete. I don’t know what David was doing during that period of time…We went 23 years without seeing each other. And in the years we did see each other, we passed in the hallways.

In other words: David Wildstein, are you kidding me? Different lunch table, dudes….

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Previous Post: « Turn out the lights, the party’s over
Next Post: Things I Wish I Had Written, Mark Kleiman Edition »

Reader Interactions

114Comments

  1. 1.

    Xboxershorts

    January 31, 2014 at 4:38 pm

    Annnnnnnnnd, stick a fork in him

  2. 2.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    January 31, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    Revenge of the Nerds.

  3. 3.

    aimai

    January 31, 2014 at 4:41 pm

    Actually, Wildenstein’s comments, as quoted, make me think more of an extortion note, or a shot across the bow, than anything else. Is it too late for Christie to liberate enough money for Wildenstein to take the fall? Because thats what it sounds like to me, more of a cry for attention than anything else.

  4. 4.

    Rick Taylor

    January 31, 2014 at 4:42 pm

    I can respect a good thug, but Chris Christie has been such a creep.

  5. 5.

    GregB

    January 31, 2014 at 4:43 pm

    If only Joe Wilson had been at the Christie press conference.

  6. 6.

    Anoniminous

    January 31, 2014 at 4:44 pm

    LIED FOR TWO HOURS DURING PRESS CONFERENCE

    And in other shocking news: SUN RISES IN EAST, MOON ORBITS EARTH; NEW JERSEY ABUTS ATLANTIC OCEAN.

  7. 7.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 4:46 pm

    @aimai: It will be interesting in a few years when something reliable is reported. Maybe Christie maintained plausible deniability, but he did not know how incompetent his crew was, or how reckless they had become.

    If Christie’s people hadn’t been so effing incompetent as to get caught holding the smoking guns, Christie could have fixed things up.

    Maybe everybody is improvising the damage control.

    But,whatever it is, I’ll take it.

    Boehlert is wrong in one way. Christie has been lying about stuff for years, just he did in a way that was acceptable in politics on policy stuff, and he was too strong for people to call him on the business side of his political operation.

  8. 8.

    chopper

    January 31, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    @aimai:

    Too late for that. If the dude says in public that he has evidence, Christie can’t make that go away.

  9. 9.

    LanceThruster

    January 31, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    Now I wish his Springsteen-like press conference marathon had been longer!

  10. 10.

    grape_crush

    January 31, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    > In other words: David Wildstein, are you kidding me? Different lunch table, dudes….

    Keep your enemies closer, and keep your friends tucked under the wheels of that bus over there.

    Wildstein sees the freight train bearing down on him and is apparently smart enough to know to get off of the tracks. Even if he was Christie’s enforcer over at the Port Authority, I doubt that he intends to fall on his sword after that diss.

  11. 11.

    Tokyokie

    January 31, 2014 at 4:48 pm

    Guess this answers the question of whether Wildstein was going to be Christie’s G. Gordon Liddy or John Dean.

  12. 12.

    scav

    January 31, 2014 at 4:52 pm

    @aimai: I’m getting a bit of that too. Quick flash of a veiled knife that only the recipient knows what it really means. “Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some.” Very close to the chest. Could it be a Valentine from their Junior year? Interesting . . . .

  13. 13.

    Cervantes

    January 31, 2014 at 4:53 pm

    At least, Eric had the good sense to preface his tweet with this caveat: “if this NYT story accurate”

  14. 14.

    sy

    January 31, 2014 at 4:55 pm

    MSNBC morning crew officially despondent.

  15. 15.

    aimai

    January 31, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    @chopper: He doesn’t actually say publicly that he has evidence of criminal wrongdoing–I mean: The Governor knew about it while it was happening” is not legally actionable, even though the Governor lied about knowing about it for two hours in a press conference.

    I think it remains to be seen whether Wildenstein is going to turn state’s evidence and spill his guts. I’m sure he has plenty of hard evidence that Christie knew and ordered it. These guys weren’t really thinking that they would ever get caught and their hard drives impounded. No doubt Christie also learned a thing or two from Romney whose campaign and governorship did whatever they wanted here in MA and then took advantage of a legal loophole and sold their used hardrives to a straw buyer who pulped them after Romney left office.

