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You are here: Home / Past Elections / Election 2016 / Bridgegate Over The River Cryin’

Bridgegate Over The River Cryin’

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Chris Christie finishing his term as Governor? Fageddaboutit!

Bringing to a head a 16-month federal investigation into the George Washington Bridge lane closings scandal, a judge in New Jersey was expected to unseal indictments of two people close to Gov. Chris Christie at a court hearing Friday, according to people with knowledge of the case.

Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, were expected to be indicted.

The news comes as David Wildstein, another former Port Authority official and a high-school friend of Mr. Christie, pleaded guilty at the United States District Court in Newark to conspiracy to commit fraud and “conspiracy against civil rights.”

This is gonna be fun.

Judge Susan D. Wigenton, who presided over the case, laid out the scheme by detailing Mr. Wildstein’s criminal acts. She asked a laundry list of questions, all of which he answered with a soft “yes,” while standing at the defense table.

She asked if he conspired with Mr. Baroni and Ms. Kelly to shut down lanes to punish Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee for not endorsing Mr. Christie in his 2013 re-election campaign.

“Did you agree with Mr. Baroni and Ms. Kelly to punish Mayor Sokolich by causing significant lane access problems,” the judge asked, staring down from the bench at Mr. Wildstein.

“Yes,” Mr. Wildstein answered.

It’s not like there was anything left of Christie’s 2016 White House ambitions anyway, but now the guy has this hanging over his head. He was toast for the clown car race, now the race is to see if he can stay one step ahead of substandard federal housing.

Just keep in mind all the Village Idiots who thought Mr. Tough Love here was the savior of the GOP, and why they need to be sharing a cell with him.

[UPDATE] Life comes at you fast.

[UPDATE THE SECOND] Oh well this is getting good.

Alan Zegas, David Wildstein’s lawyer, said outside the courtroom that his client was still being questioned by government investigators and was “prepared to testify.”

“There is a lot more that will come out,” he said. “Unfortunately, I am not in a position to talk about the matter in detail.”

He repeated that Gov. Chris Christie “knew of the lane closures as they occurred” and that “evidence exists” that proves it.

Current mood:

starbow

 

Reader Interactions

131Comments

  2. 2.

    Triumph

    Quick, someone ask the idiots at Morning Joke how they feel about their BFF Chris Christie now

  3. 3.

    boatboy_srq

    So Christie is done in now his bullying is getting front page (and grand jury) interest, and according to Kilgore at WaMo Pence is through thanks to his being a bigoted jerk amongst bigoted jerks. You’d think that the GOTea would get the hint – and then you remember Greg Abbott and the DoD training-exercise-cum-invasion, and you realize that there’s no amount of counseling and no prescriptions for antipsychotics that will cure the Teahad.

  5. 5.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    Joe and Mika are going to be in tears come Monday morning. They were so hoping upon hope that any action in this case would absolve Christie and reignite his presidential campaign. Turns out that is not the case.

  6. 6.

    Punchy

    This is just liberal media bias. Plus, Judge Wigenton has granite countertops, so clearly she’s a pro-abortion lesbian.

    I expect character assissination of the judge to set never-to-be-broken records by Christie and his ilk.

  7. 7.

    rikyrah

    Dear Governor Krispy Kreme:

    ain’t nobody going to jail for you except your Mama….and don’t even count on her going for you.

  9. 9.

    Mike J

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Joe and Mika are going to be in tears come Monday morning. They were so hoping upon hope that any action in this case would absolve Christie and reignite his presidential campaign.

    Since Christie himself wasn’t indicted, they’ll just say it was all the idea of his underlings, and if the underlings roll on him, they’re just trying to get a lighter sentence,

  11. 11.

    samiam

    Don’t forget that up until this scandal, wr0ng way Cole thought Christie was a heck of a guy. Still does as far as I can tell but of course playing it down now.

    Just goes to show once a Republican always a Republican. Despite all his efforts to say he isn’t, Cole is still that same idiot voter that voted for Bush twice. He could easily be convinced to vote for a Rand Paul or Christie or ? given half a chance.

  12. 12.

    Benw

    Is this really the end of Christie? There’s no sex or dead bodies, so unless he gets jail time he could wiggle out from under, especially if the media decides to let him slide.

  15. 15.

