Retiring Senator Jay Rockefeller (D. WV) is going out by helping us put another nail in Gov. Chris Christie's (R. NJ) image as a viable presidential candidate:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) issued a statement on Thursday announcing that he had received a response from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to his questions about the George Washington Bridge lane closures. According to Rockefeller, that response contained "zero evidence" that the lanes were closed as a result of a legitimate traffic study.
“The letter explains the careful planning and communication that should happen before interstate bridge lanes are closed for a traffic study or any other non-emergency purpose," Rockefeller said. "The Port Authority officials who ordered the September 9-13 George Washington Bridge lane closures did not follow their agency’s own procedures. The Port Authority’s response provides zero evidence that the purpose of these closures was to conduct a legitimate traffic study."
Port Authority officials have previously maintained that the lanes were closed for a traffic study, an assertion that Gov. Chris Christie (R) refused to dismiss at a press conference last week. Democrats in New Jersey have argued that the lanes were closed in retaliation against the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., a Democrat who declined to endorse Christie's re-election last year. The closures caused a massive traffic jam in Fort Lee. - TPM, 1/16/14
Christie has tried to distance himself from this whole scandal:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
There is no evidence that Christie was directly involved in intentionally closing two of the three access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., a move that created massive traffic jams from Sept. 9 to 13. But one of his deputy chiefs of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and his former campaign manager, Bill Stepien, participated in the scheme, along with two of his appointees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Until last week, members of the Christie administration -- and the governor himself -- claimed that the access lanes were shut down as part of a traffic study. But emails and text messages released last week indicate there was a pettier, more political motive at play, and that the closures were possibly intended as retribution against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, who did not endorse Christie's reelection bid.
Christie has attempted to distance himself from the whole episode, insisting he had no knowledge of the plot until media outlets started reporting on it. But on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that David Wildstein, the Port Authority official at the heart of the scandal, was with Christie on Sept. 11, although it's unclear what they discussed. - Huffington Post, 1/14/14
And Rockefeller has raised a lot of questions about this:
http://www.nj.com/...
Rockefeller wants to know what oversight the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority exercised regarding the lane closures, which clogged Fort Lee streets Sept. 9-13, and led to the resignation or firing of at least three officials close to Gov. Chris Christie inside the agency and the governor's office.
Rockefeller wrote in a Dec. 17 letter to Port Authority Chairman David Samson and Vice Chairman Scott Rechler that his committee has oversight authority over the bi-state agency, which was chartered by Congress in 1921, and he was concerned that the closures might have threatened safety and impeded interstate commerce.
Specifically, Rockefeller has asked for details involving: the agency's standard process for conducting lane closures and/or traffic studies, including assessment of their impact and notification of the public and emergency responders; how the two states share information about closures and other operations; what process was followed in this particular case; what prompted the closures and was there ever a traffic study?
Rockefeller also wanted to know who approved Baroni's Nov. 25 testimony to a state Assembly panel asserting the closures were linked to a traffic study; did the board of commissioners review his testimony; and were any concerns raised?
He also asked what the board is doing in response to testimony that staff members complied with closure orders they knew to be highly irregular because they feared for their jobs?
Since Rockefeller's sent his letter, Samson has become the latest high-ranking official embroiled in the lane closure scandal, thanks to last week's release of documents subpoenaed by the Assembly panel that initially investigated the matter. - Star-Ledger, 1/15/14
Thank you Senator Rockefeller. You will be missed.