Christie repeats: No role in closures

Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J.

Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he may have heard about congestion on the George Washington Bridge last fall but it didn’t register as anything more than regular traffic jams because he wasn’t aware his aides had ordered lanes blocked, apparently for political retribution.

Christie also acknowledged during an hourlong radio call-in program that his office has been subpoenaed by federal law- enforcement officials conducting a criminal investigation into the bridge scandal. Christie said his office would comply fully with the documents request.

The Republican governor and possible 2016 presidential candidate fielded questions for the first time in three weeks about a scandal that has engulfed his administration and threatened to upend any political ambitions.

Christie, 51, reiterated during the radio show that he did not know about the planning or execution of the lane closings near the bridge in Fort Lee. He disputed the account of a former loyalist, who said Friday there was evidence the governor knew about the closings while they were happening over four days in September, which is earlier than Christie has acknowledged.

Christie said an email from Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency that runs the bridge, made him realize the traffic gridlock may not have been routine. That email was forwarded to a top Christie aide Sept. 13, the day Foye ordered the lanes reopened.