    Belafon

    @samiam: I know. Look at Warren, everything she says just keeps making Wall Street happy. Just like the Republican she used to be.

  16. 16.

    gf120581

    @Benw: He’s finished. He was either involved, or if not, he’s a clueless moron who had no idea what his aides were doing. He can’t even use the “I’m old and foggy-minded” excuse Reagan used during Iran-Contra.

    Combine this with his awful polling in both NJ and the GOP primaries and Governor Fat Fuck is a beached whale.

  17. 17.

    Bobby B

    Let his name be stricken from all the monuments of New Jersey. So let it be written, so let it be done.

  18. 18.

    shell

    The funny thing is, Christie’s beloved blustering ‘tough guy’ image is exactly what makes it totally believable that he’d part of that fiasco.

  20. 20.

    Frankensteinbeck

    I didn’t ever think Christie had much of a shot, but I’m waffling on whether this would be a problem. The power of IOKIYAR is incredible. Republicans have been reelected with flying colors after worse scandals.

    EDIT – And the Village only cares at that mysterious point where they decide you’ve made them look bad.

  21. 21.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @beltane:

    Sing, Bridget, sing.

    Those pearls! Shining in the moonlight. I’ve been waiting so long for her to sing. Ever since this story broke.

    It was all true! according to Wildstein. “Yes, we were trying to punish him.”

    Tell us more!

  22. 22.

    sharl

    I was looking forward to voting for someone who yells at public school teachers.

    What the hell am I going to do now???

  25. 25.

    kbuttle

    @samiam:

    I know this is an idea that can’t be killed, but I never got personal affection or policy admiration toward Christie from Cole (at least since I became a regular reader in 2009), so much as a warning sense that the guy was formidable, had the centrists hoodwinked, and could both make a run and do some damage as a result. Of course, that sense was informed just by Cole saying that explicitly again and again in comments threads before seeming to give up on bothering.

  26. 26.

    Mike E

    Elementary last night revolved around the for profit prison industry and hijinks calculated to persuade the unnamed governor of the Garden State to switch to a different corrections corp…the CEO who gets cuffed by NJ troopers at the story’s end had a lil whiff of Christieness. Heh.

  28. 28.

    Kay

    Mr. Zegas, speaking outside the courthouse after the hearing on Friday, said Mr. Wildstein “deeply regrets” what occurred. He said that Mr. Wildstein could not undo what has been done, but that he could “shed truth on what occurred during the course of that week, what led to the events, and what ensued thereafter.”

    I just love the implied threat in there. Shed truth, Mr, Wildstein. It’s the least you could do.

  29. 29.

    trollhattan

    @rikyrah:
    Heh.

    Mama: “Chris who? I don’t know a Chris…unless you mean the nice girl who does my nails every other Thursday.”

  31. 31.

    trollhattan

    @Frankensteinbeck:
    If Republican strategy of the last twenty years has taught us anything, it’s that they can get their agenda done winning targeted statewide and congressional contests. If this puts the NJ governorship in play then pull out all the stops and win the damn thing back.

    One seat at a time, and surrender not one without a shot.

  32. 32.

    Germy Shoemangler

    I just saw the photo of wildstein and Ceiling Cat! I didn’t recognize him. He’s lean, mean and ready to sing.

    But my local news media says in the space of one newspaper article FOUR TIMES that Christie had nothing to do with it.

    They really want a republican president.

    Christie would have to show up on the courthouse steps, naked and smeared with feces, screaming that he closed the bridge, and even then the AP would be saying:

    Christie himself was not publicly implicated.

    Wildstein gave no indication in court that Christie had any role in the scheme. The Republican governor has insisted all along that he knew nothing about it.

  34. 34.

    Fair Economist

    @scav:
    It’s been a good *week*. Hillary gave a great speech on criminal justice, Bernie Sanders announced, the Dem party got behind $12, Gray’s murderers got indicted, and Wildstein pled. I can’t remember another week with so much different good stuff.

  36. 36.

    Waldo

    No one who’s ever had the displeasure of crossing from Jersey to New York on the GWB is going to think this is a small matter. It’s a bad enough experience under the best of circumstances — never mind with some fat asshole using you as a political pawn. That’s millions of voters. He’s toast.

  37. 37.

