WASHINGTON – A new player in the Bridgegate scandal has emerged with personal ties to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Port Authority Police Officer Thomas “Chip” Michaels, who is linked to the Republican governor, was at the scene during the September lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, touring snarled traffic in Fort Lee, N.J., and texting periodic updates about it.
Michaels drove David Wildstein, a Christie appointee to the Port Authority who oversaw the lane closures, to the bridge on the first day of the traffic jams, according to documents Wildstein submitted to the New Jersey legislature’s Bridgegate investigation.
Michaels also sent text messages to Wildstein, including one on the first day of the traffic jams, in which he claimed to have an idea to “make this better.”
It was not clear what he meant.
The PA cop has several links to Christie.
Michaels and his brothers grew up with Christie in Livingston, N.J. The Michaels brothers have been described in past news accounts as a childhood friends of the governor.
Michaels also coached Christie’s son in little league hockey, according to MSNBC.
Another of the Michaels brothers, Jeffrey Michaels, is a prominent Republican lobbyist in New Jersey and a Christie ally.
The presence of Michaels at the scene of the traffic nightmare raises further questions about Christie’s involvement in the alleged political-retribution scheme.
The governor has emphatically denied that a top aide in his administration ordered the lanes closed for a “traffic study” — allegedly to punish Christie’s foe, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.
The scandal has rocked Christie and his prospective run for president in 2016.
Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, point man for the Democratic Party’s relentless attacks on the governor, slammed Christie for not getting to the truth about what happened.
He said on “Fox News Sunday” that Christie should have done more than fire Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly, who sent Wildstein an email authorizing the lane closures.
“He didn’t ask her why she sent that email or who … told her to send that email. That’s just unbelievable,” said Strickland.
“She obviously didn’t do that on her own,” he said.
“I cannot believe that a governor, and I’ve been one, and I had a close staff and we worked together on a daily basis, why didn’t he ask her why she sent that email, and try to find out why and who told her to do that,” said Strickland.
The Democratic National Committee sent Strickland to shadow Christie, who is chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), during the group’s events in Chicago last week.
At a press conference in Chicago, he said Christie was either “lying or he is the most inept, incompetent chief executive imaginable.”