Despite Denials, Emails Suggest Christie’s Top Aides Ordered Lane Closure to Punish Foe

"Private messages between Governor’s Christie’s deputy chief of staff and two of his top executives at the Port Authority reveal a vindictive effort to create 'traffic problems in Fort Lee' by shutting lanes to the George Washington Bridge and apparent pleasure at the resulting gridlock," reports Shawn Boburg.

The sudden closure of two of the three lanes that access the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee last September stranded school buses and commuters for hours.   

"The documents obtained by The Record raise serious doubts about months of claims by the Christie administration that the September closures of local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge were part of a traffic study initiated solely by the Port Authority," adds Boburg. "Instead, they show that one of the governor’s top aides was deeply involved in the decision to choke off the borough’s access to the bridge, and they provide the strongest indication yet that it was part of a politically-motivated vendetta—a notion that Christie has publicly denied."