We're no closer to unmasking Christie's lies in GWB mess

Nearly 20 months after the gridlock caused by the Christie administration's political vendetta against the mayor of Fort Lee and other Democrats, all eyes in the borough are focused on Hudson Lights, the massive residential and retail project near the George Washington Bridge.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The most tantalizing headline on The Record's front page today is a partial quote from Bridget Anne Kelly, Governor Christie's former aide, whose email -- "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee -- triggered a scandal that may yet bring down the GOP bully.

"Former aide says

she'll no longer

allow the lies"

If you turn to the continuation page, Kelly says, "I will no longer allow the lies that have been said about me or my role in the George Washington Bridge issue to go unchallenged" (A-11).

She also says, "I have remained quiet while many of the people whom I believed in, trusted and respected have attempted to publicly discredit and even humiliate me."

Is she referring to Christie, who fired her when that infamous email came to light and whose sexist legal team called her "stupid," "weepy" and "unqualified," among other pejoratives?

I guess we'll have to wait for her trial.

Christie's role

Despite two federal indictments and a guilty plea from David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official who put the lane closures into motion in September 2013, Christie's role remains unclear.

The GOP bully would have us believe that without his knowledge or consent, Kelly conspired with Wildstein and others to exact political retribution against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse the governor for reelection.

C'mon. We weren't born yesterday. That sounds like a whopper of a lie.

Today's coverage

I am not about to wade through all of the stories, sidebars and even three columns on the criminal charges unveiled by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in Newark (A-1, A-8, A-9, A-10, A-11 and L-1).

"They callously victimized the people of Fort Lee, who were just trying to get to school, go to work," Fishman said of the defendants.

But I winced at the front-page description of Bridget Anne Kelly standing "on a purple Fisher-Price step stool in hot pink pumps," especially because none of the male prosecutors, lawyers or defendants are described in any similar way (A-1).

For example, no mention is made of all the weight Wildstein has lost since he left the Port Authority.

Questions

And the nearly 20 months after the four days of gridlock in Fort Lee, The Record has never reported why Christie tried so hard during his reelection campaign to get endorsements from Democrats.

The Woodland Park daily, more than any other newspaper, had published story after story and column after column since he took office in early 2010 on what a great "compromiser" he was, and how he had "reformed" the state pension system -- swallowing whole Christie's own public relations. 

The sad truth, which finally emerged this year, is that Christie has executed more than 350 vetoes to get his way.

Local columns

Don't bother with the tedious columns from Road Warrior John Cichowski and Mike Kelly (L-1).

The brain-damaged Cichowski actually compares the lane closures in Fort Lee to a Russian snowstorm that trapped 10,000 vehicles in January 2012.

Kelly has the nerve to focus an entire column on Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a politician, calling him a victim of the GWB scandal.

The reporter forgets the "people" are the ones who suffered most.

Martha Washington

And the traffic jams that resulted from the closure of two of three access lanes were confined to the upper level of the bridge.

Access lanes to the lower level -- called Martha Washington -- remained open and traffic flowed across the span.

The Record rarely asks the public for their opinion about even the most compelling issues -- such as Christie's inept governance of New Jersey.

So, Cichowski and two reporters getting reaction to the federal charges, as well as recollections of the gridlock, prove irrelevant (L-1).

The only opinions that matter are those of the federal jurors who will hear the charges against Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, former executive director of the Port Authority, should they decide to go to trial.