New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that he was "deeply saddened and outraged" by newly released documents "linking a senior member of his staff to the closure of lanes on a major bridge in September - shutdowns that caused massive traffic jams, and sparked allegations that the closures were the result of political retribution," as reported by Politico.
"What I've seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions," Christie wrote in a statement.
Christie said that he was "misled by a member of my staff."
The governor canceled a public event to make the statement. He previously denied his staff played any sort of role in the lane closures. However emails from staff members reportedly reveal otherwise.
"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," Bridget Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff wrote in one email to David Wildstein, a Port Authority official and political ally of the governor, as reported by The Bergen Record.
After that email, traffic reportedly "quadrupled [the] commuting time for some of the people who live closest to one one of the nation's bridges," referring to the George Washington Bridge.
The scandal generated from the fact that Fort Lee's Democratic mayor Mark Sokolich did not endorse Christie for reelection "and some New Jersey Democrats have accused Christie supporters of retaliating with the lane closures," according to Politico.
"This is absolutely the lowest level of political venom you could possibly even make up. I think he has to publicly address the folks that are specifically impacted by this, I think apologies need to be doled out and I think reforms have to be put in place to make sure this never ever happens again," said Sokolich on CNN Wednesday.
"It's not about traffic. It's about abuse of power. It's about an administration that will not take no for an answer and an administration that is very comfortable exacting political retribution," said Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski.
"I've made it very clear to everybody on my senior staff that if anyone had any knowledge about this that they needed to come forward to me and tell me about it and they've all assured me that they don't," Christie added on Wednesday.
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