Here’s How Chris Christie (Seems To Have) Lied During His ‘Bridgegate’ Press Conference

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At today’s almost two-hour press conference, Governor Chris Christie certainly seemed angry and upset that the Bridgegate scandal apparently initiated within his office, and that he was lied to about it by at least one staffer. Christie announced he had fired a top aide, Bridget Kelly, for lying about not being involved and not knowing about jamming traffic in Fort Lee via the George Washington Bridge. Traffic, by the way, that interfered with untold thousands of people traveling the region for four days, and traffic that interfered with at least four emergency events, including delaying an emergency ambulance racing to help a 91-year old woman, who died.

The New Jersey Governor, who hasn’t even been sworn into office for the second term he won in November, claimed that the first he had heard of the emails indicting his staff was yesterday morning.

“Let me tell you every body. I was blindsided yesterday morning. I was done with my workout yesterday morning, and got a call from my communications director at about 8:50, 8:55, informing me of this story that had just broken on the Bergen Record website. That was the first time I knew about this. That was the first time I had seen any of the documents that were revealed yesterday.”

OK, sounds legit, right?

“And what does it make me ask about me? It makes me ask about me what did I do wrong to have these folks think it was OK to lie to me? And there’s a lot of soul-searching that goes around with this. You know, when you’re a leader of an organization — and I’ve had this happen to me before, where I’ve had folks not tell me the truth about something — not since I’ve been governor but in previous leadership positions — you always wonder about what you could do differently. And believe me, John, I haven’t had a lot of sleep the last two nights, and I’ve been doing a lot of soul-searching. I’m sick over this. I’ve worked for the last 12 years in public life developing a reputation for honesty and directness and blunt talk, one that I think is well-deserved. But, you know, when something like this happens, it’s appropriate for you to question yourself, and certainly I am. And I am soul-searching on this.”

So, the “first time” Christie heard about the emails that show several of his staff plotting to take revenge on Fort Lee and its mayor was yesterday, but he claims, “I haven’t had a lot of sleep the last two nights.”

What could possibly explain this?

Unless he just didn’t have a good night’s sleep two nights ago and was looking for sympathy, the only thing that we can think of is that Chris Christie is lying.

And consider this.

Christie told reporters today that he fired his top aide, Bridget Kelly, without even talking to her because it seemed clear to him that she lied about Bridgegate.

“This morning I’ve terminated the employment of Bridget Kelly, effective immediately. I’ve terminated her employment because she lied to me.” He added, “the emails that I saw for the first time yesterday morning, when they broken in I believe the Bergen Record story, proved that that was a lie. There’s no justification for that behavior. There’s no justification for ever lying to a governor or a person in authority in this government. And as a result, I’ve terminated Bridget’s employment immediately this morning.”

So, if it’s a fireable offense for a staffer to lie to a Governor, shouldn’t it be a “fireable offense” for a Governor to lie to his constituents?

Christie needs to explain this to the satisfaction of his constituents — or resign.

 

Transcript via The Reality-Based Community and The Washington Post.
Hat tip: Crooks And Liars, via The Raw Story

 
Previously:

Here’s The Real Chris Christie Bridge Bullying Question No One’s Asking

‘Outraged’ Chris Christie Claims Bridgegate Is ‘Not Representative Of Me.’ Really?

A Teacher Responds To Chris Christie’s Finger In Her Face