Darryl Isherwood, of the Star-Ledger, reports Former Christie campaign staffer subpoenaed by Bridgegate committee. Matt Mowers will testify on March 13 instead of Port Authority executive director Patrick Foye who has a scheduling conflict, confirmed co-chair state Senator Loretta Weinberg.
State Sen. Loretta Weinberg confirmed Mowers, who has served as the executive director of the New Hampshire Republican Party since November, was issued the subpoena yesterday. He will testify before the committee on May 13, the date originally set to hear testimony from Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Weinberg said Foye had a scheduling conflict and will appear before the committee in June.
Mowers was one of more than two dozen current and former administration, campaign and Port Authority officials subpoenaed for documents in February and according to reports met with the committee voluntarily once since then.
Mowers was reportedly the campaign staffer who approached Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich to endorse Gov. Chris Christie in his bid for reelection. It was Sokolich's refusal to endorse the governor that is thought to have sparked the lane diversions, which snarled traffic in Fort Lee for hours a day during the second week in September.
Michael Drewniak, Christina Renna, Pat Foye, and Pat Schuber have also been called. At least 10 or more are expected to be called.
So far all new witnesses called to testify before the committee, since a court ruled that Bridget Kelly and Bill Stepien do not have to testify because they invoked their Fifth Amendment rights, have agreed to do so.
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9th Dist.) says he is "sick and tired of Governor Christie blaming all of his problems on the federal government" whenever anything goes wrong in New Jersey as is reported in Christie can't blame feds for $800M budget gap, Pascrell says.
TRENTON — Don't blame the federal government for the $807 million shortfall in your state budget, a veteran Democratic congressman is telling Gov. Chris Christie.
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-9th Dist.) said today he is "sick and tired of Governor Christie blaming all of his problems on the federal government" when something goes awry in the Garden State.
"Yesterday it was Sandy aid, and today it is his budget shortfall," Pascrell said in a statement.
The Republican governor said at a news conference on Tuesday that he was blindsided by April tax collections, which came in at least $600 million below his estimates.
The April surprise widened the overall shortfall in the governor's budget to at least $807 million — a whopping sum that Christie says will force difficult cuts to the budget in the next 60 days and could even threaten a couple of important payments into the pension fund for public workers.
Governor Christie seems to be rapidly changing his image from a tough-guy-take-charge-manage to something of a whining cry baby who is constantly blaming someone else for all of his problems. Yesterday, we read that Christie was saying the reason disbursement of federal Sandy aid was delayed was "he was too busy helping the poor.'
And, the explanation for the GWB bridge lane closing seems to be that he was betrayed by Bridget Kelly and numerous other of his trusted top staff.
This poor fellow Governor Chris Christie just seems to have the worst luck one can imagine.
3:44 PM PT: Also, Please check out Bethesda's great post from earlier. BlueJessamine asked me to guest host Street Prophets today so I've been distracted most of the today until now and missed most of what ever else happened today. Sorry, if I missed anyone else, or if the above has already been posted.
Bethesda 1971 Christie's Budget Bullying: The Worst You Can Be is Right
3:50 PM PT: Please also check out these two previous Christie posts today:
Jon Perr writes Warned about shortfalls, Christie blames Feds for New Jersey budget deficit
Jed Lewison writes Karma tries to teach Christie a lesson
4:06 PM PT: Matt Friedman, of the Star-Ledger, writes Christie cancels Florida trip, but has events scheduled in Iowa and South Carolina Apparently completely oblivious to how this looks after just yesterday saying the reason for big delays in the distributioon for federal aid for hurricande Sandy victoms was because he and his administration were "too busy helping the poor," Christie has schedules a "slew" of fund raisign events for the Republican Governor's Association in upcoming months, with a "surprising" concenstration in presidential battleground states.
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie has canceled two political events in Florida this morning, but the governor has a big fundraising schedule for the Republican Governors Association in the coming months that includes stops in states with early presidential nominating contests. ..
Christie has led the association since November, raising more than $33 million for GOP gubernatorial candidates around the country in that time.
The online publication Real Clear Politics got a look at Christie’s spring fundraising schedule, and reported this morning that Christie has a “slew” of events scheduled, including in Iowa for Gov. Terry Branstad and in South Carolina for Gov. Nikki Haley
Christie also apparently has events coming up in New Mexico, Tennesee, and Pennyslvania.
Seriously, Christie WTH? Your administration is being accused of widespread incompetence in New Jersey as unattended to problems mount in every corner an you run around the country like some manic beaver on speed. What gives?
Is there a psychiatrist in the house? Could this be some bizarre form of denial? Does Christie think if he runs faster and faster like a rat on the little ferris wheel he can escape his troubles with standing up, taking responsibiliy for them, and concentrating on the work of the people of New Jersey?