    JPL

    @Germy Shoemangler: Wildstein’s attorney said Christie knew but that is not enough evidence to charge him. Unless Kelly can add some further insight, he might walk. The entire affair harms him though.
    Samson’s not in the clear either for his role in encouraging United to fly to Aiken.

  38. 38.

    Cervantes

    Bridget will flip like a pancake. Why wouldn’t she? Bullyboy tossed her under the 18-wheeler quicker than you can say Rahway.

  39. 39.

    WereBear

    It’s very very telling that he was brought down by what was basically a fit of pique and that liking for mean.

    They are so used to being bullies they forget that sometimes there are consequences.

  40. 40.

    Mandalay

    @Mandalay: My apologies for that link. The jackass giving the press conference is saying nothing, but acting like he’s Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and the purpose of the press conference is to show what a smart, wonderful person he is.

    What a dick.

  42. 42.

    JPL

    Fishman said… “Based on the evidence that is currently available to us, we’re not going to charge anybody else in this scheme.”

    Sing Bridgett sing. I think that if she holds a news conference, it means that she’ll say she was not behind it and blame Wildstein.

  43. 43.

    SRW1

    As so often, German has a perfect expression for Christie’s legal situation:
    im eigenen Saft garen.
    Loosely translated as ‘stewing in his own juice’.

    I somehow suspect, though, that ‘frying’ and a slightly different bodily component would make for a better fit in this particular case.

  44. 44.

    gelfling545

    @Mike J: As Steve Benen is saying, the best defense Christie has that doesn’t make him complicit is being clueless which is not usually the way a prospective presidential candidate would care to be portrayed.

  46. 46.

    Smiling Mortician

    @JPL: Not sure how she can dump it all on Wildstein, since she’s the one who sent him the “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email. Either she dreamed that up or someone above her did.

  47. 47.

    Davis X. Machina

    @kbuttle

    :… a warning sense that the guy was formidable, had the centrists hoodwinked, and could both make a run and do some damage as a result.

    A Christie, just not this Christie, remains a formidable threat.

  48. 48.

    JPL

    @Smiling Mortician: It doesn’t make sense that she would hold a news conference, so who knows.

    Who will be the first, to ask Christie if he is an unindicted co-conspirator?

  50. 50.

    janeform

    @Mandalay: What you are seeing is an excellent public servant. No showboating for political gain. Paul Fishman is from my hometown. I can tell you he’s a serious guy and a straight arrow.

  51. 51.

    retr2327

    FWIW, I predicted here, more or less a year ago, that Christie a) had a better chance of ending in the big house than the White House; and b) would be lucky to finish out his term.

    I am thrilled with how my predictions are doing . . .

  52. 52.

    Patricia Kayden

    Between the news about Christie and the charges against the Baltimore cops, this is going to be a great weekend.

    What New Jerseyites find so fascinating about such a rude man is beyond me. I hope his indictment is next.

  54. 54.

    Mandalay

    He repeated that Gov. Chris Christie “knew of the lane closures as they occurred” and that “evidence exists” that proves it.

    To be clear, it’s not Wildstein saying that; it’s Wildstein’s lawyer. Calibrate accordingly.

    Wildstein’s lawyer also said that months ago when he wanted immunity for Wildstein in return for spilling everything, and the prosecutors told him GFY. So either the prosecutors didn’t need Wildstein’s testimony to proceed, or he had nothing of substance to offer.

    The phrase “evidence exists” stinks of lawyerly bluster.

  55. 55.

    Villago Delenda Est

    So, the Outlaw Joisey Whale’s incompetence apparently includes the inability to properly back the bus over his subordinates, as they remained alive to flip on him and send him up the river.

    Schadenfreude meter needs another upgrade to move the peg.

  56. 56.

    Mandalay

    @janeform:

    What you are seeing is an excellent public servant. No showboating for political gain.

    He certainly seems competent, and I wasn’t remotely suggesting that he is doing anything for political gain.

    But my God he is showboating. He’s only a US attorney FFS. He’s acting like he’s POTUS.

  58. 58.

    janeform

    @Mandalay: Not the way Christie did when he was US Attorney:-). Low bar I know. But it’s nice that dems generally appoint people with competence in mind.

  59. 59.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    Regarding Christie, I’m taking a weight and see approach.

  60. 60.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @Germy Shoemangler:

    The Republican governor has insisted all along that he knew nothing about it.

