New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie “knew” about the crippling George Washington Bridge lane closures as the traffic mess unfolded — and lied to the public when he said he was in the dark, a former Port Authority official claimed Friday.
David Wildstein, who was appointed by Christie in 2010 but resigned in December amid the Bridgegate scandal, called out the governor Friday in a letter to the PA seeking reimbursement of legal fees.
“Evidence exists . . . 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,” wrote Wildstein’s attorney, Alan Zegas.
Christie said at a Jan. 9 press conference that he didn’t know about the politically motivated Fort Lee closures until they were done.
The governor, who has been considered a 2016 Republican presidential front-runner, released a statement Friday saying Wildstein’s letter is actually proof that he didn’t lie.
“Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer confirms what the governor has said all along — he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein’s motivations were for closing them to begin with,” the statement said.
He said that he learned lanes were closed only from the press and that he thought the closures were due to a traffic study.
“The governor denies Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer’s other assertions,” the statement said.
The closures were ordered by Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly, who wrote an e-mail to Wildstein in August saying, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”
Wildstein replied, “Got it.”
Wildstein said the traffic mess was an administration decision.
“A person within the Christie administration communicated the Christie administration’s order that certain lanes on the George Washington Bridge were to be closed,” the letter states.
Wildstein said he can prove Christie repeatedly lied about the September closures, which the governor’s staff allegedly orchestrated to get back at Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not supporting the governor’s re-election.
“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” Zegas wrote, though he left out what the proof would be.
Also Friday, Christie’s two-time campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said he’d plead the Fifth if called to testify before a New Jersey legislative committee on Bridgegate.
Additional reporting by Tara Palmeri and Beth DeFalco