  16. 16.

    muricafukyea

    January 31, 2014 at 4:57 pm

    Of course he knew. Only the wr0ng way Coles of the world would believe otherwise.

  17. 17.

    WaterGirl

    January 31, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    Is this Wildstein upping the ante, trying again to get the feds to offer him immunity?

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    January 31, 2014 at 5:00 pm

    Something doesn’t smell right about Mr. “on the advice of my attorneys” Wildstein’s comments. Cannot pinpoint exactly what, but too pat, too convenient and above all too fast in the process of hearings and investigation.

  19. 19.

    Amir Khalid

    January 31, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    @chopper:
    The trend up to now has been an accumulation of evidence going against Christie. I’m curious to know how soon the US attorney will find this evidence, together with whatever else there is, solid enough to bring charges. He seems to be getting steadily closer to that point.

  20. 20.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    @Cervantes: it’s accurate enough. Even if Wildstein’s accusations are liable to misinterpretation, accidentally on purpose, it’s close to curtains for the Big Man, politically.

    I think there is a good chance the business side of Christie’s machine was run behind his back, accidentally on purpose, so he could have plausible deniability.

    Edit: and indirect evidence for me, is that if Christie was a hands on boss, why was it done so incompetently and recklessly?

    But, I would be very happy to watch Christie’s people try to explain that away in public, while GOP PR hacks run around saying everything is OK because Christie is not convicted and bounding rocks with a sledge hammer in a striped suit yet.

    From my perspective,that would just a wonderful and really swell way for Christie to enter the 2016 presidential primaries.

  21. 21.

    MattF

    January 31, 2014 at 5:01 pm

    @Cervantes: I can only imagine how the NYT editors treated the story. “Is this a dagger I see before me?”

  22. 22.

    cathyx

    January 31, 2014 at 5:04 pm

    Clearly he is coming forth with this information because the Port Authority will not pay for his legal fees. All Christie had to do to shut him up was order the Port Authority to pay them.

  23. 23.

    Cervantes

    January 31, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    @jl: As I said, I think Eric’s caveat is important.

    Christie is in trouble, sure. But we knew that already.

  24. 24.

    grape_crush

    January 31, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    @NotMax: > …and above all too fast in the process of hearings and investigation

    One thing I’ve heard is that whatever Wildstein knows, it’s of time-limited value considering that Bridget Kelly has lawyered up with her own counsel instead of the Christie-friendly one she used to have.

    That, and his attorney is requesting payment and the Port Authority isn’t covering it.

  25. 25.

    IowaOldLady

    January 31, 2014 at 5:06 pm

    @WaterGirl: That would be my guess too.

    The Rs seem to be crumbling on all sides, yet I still don’t dare to hope for 2014. They have beaten me down.

  26. 26.

    Laertes

    January 31, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    Wake me up when he produces the evidence. So far, this is a whitey tape.

  27. 27.

    WaterGirl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:07 pm

    I have been surprised this week that people haven’t been talking about the fact that Bridget Kelly ditched her original attorneys and switched to somebody really high-powered. I believe I saw that on UP last weekend and then never heard another thing about it.

    Edit: I see that grape_crush just mentioned it above.

  28. 28.

    MattF

    January 31, 2014 at 5:08 pm

    OT, but:

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ryan-zinke-calls-clinton-anti-christ

    Where do you go from here?

  29. 29.

    jharp

    January 31, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    I knew it at the time and I am thrilled to see it come to fruition.

    Christie’s joking about “I was out working the cones myself” blows up in his face.

    I just knew it. Maybe there is a God after all.

  30. 30.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 31, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    @WaterGirl: This is all just negotiation. He has something. Everybody wants it. Who’s the high bidder?

  31. 31.

    MattF

    January 31, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    @OzarkHillbilly: Except that Bridget is in the game too.

  32. 32.

    ranchandsyrup

    January 31, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    How’s Christie gonna work the cones with this one? Standard double-down?

  33. 33.

    WaterGirl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    @MattF: I thought Obama was the anti-Christ. I’m having trouble keeping up.

  34. 34.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:13 pm

    @MattF: In for 72 hours of observation?