    Fuck, Henry II had the good sense to own up to his fuckup. Eventually.

  61. 61.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @janeform: Christie’s role as a US Attorney was to be a political hack in the service of the deserting coward.

  62. 62.

    beltane

    @Villago Delenda Est: All that ass kissing from the media was like crack to Christie. It made him feel invulnerably with no need to watch his back. This, in turn, made him sloppy, lazy, and careless.

  63. 63.

    Cervantes

    @Waldo:

    No one who’s ever had the displeasure of crossing from Jersey to New York on the GWB is going to think this is a small matter.

    Maybe, but I’ve never had anything resembling displeasure while crossing that bridge with kids in the car. To impress upon them how long it was, we’d chant “George Washington, Washington, Washington …” non-stop until we reached the other side. It may not seem much now but it was great fun.

    Of course, many things were different then, and we didn’t have to attempt the bridge every day during rush hour.

    As for Christie and his thugs: here’s hoping the example of their fate does more good than they ever did — and meanwhile, the less I think about them the better.

  67. 67.

    Turgidson

    @Kay:

    So, in effect, he’s yelling “get off the government teat!” at the old people yelling at him to get off their lawn. That will go over well.

  68. 68.

    the Conster

    I may actually turn on Morning Joe on Monday. Nothing makes me happier than Villagers in disarray.

  69. 69.

    janeform

    @Cervantes:And I’ll add that it’s a great thing that the US Dept of Justice is calling these guys out clearly and forcefully for what they did. Good government.

  70. 70.

    RSR

    Steve Kornacki @SteveKornacki · 3h 3 hours ago
    Specifically, Wildstein says 9/9/13 chosen to start closures because it was first day of school – would maximize punishment for Ft Lee mayor

    Steve Kornacki @SteveKornacki · 3h 3 hours ago
    Wildstein pleads to scheme to “intentionally deprive residents of Ft Lee of their ability to move freely around their borough.”

    Eric Boehlert @EricBoehlert · 2h 2 hours ago
    for folks who shrug off #Bridgegate ‘traffic jam,’ Christie cronies PARALYZED entire city of Ft. Lee for three days. truly heartless stuff

    Seema Kalia @seemakalia · 2h 2 hours ago
    @EricBoehlert
    Kids on a school bus for 3 hours on their first day of school. Little kids.

  71. 71.

    geg6

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    So, the Outlaw Joisey Whale’s incompetence apparently includes the inability to properly back the bus over his subordinates, as they remained alive to flip on him and send him up the river.

    Can I steal this? I really want to steal this. I’ll properly cite you, however it is that you do that with an anonymous commenter at a blog. I want to hug that sentence, I love it so much.

  72. 72.

    Tree With Water

    Why the national republican party will go the way of California’s GOP:

    Catherine Thompson of TPM reports what former Texas legislature wrote the following:

    “..In a letter obtained by the Dallas Morning News, Todd Smith, who served in the state legislature for 16 years, wrote that he was “livid” about Abbott’s request for the State Guard to monitor the military’s upcoming training exercise, dubbed “Jade Helm 15.”

    “I am horrified that I have to choose between the possibility that my Governor actually believes this stuff and the possibility that my Governor doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to those who do,” Smith wrote.

    “I am appalled that you would give credence to the nonsense mouthed by those who instead make decisions based on internet or radio shock jock driven hysteria,” he added. “Is there ANYBODY who is going to stand up to this radical nonsense that is cancer on our State and Party?”

  73. 73.

    geg6

    @RSR:

    Kornacki did a great job reporting and investigating this whole thing. He must be just beside himself with glee.

  74. 74.

    kc

    this is getting good

    Not that good: ““’We’re not going to charge anyone else in this scheme,’ Fishman said”

    Christie’s gonna skate.

  75. 75.

    boatboy_srq

    @Tree With Water:

    I am horrified that I have to choose between the possibility that my Governor actually believes this stuff and the possibility that my Governor doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to those who do.

    It hasn’t occurred to Smith that this may not be a choice – that both possibilities could be true. Chickens. Home. Roost. They [s]elected Abbott et al, they have to live with them. Smith is a latecomer to the party of the “I used to be a Republican before the GOP went b#tsh!t crazy.”

  78. 78.

