Fired Chris Christie Aide Slams New Report: ‘Venomous, Gratuitous and Inappropriate’

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

A day after the release of a new report that sought to clear New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of any wrongdoing in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, one of the key figures who the report largely blames for the episode fired back.

Lawyers for Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, called the report, done by a firm hired by Christie, incomplete, slammed its tone as “venomous,” and its commentary as”sexist.”

..............

There “appear to be two distinct versions” of what happened at the bridge — Christie’s and one told by former Port Authority official David Wildstein, Critchley said. Kelly, he added, could set the record straight, so “a pre-emptive strike to isolate Ms. Kelly and impugn her credibility is not surprising.”

But the report lays the blame for the idea, execution and the days’ worth of crippling traffic the lane closures caused squarely on Kelly and Wildstein, a Christie appointee to the agency that runs the George Washington Bridge and other transit links between New Jersey and New York.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/03/fired-chris-christie-aide-slams-new-report-venomous-gratuitous-and-inappropriate/

---

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Sing, Bridget, sing.

This should be worth hearing.

[barbtries]

2. all she's waiting for is immunity.

personally i'm ready for her to have it. my theory has always been that christie dreamed up this CF and left it to his minions to carry out. he is definitely that vindictive and slimy.

[Johnyawl]

4. One of his lackeys may have come up with the idea...

...but you know absolutely that Christie approved it. Does Christie strike anyone as the sort of boss who would inspire his minions to strike out on thier own, do something like this without prior approval? Not on your life. Besides which the little suck-ups would want the Big Boss to know who did this for him.

[calimary]

10. It was TOTALLY inspired by him. He set the tone of that band of thugs. As the chief thug.

Indeed, the Thug-in-Chief - shit, can you imagine if that schmuck got into the White House? Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. He literally would be the Thug-in-Chief. And we'd be back to swaggering around the globe with a big stick and big armies and troop movements and aggression everywhere.

So if he's in-yer-face and cocky as hell and leaning on people to do his bidding or else, what ELSE are his top aides going to think? He ABSOLUTELY set the tone for this kind of ham-handed look-at-me-I'm-Don-Corleone crap, with his senior staffers talking about retaliation and targeting other pols to make sure they bend the way they're supposed to, and he/she isn't "playing ball", and "they're playing in traffic" - how else would they get the clear message "that's how we do business around here, pal"? How else would they get that message - if that's not the environment of the Governor's office? If that's not the tone that's set, if that's not the climate in which they operate? How else? Michael Dukakis once talked about how "the fish rots from the head." Well, biologically I'm not sure that's completely true, but politically it sure is.

If you're a leader or a boss, you gather the people around you who think like you and operate like you. Because you want 'em doing what YOU want, the way YOU want it. You want them reflecting your "style of leadership." If you're cold-hearted and calculating and arrogant and power-hungry, you're gonna have your people constantly reinforcing and reflecting that, having your back, and taking your lead. Your own personal little version of WWJD.

The christie administration is a textbook example. They did that stuff because that's the kind of shit HE wanted and expected them to do. Clearly, and as certainly as the sun rising in the east every morning.

[Babel_17]

12. She might now be willing to go all out in her proffer

A smart investigator can usually tell when someone is holding back in trying to get an immunity deal. The investigator might even allow it, if enough red meat is offered up. Kelly might now be telling her lawyer that she is willing to let the chips fall where they may and tell all.

Btw, I see a possible additional motive for Christie's lawyers with their slut shaming. They might suspect that a Kelly deal was coming and they waned to lay the ground for that to be framed as her being all "hell hath no fury as a woman scorned".

[Sienna86]

14. I think you're right. nt

[charmay]

3. Christy knows she's going to sing.

That's why his so called "investigation" is speculating about Kelly's love life. I guess that a woman scorned will cause traffic problems. Laughable.

[Botany]

5. Not the right move to piss off the person who can sink you w/ their testimony

Ms. Kelly's desk was right next to Christie's office so there is no way
in hell that the Governor did not know about the shut down.



And Team Christie wants Kelly to take the fall ..... good luck w/ that.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/03/gwb_scandal_internal_report_bridget_kelly_the_only_christie_staffer_who_closed_lanes.html

"Bridge scandal internal report says Bridget Kelly was only Christie staffer to close lanes"

[olegramps]

6. Christie' so-called press conference revealed he is an arrogant asshole.

I have disliked that bastard from the very beginning. Nothing more than an opportunistic, arrogant slob. His brown nosing up to Obama was nothing more than a Machiavellian ploy to appeal to Democrats. He personifies the Jersey mob mentality that dominates the state's politics.

[groundloop]

7. Christie's catching heat for this, how much other shit has he pulled that he got away with?

We've heard about hurricane relief money that he diverted (the press seems to have forgotten about that), but the media hasn't reported on much else. You KNOW damned good and well that Governor Soprano has been pulling this sort of crap for years since it's his standard management style, I wonder if any of his previous exploits will ever come out.

[VA_Jill]

8. I have the distinct feeling

that when Bridget Anne Kelly gets through with the Gov., Mrs. Christie may not even recognize him. As my Native American friend used to say on the rare occasion when he got really riled up, "You just picked on the wrong damn Indian!"

[mountain grammy]

9. It comes down to this; is there enough money in the world to buy her silence??

[Beacool]

11. Hey Big Boy, being a bully and a sexist one at that, is no way to go through life.

[Sienna86]

13. An attempt to discredit a witness

And one who may serve Christie up on a platter.

[UTUSN]

15. R#22 & K for, come on, Bridget, TESTIFY!1 n/t

[Skittles]

16. redeem yourself, Ms. Kelly

come clean and bring that lying bastard down

[undiegrinder]

17. I can't help wondering ...

Dirty politics are hardly new and have apparently grown so prevalent that there MUST be "rules" or protocols, whether spoken or implied, which are unknown to the unwashed masses (sniff, sniff -- ewwww, like me) because the only political machine with which we're even vaguely familiar is in a voting booth.

I mean, when some poobah like Christie IS involved in less-than-legal dealings like Bridgegate, he and everyone else involved MUST be aware that there could be some pretty severe repercussions for all involved (including possible jail time) if those dealings are ever exposed.

So wouldn't they have in place some sort of understanding or "agreement among thieves" about being caught? I mean, they MUST at some point talk about potential concequences, right ?

Specifically, I'm wondering if there's a rule of thumb -- like, maybe loyal underlings are expected to take the fall for their exalted leader, perhaps even accepting more than their share of the blame, both out of gratitude for pay and perks already received plus the understanding that the Boss will move heaven and earth to minimize their punishment?

(Please go easy if this is a dumb question -- it's only been a year since I sought recovery through Naive Anonymous.)

[Skittles]

18. I think they get drunk on their own power

and lose the sense they could ever suffer any real repercussions