  35. 35.

    Anoniminous

    January 31, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    @IowaOldLady:

    Disregard everything Teh Mediums say about the 2014 mid-terms until September and we know who is running, what the polling is, and how intensive – or not – the Democratic GOTV operations are. This election is the first one when the 2010 based GOP gerrymandering starts going squishy on them. In some CDs a mere 1% could flip the seat blue. A 3% national increase in voter turn-out could easily flip the House.

    In order to keep the statistical universe “the same,” the GOP is going to go all out to suppress voter turn-out. Directly by various “Vote Protection Laws” (sic) and indirectly using a full-bore propaganda “GOP Has Already Won So Your Vote Doesn’t Matter” campaign.

  36. 36.

    dmsilev

    January 31, 2014 at 5:16 pm

    @MattF: It’s a wonderful exercise of game theory. And the hilarious thing is that at this point, Christie is basically reduced to a bystander watching the folks he threw under the bus rise up and aim some knives at his backside. Upthread, you quoted MacBeth. Think of this as Banquo’s ghost entering the room.

  37. 37.

    Bill Arnold

    January 31, 2014 at 5:17 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I thought Obama was the anti-Christ. I’m having trouble keeping up.

    I’m guessing that this sort of anti-Christdom automatically transfers to the most likely Democratic presidential candidate.

  38. 38.

    Roger Moore

    January 31, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    @MattF:

    Where do you go from here?

    Saying that Obama is Satan himself.

  39. 39.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 31, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    @MattF: Yes, and I over simplified by leaving her out, but I knew somebody would point it out. You and @grape_crush:

  40. 40.

    scav

    January 31, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    @Bill Arnold: The Anti-Christ is a Time Lord. They’re onto us! (and we can have a woman Dr! so there!) (oh those bumps.)

  41. 41.

    Anoniminous

    January 31, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    @WaterGirl:

    I thought Obama was the anti-Christ. I’m having trouble keeping up.

    His name is Legion. He can also be a She.

    The Anti-Christ is sneaky. (And, apparently, transsexual.)

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:20 pm

    @Bill Arnold: First I laughed, then I thought “how sad is that”.

    @Anoniminous: I thought maybe it was like Barbie and Ken dolls, we had to have one of each gender.

  43. 43.

    Trollhattan

    January 31, 2014 at 5:21 pm

    @Xboxershorts:

    Admittedly, that carcass will accommodate a lot of forks.

    An egotistical blowhard like Christie might well hang on far beyond where a reasonable person would resign. I think it will take formal legal sanctions to pry him from office.

  44. 44.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 31, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    Bye bye, Christie. You can see the White House like the rest of us now that you’ll never be President.

    On to the next Clown!

  45. 45.

    chopper

    January 31, 2014 at 5:22 pm

    @aimai:

    well, if you’re trying to squeeze money out of a politician by waving shit in front of his face, isn’t it the smart thing to do it privately?

    rule number one of extortion is to keep it out of the public eye.

  46. 46.

    ranchandsyrup

    January 31, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    Halperin sez on the twitters: This isn’t the end. It may be the beginning of the end. But don’t count him out HE’S A FIGHTER.

    So this is good news for Christie.

  47. 47.

    J.D. Rhoades

    January 31, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    Didn’t they do that on the History Channel?

  48. 48.

    dmsilev

    January 31, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    @ranchandsyrup: Someone should point out to Halperin that (a) He is not Winston Churchill (b) Chris Christie is not Winston Churchill and (c) he mangled the damn quote including leaving out the last half.

  49. 49.

    OzarkHillbilly

    January 31, 2014 at 5:28 pm

    OT: GOP Slams ‘Imperial’ Obama After Fewest Executive Orders In 100 Years (CHART)

    “He’s not a king,” Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said, warning that House conservatives might just sue Obama if he followed through on his pledge. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) bemoaned Obama’s “imperial presidency” in the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal.

    Seems he really isn’t a king… and knows it.

  50. 50.

    ranchandsyrup

    January 31, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    @dmsilev: He’s getting a good dose of ridicule. I’d do it myself but he blocked me.

  51. 51.