    Tree With Water

    @geg6: If that’s the reporter that Charles Pierce and Esquire championed when the Christie story first broke, yeah, he must feel gratified. Indeed, the human cost and stupid waste of taxpayer dollars on this childish behavior by public officials set the table for a shadenfreude that should be celebrated by every adult in New Jersey upon hearing the news.

  79. 79.

    shortstop

    @kc: Yes, I caught that, too — he did say “…based on the evidence we have today,” however. It’s possible Bridget may sing now that she’s indicted, but she may not — she has four kids to feed and Christie’s pals have certainly offered her lifetime employment of one sort of another if she shuts it.

    It was always a huge longshot that they’d get actionable evidence against Christie. But do try to be happy that his political career is at last over! He was never going to be a viable candidate for prez — even before this happened — but this has flattened his legacy but good. Maybe he and Bobby Jindal* can go out for a melancholy drink at the But But You Said I Could Go All the Way and Look at Me Now Club.

    *Soon to be joined by John Kasich, Rick Snyder and, I hope but am not certain, Scotty Walker.

  80. 80.

    azlib

    Christie will be dropped down the pundit memory hole. Christie? Christie who?

  81. 81.

    Cervantes

    @Tree With Water:

    If that’s the reporter that Charles Pierce and Esquire championed when the Christie story first broke

    No, that was Scott Raab.

  82. 82.

    Corner Stone

    @Tree With Water:

    “I am horrified that I have to choose between the possibility that my Governor actually believes this stuff and the possibility that my Governor doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to those who do,” Smith wrote.

    “I am appalled that you would give credence to the nonsense mouthed by those who instead make decisions based on internet or radio shock jock driven hysteria,” he added. “Is there ANYBODY who is going to stand up to this radical nonsense that is cancer on our State and Party?”

    Given that Abbott is in a wheelchair, he might have chosen a different euphemism.
    But it’s nice to see that these GOP assholes are equal opportunity assholes to everyone.

  83. 83.

    Corner Stone

    @kc:

    Not that good: ““’We’re not going to charge anyone else in this scheme,’ Fishman said”

    How could he say that with no one else flipping as yet?

  85. 85.

    janeform

    @JPL: The state can still indict Christie under NJ law. I doubt the feds will indict him — they’ve been had a lot of time to get info and Wildstein’s been cooperating.

  86. 86.

    Corner Stone

    @geg6:

    Kornacki did a great job reporting and investigating this whole thing. He must be just beside himself with glee.

    He was turning into a real Broder type asshole for the last few months. Maybe this will spark him back to what he’s good at.

  87. 87.

    mikefromArlington

    Didn’t someone die as a result of the closures? What will happen of that now?

  88. 88.

    Corner Stone

    @Litlebritdifrnt:

    Joe and Mika are going to be in tears come Monday morning.

    Do you know anything at all about Joey Scar? He will be on attack mode on Monday.

  89. 89.

    shortstop

    @mdblanche: Snort!

    But poor manatees. Nature’s gentlest creatures, compared to a bellowing, blustering bully for the sake of an admittedly funny pun.

  90. 90.

    NCSteve

    One day, two indictments in two states and two governors once considered first-tier candidates for their party’s nomination for the presidency go up in smoke even though neither is mentioned in the indictment. Pretty amazing, really.

  91. 91.

    jl

    @Corner Stone:

    ” Do you know anything at all about Joey Scar? He will be on attack mode on Monday. ”

    As in: ‘Awwww Come on, this stuff happens all the time. SELECTIVE PERSECUTION AND PROSECUTION! Beating up on Republicans again. Come onnnn…. I mean, that heart attack guy with the ambulance stuck in traffic, he didn’t die did he? No harm not foul. Come on… this is how stuff works. Don’ gimme that ‘ethics’ stuff…”

    Then he’ll get shouty and start talking over people. And, probably bring up Clinton Foundation BS.

    Edit: forgot that, probably, resentful musings if any Democrat is involved at all in the judicial proceedings, even if it’s just the bailiff and the court reporter.

  92. 92.

    shortstop

    @Corner Stone:

    Do you know anything at all about Joey Scar?

    I love being able to honestly answer “no” to this. That shit’s bad enough at 9:00 at night. Before coffee, it ain’t happening here.

  93. 93.

    Lavocat

    Oh, man. Christ, I can’t stop laughing! As Bugs Bunny would say: “What a fuckin’ maroon!”

