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 The remarks by Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who co-leads the
probe, came two days after a former Christie appointee at the agency
overseeing the bridge who personally oversaw the lane closures said
"evidence exists" that Christie had knowledge of the blockage when
it happened.
If such evidence does exist, a state panel investigating the
closures has not yet seen it, Wisniewski said.
Separately on Sunday, Christie's director of intergovernmental
affairs, Christina Renna, resigned.
Renna's lawyer, Henry E. Klingeman, confirmed to Reuters that she
had resigned, effective January 31.
Klingeman also said that Renna was among several top aides who have
until Monday to respond to subpoenas in the scandal.
However, in a statement provided by Klingeman, Renna said she had
been considering leaving since shortly after Christie's re-election
last fall.
"I have spent almost four years working hard for a Governor I
continue to respect and admire," Renna said in the statement. "The
transition from term one to term two is a natural time to pursue an
opportunity in the private sector."
Christie, who is considered a leading Republican candidate for the
White House in 2016, has repeatedly denied any knowledge of a plan
to snarl traffic last September in Fort Lee, New Jersey, near the
busy George Washington Bridge that connects New Jersey and New York
City and severed ties with several top aides over their role in the
incident.
Christie has been dogged by scandal for more than a month since it
emerged that several of his top aides and appointees called for lane
closures leading to the busiest bridge in the United States,
apparently as retribution against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee
for not endorsing the governor's re-election campaign.
Christie has repeatedly denied having any knowledge of the scheme
and dismissed two of his top aides for their roles in it. Still, the
scandal has hurt his image and recent polls show him losing ground
as a potential presidential contender.
"A CURIOUS CHOICE OF WORDS"
David Wildstein, the Christie appointee at the agency overseeing the
bridge who personally oversaw the lane closures, on Friday made the
claim that "evidence exists" of Christie's knowledge of the
blockage.
"We don't really know what the evidence is," Wisniewski told NBC's
"Meet the Press." "He (Wildstein) submitted over 900 pages of
documents in response to the subpoena. Apparently what he's talking
about must be something other than what he submitted."
Wildstein resigned from the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey late last year amid the growing probe.
Wisniewski also said he was unclear from Wildstein's choice of words
that Christie was aware of the closures.
"The use of the words 'evidence exists,' as opposed to saying, 'I
have documents,' or, 'I have an email,' it's a curious choice of
words," Wisniewski said. "Maybe this is something else that is not
within the scope of the subpoena the committee issued. So it raises
questions about what does he have and why doesn't the committee have
it?"
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The legislator said that no evidence exists linking Christie to the
decision to close the lanes, nor was there indication he knew about
the plan as it happened.
The closures caused four days of headaches for commuters around Fort
Lee, at the New Jersey side of the bridge. It also slowed school
buses and emergency vehicles.
Colin Reed, a spokesman for the governor, did not comment directly
on Wisniewski's comments, but reasserted Christie's stance that he
had no knowledge of the lane closures.
Wildstein's attorney did not respond to Reuters request for comment.
Meanwhile, the investigation of who else might have been involved in
the bridge lane closures was continuing, with nearly two dozen
subpoenas issued to New Jersey officials, many of them in Christie's
inner circle.
"As early as tomorrow (Monday), we hope to be starting to get
responses to the subpoenas," Wisniewski said.
The state probes are running parallel to an investigation announced
last month by the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, Paul Fishman.
As Sunday's Super Bowl put New Jersey in the national spotlight, the
Democratic National Committee launched an online video ad comparing
Christie to a struggling football player.
"They say he's unstoppable ... unless he chokes," the ad intones,
juxtaposing football images with video clips of news coverage of
Christie, before and after the scandal broke. "It's just the first
quarter. It's going to be a long game."
The scandal has tarnished Christie's reputation as a politician
ready to reach across the aisle at a time when partisan gridlock has
defined Washington.
It has also impacted his approval ratings. Support for the governor,
which soared over his handling of Superstorm Sandy in 2012, has
fallen almost 20 points since his landslide re-election in November,
according to a Rutgers-Eagleton Poll released last month. Christie's
approval rating among New Jersey voters, at 65 percent just before
he was re-elected last year, slid to 46 percent, the poll indicated.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; additional reporting by David
Jones in Newark, New Jersey; additional writing by Sharon Bernstein;
editing by Scott Malone, Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler)
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