Who's In and Who's Out: A Guide to Chris Christie's Bridge Scandal
Jan. 15, 2014— -- intro:Its OK to admit it: You've heard about some scandal involving New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and a bridge, but you're not exactly sure what all the fuss is about.
It doesn't help that it involves a lot of people who aren't considered household names by a long shot.
The so-called "Bridgegate" scandal entangling Christie and a half-dozen or so staff members who may have orchestrated a massive traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge in September is all about the players. So far, four people have resigned or been fired, but others are under the microscope of New Jersey Democrats who are leading an investigation into the imbroglio.
And as Christie, a potential 2016 presidential contender, tries to get out from underneath this controversy, the focus will also be on which, if any, of his closest advisers knew about what happened.
Here's a primer on who's in and who's out in the Christie administration, and why they all matter.
quicklist:1title: OUT: Bridget Anne Kelly, former Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs
text:
Why she matters: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." Bridget Anne Kelly wrote those words in an email to a Port Authority staffer, apparently setting in motion the ploy to close several lanes on the George Washington Bridge in September and turn the city of Fort Lee into a parking lot. Christie fired Kelly last week for lying to him. But she's likely to soon be the target of further investigation by Democrats in the New Jersey State Legislature, who are eager to get to the bottom of this traffic mess. She may be out of the Christie administration, but she's likely to remain in the public eye for some time.
media:21526731
quicklist:2title: OUT: Bill Stepien, Former Campaign Managertext:
Why he matters: Stepien was one of Christie's top political strategists and his two-time campaign manager. But he, along with Kelly, was fired unceremoniously last week for lying about the traffic mess. Since the bridge closings occurred in the midst of Christie's re-election campaign, and Stepien appeared to have something to do with it, it suggests the involvement of others in Christie's inner circle. New Jersey Democrats will be looking high and low for any way they can concretely tie the scandal to Christie. One of the ways they'll do that is by trying to force testimony and documents from Stepien through subpoenas.
quicklist:3
title: OUT: David Wildstein Former, Director of Interstate Capital Projects at the Port Authoritytext: Why he matters: On the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, David Wildstein was the Christie-appointed official who executed the lane-closing plan. Wildstein also happens to have attended the same high school as Christie, so they go way back (though Christie denied at length in a press conference last week that they are long-time friends). He was the first to resign in the bridge scandal, and for good reason: Emails and documents that were released last week show that Wildstein was deeply involved in the lane closures and even went to the bridge to survey the ensuing traffic nightmare. Wildstein got out of testifying in a hearing last week by pleading the Fifth, but what he knows is crucial to sorting out the details of the case.media:21526964
