http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/197169-podesta-new-allegations-a-killer-for-christieJanuary 31, 2014, 06:34 pm
Podesta: New allegations 'a killer' for Christie
By Justin Sink
White House counselor John Podesta said new allegations about Chris Christie's knowledge about lane closures on the George Washington Bridge are "a killer" for the New Jersey governor.
"I think it's a killer, really," Podesta said during an interview with Bloomberg TV. "I think he was so — in part because of what he initially said, that long press conference he gave, the absolute denial, and throwing his people under the bus the way he did, how hurt he was by them. If that was true, I don't think there's any coming back."
The attorney for David Wildstein, a former Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, wrote a letter obtained by multiple media outlets saying that "evidence exists" to prove the governor was aware of the lane closures.
“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” the letter said.
In a statement Friday, Christie’s office said Wildstein's lawyer confirmed "what the governor has said all along — he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with."
Christie has seen his approval ratings crater after emails between Christie aides and Wildstein appeared to show the governor's office ordering the closure of the lanes as political retribution.
The White House has otherwise declined to comment on the controversy over the bridge closure, citing ongoing legal investigations into the situation.
"It sounds very much like a state matter to me," White House press secretary Jay Carney said earlier this month. "And to the extent that it isn't, as I understand there was a statement by the U.S. Attorney. That's something that you would have to ask the Department of Justice about."