    Laertes

    January 31, 2014 at 5:29 pm

    Wildstein isn’t obviously more trustworthy than Christie. As eager as we all are to believe it, remember that a bunch of wingers were really eager to believe that the whitey tape existed.

    The odds are very good that Wildstein is overstating his case, and that he’ll either never produce any such evidence, or that he will and it’ll turn out to fall far short of what he’s led us to expect.

  52. 52.

    feebog

    January 31, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    If Wildstein has direct evidence, like an email, why wasn’t it handed over to the Transportation Committee in response to their subpoena? This sounds pretty desperate to me. I do think Wildstein is worried that Kelly will turn over before he gets a chance, in which case he may be well and truly skewered. OTH, if there is a criminal case to be made the AG may want to turn both of them.

    I still say the interference in the Sheriff Trout case is a much bigger deal. It all hinges on whether the appellate court will allow the Grand Jury transcripts to be unsealed as part of the discovery in the civil case. Of course, the AG may want to look at that one too…

  53. 53.

    Mike G

    January 31, 2014 at 5:30 pm

    The Outlaw Jersey Whale is going down…

  54. 54.

    RSR

    January 31, 2014 at 5:31 pm

    BABIP’d

  55. 55.

    Laertes

    January 31, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    Is there a lawyer in the room? If Wildstein makes material misrepresentations about the evidence he’s able to offer in exchange for immunity, can his immunity be revoked?

  56. 56.

    grape_crush

    January 31, 2014 at 5:32 pm

    Star-Ledger Editorial Board: “Chris Christie should resign if bombshell proves true“

  57. 57.

    grape_crush

    January 31, 2014 at 5:33 pm

    “When you layer on top of this the criminal investigation in Hoboken, and a separate investigation of Sandy spending by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, it becomes difficult to see how Christie can function. It should be clear even to him now that he should step down as head of the Republican Governors Association.

    This is a shocking development. Christie is now damaged goods. If Wildstein’s disclosures are as powerful as he claims, the governor must go.”

  58. 58.

    Ruckus

    January 31, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    @Laertes:
    Conservative schmuck turns out to be conservative schmuck, not on news at eleven.

  59. 59.

    dmsilev

    January 31, 2014 at 5:34 pm

    @Laertes: This letter wasn’t sent to the US Attorney or to the New Jersey legislature, or to anyone who might be in a position to offer immunity of some sort. It was sent to the Port Authority, asking them to pick up the tab for Wildstein’s legal bills. So, he isn’t making any direct promises to the Feds about what he can deliver.

    Leaking the letter to the media, now that was a direct threat to Christie.

  60. 60.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:36 pm

    @dmsilev: Maybe Halperin will have to mangle a quote by James Michael Curley by the time the 2016 primaries come round.

    That Christie’s a FIGHTER! Curley got elected from a jail cell, and so can the Big Man.

  61. 61.

    CaseyL

    January 31, 2014 at 5:38 pm

    Wildstein is using extortion to get his legal fees paid. He might have incriminating evidence; he might not; this is a ploy.

    But in order for the extortion to work, Christie (and Christie’s legal team) have to think Wildstein does having incriminating evidence… which means there is incriminating evidence… which means Christie knew something he has claimed he didn’t know.

    … and this coming just when people were tired of the Bridge Closure story, and tuning in on the “Hoboken Sandy Recovery Funds Tied to Private Development” story, which is apparently metastasizing into the “All NJ Sandy Recovery Funds Tied to Quid Pro Quo” story.

    I don’t see any way this is good news for Christie.

  62. 62.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:44 pm

    @CaseyL: It’s kind of alike a scandal served family style at dim sum joint. When you get tired of the peking duck, you look over and see what is happening with the pot stickers. Oh look, here comes a waitress with a stack of steaming baskets of something or other. Can’t tell what it is, but is sure smells interesting.

  63. 63.

    retr2327

    January 31, 2014 at 5:46 pm

    @Laertes:
    Except the claims about the supposed whitey tape were farfetched and hard to believe, so the fact that it never surfaced should not come as a surprise to anyone.

    OTOH, it’s been pretty clear for a while that there was a substantial possibility that someone in the inner circle would be in a position to say that Christie knew all about the lane closures, so it’s been more a matter of waiting for the inevitable to happen . . .

