Report: Chris Christie knew about George Washington Bridge lane closings all along

Huge, if true

Christie
(Image credit: (Andrew Burton/Getty Images))

Despite claiming otherwise, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) reportedly knew all along about the George Washington Bridge lane closures that have shaken his administration and threatened to ruin his political career, according to a former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the closings.

From The New York Times, which broke the story:

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. [New York Times]

Christie has maintained, repeatedly and vociferously, that he only found about the political nature of the closings when multiple news outlets published explosive emails linking his aides directly to the scandal.

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Indeed, many analysts have said the governor's presumed 2016 presidential aspirations would be utterly sunk if it were revealed that he knew what was going on.

For more on this development, read the full story in the Times.

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Jon Terbush

Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.