Two of the people behind Bridgegate are found guilty of all charges. That sound you hear is Chris Christie's sphincter closing up.

Courtesy of TPM: 

A jury on Friday found two former allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) guilty on all federal charges in the high-profile Bridgegate case. 

Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, a former senior official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, faced seven counts each of conspiracy and wire fraud for their alleged roles in orchestrating lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 meant to create mass gridlock in the town of Fort Lee. 

Prosecutors and former Port Authority official David Wildstein, the admitted mastermind of the scheme, said the days-long traffic jam was meant to punish the town’s Democratic mayor for declining to back Christie’s re-election bid. Wildstein struck a plea deal for his own involvement in the plot. 

Bergen Record reporter Paul Berger said that Baroni kept a smile on his face as the verdict was read, while Kelly broke into tears.

Now you would think that news of this kind would cause Christie to have a cardiac, but instead he issued this statement.

BREAKING: .@GovChristie's statement to #Bridgegate verdicts. pic.twitter.com/bgkYbKdmra

— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) November 4, 2016

Which seems little like whistling past the graveyard since Bridget Anne Kelly said in no uncertain terms that Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge closing a month before it happened.

Knowing this Christie must have the biggest balls in the world to think that he is going to get away scott free. 

Though for the life of me I cannot imagine where he keeps them.

More bad news for Chris Christie.

NEW court filing with texts between Christie aides, sent December 2013:
"Are you listening? He just flat out lied." pic.twitter.com/iqIXqD21Y2

— Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) August 10, 2016

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

WNYC reporter Matt Katz points out that newly filed court documents show that Christie aide Christina Genovese Renna was sending text messages to Christie attorney Mark Sheridan during a 2013 press conference on the “Bridgegate” controversy. 

In a particularly damning set of exchanges, Renna tells Sheridan that their boss completely lied to the media while answering a question about whether his campaign manager Bill Stepien had any knowledge of the George Washington Bridge lane closures that Christie aides coordinated to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not endorsing their boss during his 2013 reelection bid. 

“Are you listening? He just flat out lied about senior staff and Stepien not being involved,” she said, referring to Christie’s campaign manager Bill Stepien.

Renna then goes on to openly worry about what happens if the e-mails get subpoenaed.

Yeah, that would be terrible wouldn't it?

I have to admit that I almost forgot all about Bridge-gate after watching Christie degrading himself in order to ingratiate himself with Donald Trump.

Oh God, what have I done?

Let's face it, after the last five or six months that Christie has had he might actually be looking forward to some quiet time in prison. 

Indictment Friday part two. Bridge-gate.

David Wildstein

Courtesy of NJ.Com: 

David Wildstein, a key figure in the Bridgegate scandal, today pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy in connection with the politically-motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013. 

Two others — Bill Baroni, former Port Authority deputy executive director, and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie — have been indicted. 

Ooooh! I had started to think that perhaps this whole thing was dead in the water.

Instead that might be an apt description for Chris Christie's future political aspirations.

The attorney for David Wildstein, Alan Zegas, today repeated the claim that Gov. Chris Christie was aware of the plan to close access lanes to the George Washington Bridge.

Yep, might be. 

Of course Christie was quick to deny any culpability.

I had no knowledge or involvement in the planning or execution of this act.

— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) May 1, 2015

Uh huh.

Gee, I want to believe him. But.....

Bridget Anne Kelly also came out swinging today:  

A defiant Bridget Anne Kelly on Friday denied charges she was one of the masterminds behind the George Washington Bridge lane closures that have dogged the administration of her former boss, Gov. Chris Christie. 

"I am not guilty of the crimes for which I have been accused," Kelly said during a press conference with her attorney, Michael Critchley, after prosecutors unsealed a nine-count federal indictment. 

"David Wildstein is a liar," Kelly said.

Really? But what about this email from Kelly dated August 13, 2013?

"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

So who's the liar again?

Well I for one am going to stock up on popcorn, because THIS looks like it is going to be highly entertaining.

