Gov. Christie on Thursday unleashed harsh criticism of the legislative panel investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures, framing the probe as a "partisan pursuit" prolonged by Democrats desperate for media attention.
The panel's Democratic leaders "care more about being on television than they care about getting to the truth," Christie said.
"Obviously we'll wait to hear whatever the authorities have to say. But this is a report that comes as no shock to me," Christie said on New Jersey 101.5's Ask the Governor program.
"If this report is true," said Christie, "then I'm glad there will be another source" beyond the report commissioned by his office that said in March that he had no played no role in the controversy.
"I'm hoping that, you know, we can start to focus on things that are important to all the people in the state of New Jersey," Christie said.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark said Thursday night that "the investigation is not over."
Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D., Middlesex), a cochair of the legislative panel that has been conducting a separate probe, said, "This isn't an investigation about Chris Christie," but "why did Bridget Kelly send that e-mail" calling for "traffic problems in Fort Lee."
Christie fired Kelly, a top aide, in January after revelations that she had sent the e-mail weeks before lanes to the bridge were closed last September, snarling traffic over four days in Fort Lee.
Several key witnesses, including Kelly, have not cooperated with Christie's lawyers or lawmakers.
Though outside investigations are ongoing, Christie, who is weighing a run for president in 2016, has sought to move beyond the controversy.
On Thursday, Christie said leaks by Democrats on the panel were "just further evidence of the fact that this is a partisan pursuit."
He accused Democrats of leaking interview memos, an apparent reference to accounts by police officers at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- which operates the bridge -- of their observations the week of the lane closures.
Interview memos with a summary of an officer's account that he was told by another police official to "shut up" when he asked to end the lane closures were described in a Bergen Record story published during Christie's trip to Mexico.
Of the panel, Christie said, "The fact is, they've been digging around for eight months and have found absolutely nothing that contradicted one factual statement that I made standing behind this podium on Jan. 9" -- the date of his marathon news conference after the revelations about Kelly's e-mail.
The firm commissioned by Christie to conduct the internal review, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, was also tasked with responding to subpoenas on behalf of the governor's office.
Wisniewski said Thursday that the governor's office had refused to provide some documents sought by the panel, citing executive privilege. During his news conference, Christie said he had "fully cooperated" with the panel.
Because the bridge controversy is "an embarrassing story for Republicans, it's natural that [Christie] and other Republicans want this investigation to end," Wisniewski said.
Of accusations that Democrats are perpetuating the story through leaks to reporters, Wisniewski said there was "no requirement that any of this material be made confidential."
Reporters "are the folks asking the questions," Wisniewski said. And Christie "has injected this into today's media cycle."
Asked Thursday night by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow for his reaction to Christie's remarks, Wisniewski deadpanned, "I'm crushed."
He later added, "This is an abuse of power that started on his watch. The fact he's claiming to have been fully cooperative just doesn't meet with the facts."
Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D., Bergen), a cochair of the legislative panel, said Thursday that the panel would meet soon to decide its next steps. The U.S. Attorney's Office this summer asked the panel to hold off on calling certain witnesses, putting a halt to plans to hold more hearings.
(c)2014 The Philadelphia Inquirer