    The pundits have kept blathering on about whether this would damage Christie’s chances in 2016, when the more relevant questions were:
    1) Can Christie survive as head of the RGA (cracks in that wall are starting to grow);
    2) Can he serve out his term as Governor (see the Star-Ledger editorial for the beginning of the end on that one);
    3) Can he avoid criminal indictment (still debatable, but starting to look unlikely); and
    4) Can he avoid conviction?

    I wouldn’t bet on even the last. My guess is that at some point, David Samson is going to need to sell something to avoid some jail time himself; only Christie will fit the bill.

  64. 64.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    TPM piece from somebody who survived Wildstein mayorship gives some perspective on the guy:

    They Play Rough

    [Widstein] practiced a particularly mean-spirited slash and burn style of politics, a combination of Bob Haldeman and Idi Amin… false rumors about people, lied, and tried to ruin reputations… truly bad guy, exactly the wrong person you want with any power. .

    Everyone I talk to agrees that closing lanes to get back at a mayor is right out of the Wildstein playbook. But since Wildstein is capable of anything, a lot of people also believe that he would have no problem saying Christie ordered him to close the lanes, whether it’s true or not…
    Either way, some people are questioning Christie’s judgment by giving this guy any power at all.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/david-wildstein-they-play-rough

    Question Christie’s judgment… do tell?

  65. 65.

    rk

    January 31, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    @feebog:

    Wildstein may simply be lying. This letter from a TPM reader seems to indicate that Wildstein is an all out nasty character who’ll take down Christie regardless of what the truth is.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/david-wildstein-they-play-rough

  66. 66.

    Suffern ACE

    January 31, 2014 at 5:52 pm

    @jl: and when it turns out to be chicken feet and combs, do you give it a try?

  67. 67.

    lamh36

    January 31, 2014 at 5:56 pm

    @ABCPolitics 15m
    City of Hoboken receives subpoena from US Attorney for docs. concerning mayor’s accusations against Christie officials – @JoshMargolin

  68. 68.

    pseudonymous in nc

    January 31, 2014 at 5:56 pm

    Sometimes the person you throw under the bus dodges all the wheels and scrambles into the driver’s seat.

  69. 69.

    lamh36

    January 31, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    @TPM 32s
    UPDATE: Christie’s office responds: Letter “confirms what the governor has said all along” http://bit.ly/1jUcHI9

    @DavidCornDC 1m
    Big surprise. Christie statement sticks to Christie story.

    @MoElleithee 9s
    Christie isn’t doubling down, folks. If current statement is true, then he did not tell truth in 2 previous pressers. When did he know?

  70. 70.

    eric

    January 31, 2014 at 5:57 pm

    @Laertes: important fact, the lawyer made the reps, not the client, so the lawyer put is tushy in the crosshairs too. that is why i vote for they got the goods of some sort.

  71. 71.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 5:59 pm

    @rk: My thinking is that I really don’t care what Wildsetin is up to. I care that Wildstein can destroy Christie politically, and I hope he does so.

    I think Christie was running a crooked operation. He certainly was running a crooked operation in terms of policy. Now I think there is enough evidence to say he was running the business side of his politics crooked too. Certainly enough to know Christie should not be running an executive branch of any kind.

    Wildstein was a known quantity when Christie appointed him to the Port Authority. So Christie is responsible or appointing a reckless and unethical crazy person to do business.

    If Christie’s own henchman tries frames him, so what? If Christie is innocent of criminal wrong doing, then Christie should stay out of jail, but then, no one told Christie to deal with Wildstein, that was Christie’s decision.

    If this keeps up much longer, Christie is totally done politically, and that will be a very good thing.

  72. 72.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 6:03 pm

    @Suffern ACE: Works with the ratings for reality shows.

    Edit: And the Christie scandals are like a very irregularly scheduled reality show.

  73. 73.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:05 pm

    I can’t wait for the perp walk. This is going to be great.

  74. 74.

    Roger Moore

    January 31, 2014 at 6:08 pm

    @pseudonymous in nc:

    Sometimes the person you throw under the bus dodges all the wheels and scrambles into the driver’s seat.