Chris Christie on the Tonight Show. Attempting to improve his political options, or just having a little harmless fun?

Courtesy of the New York Daily News: 

If the Bridgegate scandal has taken a toll on Gov. Chris Christie, he didn’t show it Thursday when he did a light-weight dance on “The Tonight Show.” 

A tanned and slimmer Christie bounded onstage for an “Evolution of Dad Dancing” skit, doing the “Back It Up” and “Don’t Make Me Turn This Car Around” with host Jimmy Fallon. Then the New Jersey Republican and die-hard Springsteen fan stalked off in faux rage when Fallon did a “This Bridge is Closed” dance. 

Later, during a sit-down, Christie shrugged off a ribbing about his weight — calling Fallon a “putz” for going there. 

Personally I don't think that Christie could dance nearly fast or long enough to sweat out the stench of bridge-gate, but perhaps he does. 

I will admit that it's pretty entertaining, and always a good idea to have politicians demonstrate the ability to laugh at themselves though.

However if Christie was trying to outshine a certain First Lady with his dance moves he failed miserably. Can you say EPIC FAIL?

Chris Christie's slut shaming of Bridget Kelly, and how that may lead to his eventual downfall.

As I am sure all of you know by now the investigative report, commissioned by Chris Christie to absolve him of any blame for the George Washington bridge scandal, came out on Thursday.

This is how the Daily Beast reported on that "totally unforeseen" exoneration:  

When the results of the internal Bridgegate investigation, commissioned by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were released Thursday, it included a curious revelation. Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s former Deputy Chief of Staff whom he fired on January 9 after the release of her smoking gun “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email, had been involved in an affair with Bill Stepien, Christie’s former campaign manager. 

The report, which cost New Jersey taxpayers $1 million, states that “Kelly and Stepien became personally involved, although, by early August 2013, their personal relationship had cooled, apparently at Stepien’s choice, and they largely stopped speaking.” 

State Senator Loretta Weinberg, one of two co-chairs of the joint legislative committee investigating Bridgegate, told The Daily Beast that she believes this was an attempt to assassinate the character of Kelly. 

“Maybe that’s what’s making me so angry,” Weinberg said in a phone call Thursday. “They’re talking about ‘a personal relationship’ and they put in the report that Mr. Stepien was the one who ended it—how do they know that? How do they know that? And was that done to add to the credence that this was some crazy woman, some woman who is no longer in control of her emotions?”

Now Chris Christie had originally thrown Bridget Kelly under the bus during his January press conference on the bridge scandal.

At the time I remember thinking, "Man he must have her locked down, to treat her like that and not expect her to go public with what she knows." And at the time she didn't.

However former Christie Port Authority appointee, David Wildstein felt no such loyalty and publicly claimed that the Governor knew about the bridge closings, and that his administration had orchestrated them.

Further more Wildstein said he is willing to tell all to the investigators if they will grant him immunity.

Bridget Kelly on the other hand has remained quiet and has refused to cooperate.

And then this report was released.

This was the statement released yesterday by Bridget Kelly's lawyer: 

Having reviewed the report of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, as well as listened to the comments of Randy Mastro, Esq., we note that by Mr. Mastro’s own admission, he did not have access to all information. Of course, without reviewing all pertinent evidence, any conclusions that are to be drawn are by definition incomplete. The report’s venomous, gratuitous, and inappropriate sexist remarks concerning Ms. Kelly have no place in what is alleged to be a professional and independent report. 

There appear to be two distinct versions of the George Washington Bridge lane closings. On the one hand, Mr. Wildstein, through his counsel, has taken one clear position. On the other hand, Mr. Mastro has staked a different view. Thus, Ms. Kelly’s evidence could be critical to verifying either of the two competing versions of events. A preemptive strike to isolate Ms. Kelly and impugn her credibility is not surprising. Despite Mr. Mastro’s editorialized comments to the contrary, Ms. Kelly is not a liar. She is a single mother of four children who was deeply devoted and committed to her job at the Office of the Governor. She worked tirelessly to pursue the goals of the Office during her tenure. 

