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For New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and his team of lawyers, the motives behind the Bridge-gate lane closures are somewhat baffling.

They have placed the blame of the 鈥渢raffic study鈥� scheme squarely on two people: Bridget Kelly, the governor鈥檚 former right-hand aide, and David Wildstein, the governor鈥檚 high school classmate and feared ally at the Port Authority. These two apparently acted together, keeping everyone else in the governor鈥檚 office out of the loop.

But that raises a key question: Why did they do it?

鈥淪ometimes people do inexplicably stupid things,鈥� Governor Christie to Diane Sawyer, reiterating that he didn鈥檛 have anything to do with the closure of two access lanes to the George Washington Bridge, which engulfed Fort Lee in a tsunami of traffic for four days afterwards.

An commissioned by the governor tried to explain the inexplicable, suggesting, in effect, that both Ms. Kelly and Mr. Wildstein were both a bit emotionally unstable and obsessed with a crazy idea.

But the investigation鈥檚 report 鈥� released Thursday by a team of lawyers at the Manhattan law firm Gibson Dunn, which has also been retained by the Christie administration to represent its interests in ongoing probes by the US Attorney and New Jersey state lawmakers 鈥� raises as many questions as it answers, many observers say.

The report concludes that evidence does point to the widely assumed motive of a political dirty trick against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. The Democrat would not endorse the Republican governor, as many others had, while Christie was attempting to win reelection with a nation-impressing landslide.

But the precise reason they targeted Mayor Sokolich 鈥渋s yet to be determined,鈥� Christie鈥檚 lawyers said.

In fact, the report tries to undercut the dirty-trick theory, pointing out that Sokolich always had a 鈥済ood relationship鈥� with the Christie administration, and was even being considered for an honorary appointment. It also quoted the Fort Lee mayor saying that he found it 鈥渋ncomprehensible that there鈥檚 any truth whatsoever to these rumors鈥� about a political dirty trick.

聽So as Christie鈥檚 lawyers purportedly scratched their heads as to why Kelly and Wildstein would have some undetermined 鈥渦lterior motive鈥� to attack Sokolich, they suggested the two must have had some kind of personal problems that in effect left them a bit unhinged.

The report excoriates the governor鈥檚 former deputy chief-of-staff, saying 鈥渆vents in Kelly鈥檚 personal life may have had some bearing on her subjective motivations and state of mind.鈥� She had to take care of a hospitalized family member during the scandal, for example.

聽But it also said Kelly was engaged in a romantic affair with Christie鈥檚 long-time political architect, Bill Stepien, who ran the governor鈥檚 two successful campaigns and was set to organize his expected national run for the White House. Kelly had replaced Mr. Stepien as deputy chief-of-staff for Christie 鈥� though she lacked her paramour鈥檚 experience at the post, the report said.

These two Christie aides broke up right before the 鈥渢raffic study鈥� plan, however, and the report suggests that a distraught Kelly began to plan the lane closures with Wildstein after this break-up, when she and the more-experienced Stepien no longer spoke.

鈥淭he characterization of Bridget Kelly is troublingly sexist in my estimation,鈥� says Jeanne Zaino, professor of political campaign management at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies. 鈥淚n terms of the question why, the report seems to allude to the fact that Bridget Kelly was emotional, or, for some unexplained reason, decided to take out her frustration with the ending of this relationship by closing these lanes. I mean, the whole thing makes no sense.鈥�

Wildstein, too, is described as having 鈥渃razy ideas,鈥� and for some reason had an obsession with the Fort Lee access lanes for years, according to Christie鈥檚 lawyers. Since at least 2011, Wildstein thought it was 鈥渦nfair鈥� that Fort Lee had three access lanes to the bridge, the report said, telling officials that year that 鈥� 鈥榟e wasn鈥檛 crazy about the favoritism鈥� for certain commuters, 鈥榠ncluding lots of New York plates.鈥� 鈥�

聽鈥淲hether or not that鈥檚 the case, it certainly makes Wildstein sound crazy,鈥� says Professor Zaino. 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 answer the real question about the governor鈥檚 involvement in any of this.鈥�

聽Indeed, the question of Kelly鈥檚 and Wildstein鈥檚 unknown motives places Christie in something of a classic Catch-22. How did these rogue aides, one part of the governor鈥檚 tight inner circle and the other appointed to a specially-created position by the governor, believe they could get away with such a public stunt, right under the governor鈥檚 nose?

聽鈥淪ure, I鈥檝e spent a lot of time in the last 11 weeks thinking about what did I do, if anything, to contribute to this,鈥� Christie told Diane Sawyer Thursday. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 believe that I did. But I certainly was disappointed in myself that I wasn鈥檛 able to pick up these traits in these people. I鈥檓 disappointed in myself that I didn鈥檛 look closer, that I trusted too much.鈥�

聽And even as his trust was betrayed by those closest to him, the governor felt victimized by their inexplicable stupidity, he said.

鈥淸I was] not clueless, but taken advantage of,鈥� Christie said. 鈥淎nd also, more importantly, I feel like I let people down by not knowing.鈥