    Sort of like this, then, except with a bus instead of a truck.

  75. 75.

    Cassidy

    January 31, 2014 at 6:09 pm

    Someone should make a auto tune video of Christie and his press conference.

  76. 76.

    CaseyL

    January 31, 2014 at 6:11 pm

    Oh, this is fun: Mark Halperin, desperately looking for a pony under all that shit:

    “As the Governor said in a December 13th press conference, he only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press”

    “Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer confirms what the Governor has said all along – he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures”

    It’s slicing and dicing tiny details, but my interpretation of the attorney’s letter is that Wildstein can prove Christie knew about the lane closures as they were happening, which is before the press started reporting on it.

  77. 77.

    Cervantes

    January 31, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    @MattF: Some folks at the paper have been known to behave in that fashion, yes.

  78. 78.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:12 pm

    @cathyx:

    Christie’s problem is that the Port Authority could tell him to pound sand about the legal fees if he did try to order them to pay them. New York has a say in the Port Authority as well…Christie doesn’t have the ability to order a damn thing in this case.

    Ask the intern killer if he can smell that aroma wafting over the Hudson from Joisey…it’s Christie’s crusts burning.

  79. 79.

    cathyx

    January 31, 2014 at 6:17 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: I think Christie could have twisted some arms over there. The port authority is made up of his people.

  80. 80.

    IowaOldLady

    January 31, 2014 at 6:20 pm

    Rachel did a piece last night about the PA and minimum wage at the area airports. The ones on the NY side immediately said they’d take up the $10.10 minimum proposed in the SotU. But the NJ officials said no way for Newark.

  81. 81.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:21 pm

    @feebog:

    Wildstein didn’t hand it over then because he didn’t have blanket multi-jurisdictional immunity when he was before the Transportation Committee.

    Remember, he was invoking the 5th repeatedly then, despite the fact that the Transportation Committee granted him immunity, but the immunity didn’t cover the Feds, or New York, just New Jersey.

    Wildstein’s attorney is playing for the long game. If he does have evidence that directly ties Christie to the lane closings, it means that Christie lied for two solid hours at his presser, and Christie’s political career is over.

  82. 82.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:23 pm

    @cathyx:

    He seriously pissed off the Port Authority with the entire lane closing stunt. No way to twist arms.

  83. 83.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 6:27 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: And the Port Authority is run jointly by NJ and NY,and I think the head, Foye is a NY appointee.

    How is Christie going to twist arms there, after he pissed them off? Promising to let them visit him if he lands in the pokey? Or Christie will give them a discount at his sleazy law office after he resigns?

  84. 84.

    GregB

    January 31, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    The TPM story savaging Wildstein is a total hoot.

    Wildstein is now the biggest scumbag ever! That is why Christie liked him in first place.

    Looks like the knives are getting longer and sharper.

  85. 85.

    Denny

    January 31, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    @Mike G: Or maybe that could be phrased – “The Outlaw Jersey Whale is about to get harpooned.”

  86. 86.

    Laertes

    January 31, 2014 at 6:31 pm

    @retr2327:

    Except the claims about the supposed whitey tape were farfetched and hard to believe, so the fact that it never surfaced should not come as a surprise to anyone.

    They were far-fetched and hard for you or I to believe, because by that point we had a pretty clear view of Mrs. Obama’s character. They were, however, quite easy for wingers to believe because it was consistent with what they already believed. And once they lent belief to the story, they were reluctant to abandon it and it led them to some silly places.

    That’s what gives me pause here. Wildstein is claiming to have proof of something that I’m already inclined to believe, and since I know that Wildstein is not my friend, this makes my spider-sense tingle. He could simply produce the evidence. He hasn’t. We can speculate as to why, and some of the possibilities are innocent, and some aren’t.

    That his lawyer is standing alongside him as he makes these claims makes them a little more credible? I guess? I’d want to hear more about that lawyer and about a lawyer’s obligation to his client before I formed a firmer opinion about that. I’m reasonably sure that an attorney isn’t allowed to (knowingly) elicit false testimony, but I just don’t know anything about the circumstances under which Mr. Zegas produced that letter or the extent to which he’s lending his personal credibility to it in so doing.