The only credible investigation into the lane closings is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. If Ms. Kelly were provided with the appropriate procedural safeguards, she will be fully cooperative and provide truthful and complete answers to any questions asked of her by the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Okay now here is where I am a little confused. 

If Christie had thrown Kelly to the curb initially, and she had remained loyal and refused to help the investigators go after Christie, what in the world would make him slander her a second time, this time about her personal life?

I mean does he REALLY think she has nothing to offer the the U.S. Attorney's office that would help them prove that Christie knew about the bridge closings? Or is he such an arrogant prick that he thinks he can simply treat her like some one night stand doing the walk of shame at three o'clock in the morning and she will continue to cover for his fat ass?


Because I think that now he is well and truly FUBAR'D.

And it could not happen to a more deserving pile of shit.

Former Port Authority official, and Chris Christie appointee, says that Governor knew all about the George Washington bridge closings as they were happening.

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening, and that he had the evidence to prove it. 

In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as “the Christie administration’s order” and said “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference” three weeks ago. 

“Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some,” the letter added. 

The letter marked the first signal that Mr. Christie may have been aware of the closings, something he repeatedly denied during thenews conference.

Many of you may remember that Wildstein has been asking for immunity since his appearance before the state assembly panel back in January which convinced me then that he had incriminating evidence to share.

With this revelation, if it is actually supported by evidence in Wildstein's possession, I think the end of Chris Christie's political career is a given.

Hoboken Mayor claims that Chris Christie held Sandy relief funds hostage to pressure her to sign on to a development deal. And the hits keep on coming!

Chris Christie with Mayor Zimmer in the background.

Courtesy of Mediaite: 

Last weekend, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer (D-NJ) told WNYC that the unfolding Bridgegate scandal made her wonder if Governor Chris Christie’s administration had denied her city Hurricane Sandy relief funds as payback for her refusal to endorse Christie’s reelection. On Saturday morning’s Up with Steve Kornacki, Mayor Zimmer revealed that Christie Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno explicitly connected Hoboken’s Sandy relief to a different motive. 

In the days following Hurricane Sandy, Hoboken was one of those places that made it into every network’s video package of hard-hit areas, as thousands of people remained trapped by flood waters for days. Since then, Governor Christie waged, and won, a hard-fought battle to secure federal relief for the state, but in light of the Bridgegate revelations, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer wondered if her city was shortchanged when it came time to dole out those dollars simply because she wished to remain neutral in the gubernatorial election. Now, she says the motive was a redevelopment deal, and the payback scheme was much more explicit. 

In his opening segment, Kornacki ran down a complicated history of area politics, but the nuts of the story are that the Christie administration was pushing hard for a development project that Mayor Zimmer and the Hoboken planning board had slowed down, and after almost all of the city’s Hurricane Sandy relief requests were denied, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno told Mayor Zimmer that in order to get the Sandy relief funds flowing, she needed to move the development project along. 

According to an entry in Zimmer’s personal diary, Guadagno pulled her aside after a political event in Hoboken, “and says I need to move ahead with the Rockefeller project. The word is you’re against it and you need to move it forward or we’re not going to be able to help you. I know it’s not right. These things should not be connected but they are. If you tell anyone I said that, I will deny it.”

It should be noted that Mayor Zimmer was considered a "Christie Democrat." In other words she was a political ally, and one who could be relied on to work in a non-partisan manner with him in the past.

So for her to WRITE IN HER DIARY that she was troubled and upset about what was taking place, is huge.

Because unless the Christie camp really wants to suggest that this former friend of the administration foresaw this crisis and made a diary entry so as to help with the piling on, it would seem to indicate a truthful account of an administration that bullied those who interfered with their agenda, and even withheld humanitarian aide from its constituents, as a form of punishment.

You know I think it took fewer hits to bring down Godzilla than Christie is getting nailed with right about now.

Subpoenas issued in closing of George Washington Bridge scandal show the noose is tightening around Chris Christie.