    I can’t remember being this happy on a Friday since I don’t know when.

    Time to crank up the Springsteen, baby!

  94. 94.

    Tree With Water

    @Corner Stone: His wording was OK with me. Then I’m a guy who thinks Charles Krauthammer would have been well served had someone punched the little SOB in his mouth somewhere along the line, wheelchair or no.

    Of course, that’s called assault and battery and is illegal for excellent reasons, so there’s that, too.

  95. 95.

    Cervantes

    @mikefromArlington:

    Didn’t someone die as a result of the closures?

    Yes, Florence Genova, 91 years old.

    What will happen of that now?

    Probably nothing. The family said a long time ago that they’re not blaming the traffic jam.

    And Christie said:

    All I can do is apologize for the conduct of the people who worked for me. I can’t reverse time. Believe me, I would.

  97. 97.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @Tree With Water: Charles Krauthammer. I was shocked when I learned he is a psychiatrist.

    What sort of compassionate help could he offer anyone visiting his office?

  98. 98.

    gene108

    @Frankensteinbeck:

    Republicans have been reelected with flying colors after worse scandals.

    But none of them were caught as red-handed as Christie has been.

    Christie’s “crime”, as far as the GOP and conservatives are concerned, is he and his crew left a huge paper trail that can easily caught up to them.

    What right-wingers want is someone, like Bush, Jr. and his crew, who knew how to keep all their criminal shit totally undocumented.

  99. 99.

    Kay

    @Turgidson:

    I always loathed him but this is new terrority of disgusting. He had to find some way to get back into the race so he decided to raise the retirement age, knowing it would bring him media attention.

    It’s gross. Self-serving.

    I’m glad Wildstein admitted to picking the first day of school. I recall that was one of the charges Team Christie really pushed back against- the idea that they would keep little kids stuck on buses for 3 hours because they’re corrupt and horrible people.

  101. 101.

    Kay

    @gene108:

    “Evidence exists” is driving me crazy. Why does he get to be so cryptic? Okay, so where is it, genuis mastermind?

  103. 103.

    srv

    Jeb explains science to you people:

    Asked to elaborate on his concerns about family formation, [former Gov. Jeb Bush] twice praised author Charles Murray, best known for his highly controversial 1994 book which touches on racial differences in I.Q., for his later research into the rise of single motherhood.

    “My views on this were shaped a lot by Charles Murray’s book,” Bush said.

  104. 104.

    Kay

    Five months before the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster, then-Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship worried aloud about “the craziness” at some Massey operations and told a trusted lieutenant that federal Mine Safety and Health Administration inspectors might be the only thing preventing a major explosion at one of the company’s mines.
    “Sometimes I’m torn with what I see about the craziness we do,” Blankenship told then-Massey chief operating officer Chris Adkins in November 2009. “Maybe if it weren’t for MSHA, we’d blow ourselves up.”
    Blankenship’s remarks — recounted in new court records — are among comments contained in hundreds of hours of conversations that Blankenship recorded, but that are now in the hands of federal prosecutors as both sides prepare for a July trial in a case charging Blankenship with mine safety and securities crimes.

    Prosecutors filed a response to note that the telephone conversations were not recorded by a government wiretap, but were “secretly made” by Blankenship of his own conversations with employees, Massey board members and business associates.

    In another recording, Blankenship says that Massey has “a major Sarbanes-Oxley violation,” a reference to the 2002 law Congress passed to protect shareholders from fraudulent financial reporting by public corporations.

    http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150501/GZ01/150509917/1101

  105. 105.

    LanceThruster

    I feel the bulk of the responsibility for this is with Grift Griftie’s parents. Clearly a cultural defect.

  106. 106.

    scav

    @Kay: I may begin to get worried.

    eta, and reading in, it only gets sweeter. no nonononononono, not all at once like this, It’s going to be soooo schadenhangover.

  110. 110.

    Germy Shoemangler

    I caught a bit of Kelly’s press conference. She got a round of applause at the end.

    Why?

  111. 111.

    kc

    @shortstop:

    @kc: Yes, I caught that, too — he did say “…based on the evidence we have today,” however.

    ‘K, thanks; the article I read didn’t include that qualifier.

  115. 115.