  87. 87.

    gogol's wife

    January 31, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    @ranchandsyrup:

    THAT MAN IS UNBELIEVABLE

  88. 88.

    jl

    January 31, 2014 at 6:32 pm

    Looking forward to to the GOP nutcases claiming that Wildstein is an Obama deep cover plant. Beguiling poor Christie with delicious total scumbaggery, poor Christie couldn’t help but recruit him as a ruthless wardheeler in his machine. Poor Christie! A victim!

  89. 89.

    lamh36

    January 31, 2014 at 6:34 pm

    Waiting for someone to write a “6 Reasons Why Christie is Probably Innocent” reply. Would love to see if they can find 6…

    Six Reasons Chris Christie Is Probably Guilty
    By Jonathan Chait

    …6. Hell, allegations of abuse of power predate even his governorship. I keep mentioning the report in John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s campaign book about the Romney campaign vetting of Christie, because I find it mystifying that others aren’t taking it as seriously as I am. It’s not that partisan enemies are ginning up accusations. Republican Mitt Romney wanted to nominate Christie, but took a look at the vetting file and ran the other way:

    “More than once, Myers reported back that Trenton’s response was, in effect, Why do we need to give you that piece of information? Myers told her team, We have to assume if they’re not answering, it’s because the answer is bad….
    …The vetters were stunned by the garish controversies lurking in the shadows of his record…”

    Everything here is circumstantial. Christie definitely comes off as the kind of politician who would order a stunt like this. Possibly he didn’t do it. Possibly he did, but it will never be proven. His best-case scenario now appears to be an absence of a smoking gun, and convincing voters not to believe the subordinate pointing a finger at him. It doesn’t look good…

  90. 90.

    sensesfail

    January 31, 2014 at 6:35 pm

    Pass the popcorn, please.

  91. 91.

    kc

    January 31, 2014 at 6:38 pm

    Does anyone else read that letter as insinuating improper actions by some Port Authority officials . . . not just by Christie?

  92. 92.

    lamh36

    January 31, 2014 at 6:42 pm

    Can’t wait to see the Maddow Show breakdown on this

  93. 93.

    feebog

    January 31, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Wildstein didn’t hand it over then because he didn’t have blanket multi-jurisdictional immunity when he was before the Transportation Committee.

    If they knowingly withheld subpoenaed material they could both be in a world of hurt. Wildstein’s lawyer does not strike me as that stupid. Obviously they have something, but it is likely outside the parameters of the subpoenaed material. From what I watched of the hearings, Wildstein is ready to sing like a canary, but only with immunity. As I said upthread, this smacks of desperation. I think Kelly is near cutting a deal, which could leave Wildstein out in the cold, and his attorney with no way to collect his already hefty fees/

  94. 94.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:44 pm

    @Laertes:

    He could simply produce the evidence.

    But he won’t, because he’s using it as a bargaining chip to mitigate the consequences of his own actions. He’s not going to give it away for free, he knows how valuable it is. He’ll flip, but he wants assurances that flipping will get him a substantially better outcome than he’s looking at now.

  95. 95.

    ? Martin

    January 31, 2014 at 6:45 pm

    @lamh36: No kidding… She’s really owned this story.

  96. 96.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    January 31, 2014 at 6:45 pm

    Looking forward to to the GOP nutcases claiming that Wildstein is an ObamaHillary deep cover plant.

    Wildstein obviously was one of Hillary’s many lovers that is coming forward to distract from BENGHAZI!!!

  97. 97.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:47 pm

    @feebog:

    Well, yes, there is that, and Kelly may be close to being the first one at the harpoon the whale finish line, and that will leave Wildstein in a substantially weakened position.

  98. 98.

    rk

    January 31, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    @jl:

    I agree. Christie is a crook. But it will be ironic if Christie goes down for the one thing he had no role in simply because Wildstein frames him.

  99. 99.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    Wildstein was Vince Foster’s second.

    You read it here first.

  100. 100.

    Laertes

    January 31, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    But he won’t, because he’s using it as a bargaining chip to mitigate the consequences of his own actions. He’s not going to give it away for free, he knows how valuable it is. He’ll flip, but he wants assurances that flipping will get him a substantially better outcome than he’s looking at now.