Courtesy of New Jersey.com:

 The list of high-level Port Authority and Christie administration officials who received subpoenas from newly formed state Assembly panel investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal includes the governor's incoming chief of staff and his communications director, according to two sources close to the investigation. 

A total of 17 people and three organizations must produce records to Assembly's investigative committee. They include Regina Egea, Christie's incoming chief of staff; Christie's communications Director Maria Comella; Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye; Deputy Director Bill Baroni; and GOP Party fundraiser Nicole Davidman Drewniak, who is married to Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak, according to the sources who requested anonymity because they were not permitted to release the information publicly. 

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), chairman of the Assembly committee, said the subpoenas seek documents from the recipients, but subpoenas for testimony will follow. Wisniewski declined to confirm who received the first round of subpoenas. 

On Thursday night, The Star-Ledger reported subpoenas were sent to Kevin O’Dowd, Christie’s pick to serve as the state’s new Attorney General; Bridget Anne Kelly, the former deputy chief of staff for the governor who has been one of the key names in the investigation; Bill Stepien, Christie’s former campaign manager; Charles McKenna, the governor’s former chief counsel; Michael Drewniak, Christie’s spokesman.

Now if all of that did not cause Christie's sphincter to close up enough, learning that one of the main players behind the bridge closing is seeking immunity before spilling his guts should slam it shut for good.

Also from New Jersey.com:  

The former appointee of Gov. Chris Christie who directed lane closures that backed up traffic for hours in one New Jersey town is reiterating that he is ready to share more information if he can be granted immunity from prosecution. 

Look I know that Christie is a slick politician, but he is going to really have to smear some serious pig grease around his chubby ass in order to wriggle out of this one.

Another thing that I remember thinking the very first time that I heard about this scandal, and then forgot about later, is that the entire excuse of the closures being the result of a traffic study simply does not hold water.

This from Network World:

 The explanation that New Jersey closed access lanes on the heavily traveled George Washington Bridge for a "traffic study" is a head scratcher for traffic engineers. 

Engineers today use so-called microscopic traffic simulations to create virtual environments that can model driver behavior to road changes with exacting detail. 

There's plenty of data available for the simulations. One of the best sources are video camera systems that use software to count vehicles on roadways. 

The simulation software can model the impact of road changes with precision and without any need to close lanes to test theories, according to several traffic engineers interviewed by Computerworld. 

There is no evidence, in documents released late last week by investigators, that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey considered computer models in lieu of a real world action. 

I have to imagine that the New Jersey investigators have already dismissed this ridiculous excuse, and therefore view as highly suspicious that Christie continued to cling to it like a drowning man trying to stay afloat in a sea of pointed questions and skepticism. 

Like I said, the noose tightens.

Rush Limbaugh attacks Bruce Springsteen for performing parody directed at Chris Christie.

Chris Christie with Springsteen tickets.

So as many of you know Springsteen and Jimmy Fallon performed a new version of "Born to Run" in which they made reference to the George Washington Bridge closing.

At the time I wrote that it would probably really hit Christie where he lived because he is a HUGE fan of Springsteen. And since Christie has not yet spoken about the parody I think I was probably right.

However that has not stopped Rush Limbaugh from coming to Christie's defense.

Limbaugh brings up the fact that during the President's visit to New Jersey after Super storm Sandy that Obama facilitated a phone call between Christie and "The Boss" and insinuating that somehow Christie was set up.  

RUSH: There's no question that's painful. The nerve of Springsteen! Governor Christie has attended over 127 Springsteen concerts. Governor Christie loves this guy. It's 127 different concerts he's attended, and he's mocked, he's made fun of. He can't be a real fan because he's a Republican. 

