Is The END NEAR For Chris Christie?

[Segami]

"..New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is embroiled in unfolding controversies over alleged political payback. The primary scandal involves suggestions key aides and supporters orchestrated traffic gridlock around the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee last year to punish that town's mayor for not endorsing Christie's reelection. A separate controversy involves a federal watchdog's review of whether Christie improperly used Superstorm Sandy funds to produce tourism ads starring him and his family...."

FUGETABOUTIT??............HELL NO!!...........




(CNN) -- Less than three months after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie cruised to an overwhelming reelection win, the main political question he faces isn't whether he can make a transition to the national stage and run for president -- it's whether he can continue to govern the state at all. Negative press about the so-called Bridgegate scandal -- an apparent decision by top Christie aides to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge and snarl traffic for days on end, allegedly out of petty political spite toward local officials -- has taken a severe toll on Christie's national prospects: A recent poll confirms that he has tumbled from first to third place as a potential 2016 presidential candidate.



But that could prove to be the least of Christie's headaches. A more pressing matter is raised by a short, devastating letter penned by Alan Zegas, the lawyer for a former top aide to Christie, David Wildstein, and published on the New York Times website. The immediate point of the letter was to press the Port Authority, the agency that operates the George Washington Bridge, to pay Wildstein's legal expenses. But it's not just a financial dispute. If Wildstein, who personally oversaw the lane closures, was following orders requested or approved from on high, he can demand legal protection by the agency. But by refusing to cover his costs, the Port Authority is saying, in effect, that Wildstein was acting on his own.



The letter by Wildstein's attorney bluntly suggests otherwise: "It has also come to light that a person within the Christie administration communicated the Christie administration's order that certain lanes on the George Washington Bridge were to be closed, and 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." Ouch. The Christie administration hastily responded with a statement that the governor "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. But the damage was done: The scandal now has the potential to be carried directly into the inner circle of the Governor's office, and undermine his credibility.



Until now, Christie has employed a blunt but effective two-step strategy for containing the scandal. Step One: Summarily fire and publicly condemn deputies who were linked to the scandal. Step Two: Plead utter ignorance as to how or why these top aides would engage in unethical or illegal behavior. The strategy was never quite plausible -- Christie, a former prosecutor, has a reputation as a hands-on manager whose aides don't stray far without permission -- and it's a risky gambit: By publicly denigrating fired members of his inner circle, Christie opens himself to the possibility of disgruntled ex-employees going public with information that is embarrassing, or even incriminating. One can only imagine what Wildstein was thinking during Christie's two-hour press conference, in which he blasted Wilstein and another fired ex-aide, Bridget Ann Kelly, for "abject stupidity." "What did I do wrong to have these folks think it was OK to lie to me?" he said during the press conference. Adding insult to injury, Christie went so far as to say that Wildstein, often described in the press as a high school friend, wasn't really a Christie pal.




cont'


http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/01/opinion/louis-christie-letter/index.html

[spanone]

1. let's hope so....

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. yesterday was near enough.

[seveneyes]

3. Prediction: He serves out his term and there's no chance for the Oval Office

Credit union on it.

[Gothmog]

4. It is going to take a while

Investigations take time