    Kay

    @scav:

    He’s suing the three entities that were supposed to cover his legal defense costs, because they bailed on him. They bailed on him because he’s such an idiot and he implicated himself in those reportings.

  116. 116.

    Turgidson

    @Germy Shoemangler:

    “Sounds like you’re mourning the loss of your loved one, and showing symptoms of depression. My advice to you would be to strap yourself into a B1 and bomb Tehran. It’ll cheer me you right up.”

  119. 119.

    Tree With Water

    @NCSteve: Yes, it is that. I’d cite it as an example of my ‘national party going the way of California’s republican party’ unified theory of American politics.

  120. 120.

    Lee

    @srv:

    I thought to had to be making that up and/or trolling.

    After a search…apparently not.

    I guess dog whistles were getting too subtle.

  121. 121.

    shortstop

    @Germy Shoemangler: Because she packed the “press conference” with her pals…oh, and there were a few actual journalists there, too.

    I don’t usually like to judge people’s character based on the way they look, but goddamn, Kelly looks mean to the bone. That is a face of a purely spiteful person.

  122. 122.

    Germy Shoemangler

    @shortstop:

    I don’t usually like to judge people’s character based on the way they look, but goddamn, Kelly looks mean to the bone. That is a face of a purely spiteful person.

    Yes, I got the same vibe. Maybe it’s just because she’s pissed to be there, angry that her life has come to this, but yeah, every photo I’ve seen of her gave me that reaction.

    Christie’s gotta be wondering what she’s going to say next. Because he pissed her off when he backed the bus over her. She doesn’t look like someone you want to piss off.

    Wildstein, when I saw his photos, I saw a dull-eyed number cruncher, also mean, but content to stay in the shadows behind the bigger bullies.

    The emails were sickening.

  123. 123.

    retr2327

    @kc:
    Possibly, but pay close attention to Fishman’s words (at least, as summarized by TPM): “based on the evidence available at this time.” If Baroni and/or Kelly decides to roll over rather than face jail, the evidence available could change . . .

  124. 124.

    D58826

    Bridget Kelly, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, said in a press conference Friday she felt betrayed after Christie called her a “liar” and fired her over the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.

    Kelly was indicted Friday with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but argued she is innocent of the charges. She also claimed it’s “ludicrous” to suggest she was the only Christie aide who had knowledge of the bridge scandal.

    Me thinks Bridget is shopping for a bus large enough to do justice to Christie!

  125. 125.

    boatboy_srq

    @Germy Shoemangler: Considering who hired them, looking/being mean was probably a qualification. But those aren’t the people you want to cross, either.

  126. 126.

    Tree With Water

    @D58826: Using all I’ve gleaned from having watched countless Law and Order re-runs, Kelly sounds a lot like a defendant who fatally hesitated to cut the first deal offered her by the prosecutors… a mistake Mr. Wilderwhatever didn’t make. She was in way over her head in that position, which is doubtless the way Christie wanted it, the rotten bastard. It’s a thought that may have occurred to her by now, too.

  127. 127.

    Kay

    @D58826:

    She also claimed it’s “ludicrous” to suggest she was the only Christie aide who had knowledge of the bridge scandal

    I agree. So why doesn’t she help us out and tell us who knew? She can just use initials. CC, like that. For example.

  128. 128.

    Kay

    There is a growing risk that the in-your-face instincts that helped Gov. Chris Christie are now hurting his presidential candidacy.

    No! Really? I turn to the NYTimes political team for these incredible insights.

  129. 129.

    Turgidson

    @Kay:

    That’s like saying there’s a growing risk that I drank a margarita last night (spoiler: I did).

  131. 131.

    Ivan X

    @samiam:
    I didn’t bother reading the first two links, but I read the third, given that you framed it to be the most damning. What Cole said in that post was a far cry from saying he’d vote for him, which is a far cry still from saying that he’d vote for Rand (which you suggested he could do easily if “given half a chance,” which presumably he in fact would, in the voting booth, if he’s the candidate).

    Cole just said that he liked the straightforwardness of Christie’s style. You might think Cole’s a cretin for liking anything about the guy, or any Republican, but you’re a dope if you think that means that Cole would be at all likely to vote for a Republican Presidential candidate (do you in fact read this blog?), supports or supported Christie, or thinks he’s a “heck of a guy,” to use your words.

    Next time come back with something worth our attention, please.

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