You can only be a real fan and friend to somebody like Springsteen if you're a Democrat, and even then for only as long as they can use you. But if you are a Republican? You are only a friend of a Democrat for as long as they can use you, and why this isn't seen by people is beyond me. I think Springsteen has to know, because Christie was public with it. Christie... In fact, not only did Christie have no compunction telling people this, he was proud to tell people that he talked to Springsteen! He cried because he had the chance to talk to Springsteen. Now, think about that however you wish, but the fact is, it was a big deal to Christie. It's a big deal that Springsteen and he are both Jersey guys. 

It was a big deal that Obama got Springsteen on the phone from Air Force One. 

Christie's thinking, "Man, this is great! We're all working together and we're gonna fix this problem. We're gonna fix New Jersey back up," and this thing comes, and Christie has publicly said he didn't have anything to do with it. He's apologized, he's done all the right things -- and here is the guy who brought him to tears by talking to him, making fun of him on a late-night comedy show. That is really... 

You talk about a low-rent character?

"Low rent character?" Bruce Springsteen?

Yeah Limbaugh wishes he could afford to pay rent on Bruce Springsteen.

You know Springsteen is a very, very powerful man within the entertainment world. So the idea that he was manipulated by the "Left" to hurt Christie's feelings is ridiculous.

However the Boss is also somebody who genuinely feels for the working man, he doesn't just pander to them in order to get elected. (Like SOME PEOPLE we know.)

Therefore I have to imagine that the way Fallon got Bruce Springsteen to join him in that song was simply to ask him. And that Springsteen, who has never reciprocated Christie's admiration, jumped at the opportunity.

So if it hurt Chris Christie's feelings to have his bullshit called out on national television by his idol, then he can come clean, apologize to his constituents, and volunteer to step aside if the people of New Jersey want that from him.

THAT might actually earn Springsteen's respect.

Rachel Maddow Show tops ratings among key demographic last week. The reason? Bridge-ghazi, bridge-ghazi, bridge-ghazi!

Courtesy of Newser:  

MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” has delivered a rare victory over Fox News in the ratings: Maddow’s program won its timeslot in the key A25-54 demographic for the week of January 6. 

“The Rachel Maddow Show” averaged 325,000 A25-54 viewers for the week, topping Fox News’ “The Kelly File,” which drew 305,000, and “Piers Morgan Tonight,” which had 159,000. It was MSNBC’s best 9pmET performance since the week of the Boston Marathon bombing (4/15/13). 

MSNBC’s coverage of the Chris Christie bridge scandal propelled MSNBC to#1 in the primetime demo on both Thursday and Friday of last week. Maddow won the 9pmET timeslot among younger viewers both nights.

I think Maddow did incredibly important work on this scandal last week, as did many of her fellow MSNBC hosts (Chris Hayes especially.) and she clearly deserved to come out on top in the ratings.

Especially since the usual  ratings heavyweight, Fox News, either acted as if there were no scandal, or disingenuously tried to obfuscate by bringing up fake Obama "scandals."

Rachel is, as you all know, my go to news source when I am trying to make sense out of breaking stories, and I ma rarely disappointed by her incredibly well researched reporting.

My hope is that this trend continues and that in the months to come we will find Fox struggling to retake this time slot while also losing ground in many others.

The Republican talking points on Bridge-gate revealed. Update!

This video is dead on, and if you watched the Sunday shows yesterday I certainly don't have to tell you that.

From Reince Prebus on Meet the Press, to various other GOP mouthpieces, the name of the game was to exalt Christie for manning up and giving that 107 minute press conference, suggesting that President Obama had worse scandals, and attempt to change the narrative from Bridge-ghazi back to Benghazi.

I wonder if they realize that having so many operatives, spouting the exact same talking points, makes it child's play to see how terrified they are that this scandal will stick and take their golden boy out of the running in 2016?

Cause it kinda does.

Update: Newly revealed documents seem to indicate that Christie's inner circle were WELL aware of bridge-gate before, during, and after: 

Thousands of pages of documents released this week by a legislative panel investigating the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge show members of Gov. Chris Christie's inner circle were well-informed about the apparently politically motivated traffic jams the governor said took him by surprise. 

