If David Wildstein really
has the evidence to prove that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been, uh, less than truthful when he said he knew nothing about last fall's lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, this is huge:
In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as “the Christie administration’s order” and said “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference” three weeks ago.
“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” the letter added.
Christie's
polling has already suffered as a result of the bridge scandal; though no evidence has directly connected him to the decision to gridlock the town of Fort Lee, clearly his denials haven't been universally believed and revelations about how his office operated have taken a toll. Testimony from one of the people who carried out the lane closures, especially if there's solid evidence, would be disastrous for Christie.
1:03 PM PT: Wildstein is not alone in making lane closure news today:
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's former campaign manager will plead the Fifth Amendment when he is asked about his role in an apparent plot to create a traffic jam in Fort Lee, N.J., according to a filing from his lawyer.
That's Bill Stepien, whose lawyers are filing a number of objections to the subpoena.
1:10 PM PT: Here's the letter from Wildstein's lawyers.