海角大神

Bridge-gate: Christie inquiry heats up with subpoena, long-sought testimony

The New Jersey legislative panel heard testimony casting doubt on Christie's assertion the lane closures were a rogue operation. On Wednesday it subpoenaed documents from a close adviser to the governor.

The New Jersey legislative panel investigating the Bridge-gate scandal has stepped up its efforts this week, probing more deeply the intermingled mix of politics and governance in the administration of Gov. Chris Christie.

聽And for the first time since the scandal broke, a member of the governor鈥檚 staff has finally given a sworn, first-hand account of the inner workings of an administration still reeling from revelations that it used traffic-snarling lane closures in a political-payback scheme.

In a five-hour grilling Tuesday before the legislative committee, Christina Renna, the former director of outreach at the governor鈥檚 now-defunct Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, described an administration in which the line between politics and governance often remained a murky affair, saying she feared for her job if she raised questions about the scandal starting to unfold around her last year.

The committee鈥檚 investigation continued to heat up Wednesday as it subpoenaed documents from Michael DuHaime, a chief strategist for Governor Christie鈥檚 gubernatorial campaigns who is considered one of his closest political advisers in his ongoing maneuvering for a presidential run.

"The subpoena is part of the committee's continued, bipartisan investigation into the lane closings and apparent abuse of government power," the New Jersey legislative panel said in a statement Wednesday. Mr. DuHaime鈥檚 attorney said his client would cooperate, but questioned the political motives of Democratic lawmakers in charge of the investigative committee.

聽Tuesday鈥檚 testimony by Ms. Renna, the first witness to testify before the panel in weeks, cast doubt on one of Christie鈥檚 key assertions: that the lane closures were planned and carried out by rogue members within his staff, especially Bridget Kelly, Ms. Renna鈥檚 supervisor and onetime friend and one of Christie鈥檚 closest aides, who was fired immediately after the scandal broke. Ms. Kelly鈥檚 e-mail, 鈥渢ime for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,鈥� has become a keystone phrase in the Bridge-gate scandal.

鈥淚 wouldn't say she was the architect, but she was instrumental in the process,鈥� Renna testified, adding that she herself 鈥渉ad no knowledge or involvement鈥� in the plan. She resigned her position in February.

But she also testified that Kelly was not 鈥渁 decision maker鈥� in the office, and that as she worked closely with the governor, 鈥渟he was constantly checking before she made a decision.鈥�

In March, a law firm hired by Christie released a 344-page report that placed most of the blame on Kelly and David Wildstein, the Christie ally at the Port Authority who planned and carried out the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge, without informing local officials beforehand or even giving a heads up to the bi-state transportation authority鈥檚 executive director.

Christie has categorically denied any knowledge of the lane closure plans beforehand. Mr. Wildstein and Kelly have yet to explain their actions publicly, invoking their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

鈥淏ut Christie has been known as a very strong leader who, at least in the past, doesn鈥檛 tolerate a lot of movement behind his back,鈥� says Jeanne Zaino, professor of political campaign management at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies. 鈥淗is suggestion since Bridge-gate erupted that this was happening during his watch, and that he鈥檚 sorry for it, and that he didn鈥檛 realize it was happening, becomes harder to believe when you listen to [Renna].鈥�

But Renna was also the receiver of another infamous Kelly e-mail. On Sept. 12, it was Renna who e-mailed Kelly and told her that the office had received a call from Mark Sokolich, the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, who complained that the traffic jams were so severe that emergency first-responders could not get through, and that he suspected the lane closures were politically motivated.

鈥淕ood,鈥� Kelly e-mailed back.

Exactly 3 months later, as the scandal began to erupt, Kelly called Renna and asked her to delete this response. The younger aide thought the request was 鈥渟trange鈥� and 鈥渋nappropriate,鈥� but she didn鈥檛 report it to anyone in the administration 鈥� though she did keep a copy of the e-mail.

鈥淚 thought I would lose my job,鈥� Renna testified. 鈥淚 was fearful of getting [Kelly] caught up in something that I didn鈥檛 know if she was involved in or not.鈥� She was my boss. She was senior staff.鈥�

The young staffer鈥檚 testimony Tuesday only buttressed the central importance of the information both Kelly and Wildstein have about the lane closures. Nearly all of Christie鈥檚 former inner circle has fallen away from the administration as the US Attorney continues to probe the scandal and Christie鈥檚 possible role.

Still, finding criminal conduct may prove difficult for many reasons. In 2010, the Supreme Court greatly curtailed the ability of federal prosecutors to convict public officials of corruption, raising the criminal standard for these cases to crimes that result in a tangible personal gain, like bribery. Some legal experts remain skeptical that, despite the ugly nature of the political payback scheme, the lane closures constituted any federal crime.

But like most fill-in-the-blank-gates, the problem remains that of a possible coverup, or the fibs that arise when the 鈥渨hat did you know and when did you know it鈥� questions inevitably come.

鈥淭his issue of the e-mail destruction, could [Kelly] be brought up on charges of tampering with evidence?鈥� asks Professor Zaino. 鈥淎nd then could they use that to try to try to strike a deal with her? There were ways in which I thought that it may allow the committee, or federal prosecutors, to move forward with that if they choose to.鈥�

Renna also described an office that often blurred the line between the governor鈥檚 reelection efforts and the daily act of governing the state. The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, which she called the 鈥淚GA,鈥� was a busy place in which a host of mayors and community officials called to get potholes repaired, graffiti removed, and other issues front-and-center to daily governance. Renna testified the office was 鈥渁mazingly nonpartisan鈥� and purely interested in 鈥渉elping local government, regardless of political affiliation.鈥�

Yet she also testified that the staff tracked lists of 鈥淒emocratic endorsers鈥� as they did their job. And Kelly would often tell the staff to keep 鈥渉ands off鈥� certain mayors 鈥� ignoring those like Mayor Sokolich, who did not endorse the Republican governor.

Renna even told one her subordinates to cut off all communication with Sokolich, per Kelly鈥檚 instructions. 鈥淓veryone just didn't think this was as severe of an issue until it was," said Renna, who teared up during the hearing. "I understand again in retrospect how that looks.鈥�

Christie shuttered the intergovernmental affairs office last month, following the recommendations of his attorneys.

Yet the entire purpose of this office鈥檚 tireless efforts to track Democratic endorsers as they governed the state, say political observers, sprung from his ambition to win a sweeping, bipartisan landslide as a Republican in a solidly Democratic state. This would boost his case for a likely run for president.

鈥淭he way in which politics had seeped into this office, that was supposed to be supporting these mayors regardless of endorsements, perhaps isn鈥檛 surprising,鈥� says Zaino. 鈥淏ut there seems to [have been] an awful lot of that going on.鈥