When an executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey angrily asserted the lane closures were a threat to public safety - and possibly illegal - the email ended up in the hands of a close Christie adviser that he had planned to promote. 

When a reporter demanded answers about the huge traffic jams, a high-ranking port authority official appointed by Christie didn't refer it to his agency's media relations staff. He ordered it sent to the governor's press secretary. 

And when the lanes were reopened at last, another authority staffer emailed the governor's now-fired deputy chief of staff to say Christie's hand-picked agency chairman was helping to "retaliate" against the official who stopped the closures. 

The revelations about how much Christie's close aides knew about the closures could undermine the governor's attempts to distance himself from the scandal that threatens to overshadow his inauguration later this month and upend his possible candidacy for president in 2016.

And if that were not enough, now Christie is being investigated concerning how he spent that Sandy relief money:   

CNN has learned that federal officials are investigating whether Christie improperly used those relief funds to produce tourism ads that starred him and his family.

If the Sandy inquiry finds any wrongdoing, it could prove even more damaging to Christie's national ambitions. His performance during and after the superstorm has been widely praised and is a fundamental part of his straight-shooting political brand.

Damn, I wonder how much longer it will be before buzzards start circling Christie's political career?

Chris Christie's cover story is blown.

This courtesy of the Daily Beast:  

The thousands of documents released Friday show that Port Authority official David Wildstein went to great lengths to create a cover story. 

Wildstein and the top aide to Gov. Chris Christie who set him in motion might actually have been able to pass it all off as a traffic study rather than unconscionable political payback. 

Wildstein gave the supposed test the official sounding name “TL24.” He even put together a PowerPoint presentation complete with photos and charts. The title page read: 

“Reallocation of Toll Lanes at the GWB. 

An EARLY Assessment of the Benefits of the Trials. 

September 12, 2013.” 

The results were summarized as: 

“TBD” 

Meaning “to be determined,” which is a pretty good description of how it will play out with regard to Christie’s political future. 

The latest documents make the four days of closings seem all the more reckless and reprehensible. Various emails from three days before the closings show that Port Authority supervisors were surprised and alarmed by the plan to close two of the three toll booths that service the Fort Lee entrance. 

“A single toll lane operation invites potential disaster,” wrote Jerry Quealch of Port Authority planning and operations. “It seems like we will be punishing all for the sake of a few.”

He added at the bottom, “Very confused.” 

In another email, a puzzled Port Authority supervisor named Daniel Jacobs asked, “What is driving this?” 

A Port Authority Police email indicates that Wildstein was personally on hand to witness the effect when the toll booths in question were closed on Sept. 9, not by accident the first day of school. He was undeterred by reports that the resulting traffic was impeding the Fort Lee police and paramedics from responding to emergencies.

The closings continued for three more days until the executive director,  Patrick Foye, stepped in to reopen them.

Of course NONE of this cover story makes any sense, in that even a complete moron could recognize that closing several lanes of traffic on the busiest bridge in the world would cause huge problems.

However Wildstein pushed forward with that excuse, and even reached out for help in constructing the story.

Emails show that Wildstein sought and received the counsel of Christie’s press secretary, Michael Drewniak. 

“Need to talk to you soon, in person,” Wildstein wrote on Dec. 3. 

The two met the following evening. 

“Thanks again for all your sound advice last night,” Wildstein emailed him on Dec. 5. 

“Thanks for a great dinner,” Drewniak replied. 

Drewniak can insist, as does his boss the governor, that at that point he still believed the closing was part of a traffic study.

However to do so would be almost an admission of guilt as that story was already coming apart at the seams after this e-mail exchange was made public.

“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Kelly wrote on Aug. 13.

“Got it,” Wildstein replied just a minute later.

Openly identifying it as causing "traffic problems" and demonstrating the kind of shorthand that indicates that they had worked together on the planning stages, makes it impossible for this to be seen as anything legitimate.

And the possibility that these two cooked this up without direction from the Governor, who is accused of running his organization like a "paramilitary operation," is simply too ridiculous to take seriously.