    Perfectly plausible, and entirely innocent if true. Which brings me back to a question I’ve been wondering about: Can he lie outright about what he knows and what evidence he’s got, to get immunity, and then just nelson-laugh and reveal that he’s got nothing once he’s got his immunity in hand? I’ve read before that prosecutors have to be careful about offering immunity, because for instance your immune witness could get up on the stand and say that he’s the murderer, not the defendant, and then everybody walks.

    The whole situation is just super interesting.

  101. 101.

    Cluttered Mind

    January 31, 2014 at 6:50 pm

    @Roger Moore: The History Channel already did that. Next?

  102. 102.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:51 pm

    @kc:

    Yeah, there is that angle…that Wildstein couldn’t have pulled off the lane closings without some help inside the Port Authority (even though his superiors at the Port Authority didn’t know jack) so the insinuation is we can make MORE trouble for the Port Authority (and further taint its reputation) if you don’t pay my legal fees.

    George R.R. Martin might have been involved in crafting this scenario.

  103. 103.

    the Conster

    January 31, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    @? Martin:

    I don’t have the masochistic instinct to monitor Somerby’s take on it – that’s why we have DougJ.

  104. 104.

    Villago Delenda Est

    January 31, 2014 at 6:53 pm

    @Laertes:

    He does that and the authorities will nuke the proffer from space and will come down on him like the Red Army on Berlin.

    Furthermore, his lawyer will probably be up on ethics charges for attempting to pull such a stunt.

    They’d better have some actual evidence that is, ahem, harpoon size.

  105. 105.

    Karen in GA

    January 31, 2014 at 7:08 pm

    Got home from work, hung out with the hubby who was having a bad day and needed an afternoon with Iggy the Wonder Schnauzer to lift his spirits (it always works), and then we ordered pizza and wings. Gonna get the food, settle in and read everything I can about this new, and of course, truly shocking development. Christie knew?!

    Okay, yeah, not shocking. But fun nonetheless.

  106. 106.

    lamh36

    January 31, 2014 at 7:20 pm

    @TPM 5s
    Photo shows Christie introducing Bon Jovi at Howard Stern’s birthday bash: http://bit.ly/1aO88MJ pic.twitter.com/Nmdfahq1nz

  107. 107.

    mai naem mobile

    January 31, 2014 at 7:48 pm

    @GregB: I am so stealing that

  108. 108.

    Roger Moore

    January 31, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    @Laertes:

    Can he lie outright about what he knows and what evidence he’s got, to get immunity, and then just nelson-laugh and reveal that he’s got nothing once he’s got his immunity in hand?

    Not really. IANAL, but my impression is that the prosecutors can give him qualified immunity while they’re seeing what he has, basically promising that the negotiations are off the record and can’t be used against him if they can’t reach a deal. It means the prosecutors know what they’re dealing for before they cut him a deal. And he’d presumably only get immunity for stuff that’s relevant to the investigation and that he’s willing to testify about in a sworn deposition before the trial, and it would be contingent on his actually testifying if called upon.

  109. 109.

    muricafukyea

    January 31, 2014 at 9:27 pm

    Wonder why wr0ng way Cole hasn’t been blowing any wet kisses to KhristieKreme lately. Strange that.

  110. 110.

    amk

    January 31, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    @Laertes: Desperately Laertes?

  111. 111.

    pat

    January 31, 2014 at 10:39 pm

    @muricafukyea:

    oh get stuffed

  112. 112.

    slippy

    January 31, 2014 at 11:34 pm

    @grape_crush:

    It should be clear even to him now that he should step down as head of the Republican Governors Association

    I’m merely reporting in gobsmacked that he still was, after this shitstorm started.

    The GOP has completely thrown their game, guys. I’ve never seen them so flat-out disorganized. What a . . . shame.

  113. 113.

    Cervantes

    January 31, 2014 at 11:54 pm

    @muricafukyea: Examples, please. Thanks.

  114. 114.

    David Shikomera

    February 2, 2014 at 3:04 pm

    And he was saying all that air quotes ……

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