By the way it is also worth noting that apparently the Port Authority police officers were apparently directed to blame the bridge closing on the Mayor of Fort Lee:

 In a letter to a Port Authority executive on Sept. 12, Fort Lee, N.J. Mayor Mark Sokolich complained that the agency's police officers were telling commuters that the George Washington Bridge lane closings were his fault. 

"[M]any members of the public have indicated to me that the Port Authority Police Officers are advising commuters in response to their complaints that this recent traffic debacle is the result of a decision that I, as the Mayor, recently made," Sokolich wrote to Bill Baroni, who was the deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey until he resigned last month.

Are we really to believe that they came up with that all by themselves?

No, I think that we all need to brace ourselves for the seismic shock that is about to occur after Chris Chirstie's political career finally falls from the skies and crashes down to earth. It's going to be a BIG one.

Fox and Friends host upset that real life Chris Christie scandal is interfering with news coverage of their over inflated Obama "scandal."

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

Fox News host Steve Doocy on Thursday lamented the fact that the media was covering leaked emails that proved New Jersey Chris Christie’s (R) administration closed part of the busiest bridge in the world as political retribution instead of criticizing President Barack Obama. 

Fox & Friends spent the first five minutes of their 7 a.m. ET hour reminding viewers that former Defense Secretary Robert Gates had written a book that had been hyped by The Washington Post‘s Bob Woodward as offering “a harsh critique of Obama.” 

For the third day in a row, the Fox News hosts asserted that the book meant that the president did not trust or support the U.S. military, although people who have actually read the book say that conservatives have mischaracterized Gates’ comments. 

But the Gates story was moved to the back burner on Wednesday, when emails emerged suggesting Christie’s office ordered George Washington Bridge as lane closures last year political retribution against Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and most of the media — with the exception of Fox News — focused on the scandal. 

“Imagine the commander and chief claiming he supports you, but not your mission,” Fox News host Elisabeth Hasselbeck charged on Thursday. “To hear any of that coming forward in this book is just shocking!” 

“Yeah,” Doocy agreed. “And I was watching one news channel yesterday, you would think that this would be a big story… all about the bridge thing… with Christie.”

Don't you just hate it when your carefully crafted attack against the President is overwhelmed by news of a real scandal that  centers around a politician that your network is touting as the next GOP presidential hopeful?

Man that must blow.

Somebody the other day labeled the Christie scandal as "Bridgeghazi." I wonder if we keep calling it that that it will finally attract the attention of Fox News?

Yeah, probably not.

By the way for those of us who are interested in the REAL scandal that broke this week, here is Rachel Maddow's fascinating hypothesis as to the real reason Christie's operatives closed down the George Washington Bridge. 

"The Governor runs a paramilitary organization." This was the video clip of the day.

Courtesy of the You Tube page:  

Appearing on MSNBC to react to a nearly two hour long press conference on Thursday from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addressing the controversy surrounding the closure of two lands (sic) of the George Washington Bridge last year, Christie's former Democratic gubernatorial opponent Barbara Buono told Andrea Mitchell that she does not believe the governor is sincere when she says that he had known knowledge of the scandal before it broke in the news. She added that the governor runs a "paramilitary organization." 

"When this first surfaced back in September, I was convinced that Christie was directing it," Buono charged. "You get to know how he operates. He runs a paramilitary organization, very strict discipline." 

"People don't sneeze or go to the bathroom without asking Christie's permission," she continued. Buono added that it "strains credulity" to think Christie was not involved in an attempt to punish the mayor of Fort Lee with increased bridge traffic.

I realize that Buono is Christie's political adversary, but I thought her description of his organization, and her inability to believe that he was out of the loop on Bridge-gate, was dead on.

I will predict that since David Wildstein pleaded the fifth this morning during questioning that Bridget Kelly, his former Deputy Chief of Staff will follow suit.

If that does indeed happen I predict that Christie could find himself facing impeachment proceedings and that nationally he will be considered radioactive.

Already newspapers around the country are gleefully writing his political obituary.