The filing by Bill Baroni, a former top official at the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, contains snippets of text messages by New Jersey offiicals at the time that appear directly to contradict Mr Christie’s assertion a nationally broadcast press conference in December 2015 that no one among his senior staff were aware of the situation. “He just flat out lied”.
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Ms. Renna: “Yes. But he lied”. Governor Chris Christie has also not been charged with any crimes.
Christie disputed Renna’s assertion after a radio appearance in NY.
“I absolutely dispute it”, he said. “It’s ridiculous. It’s nothing new. That’s it, there’s nothing new to talk about”.
Christie on Wednesday denied any truth to the content of the texts.
A transcript of the text is contained in court filings submitted late Tuesday by attorneys representing Bill Baroni, who faces trial in federal court next month with Christie’s ex-deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly.
Baroni’s attorneys pointed to the text messages, which would be in federal prosecutors’ possession, to argue that he’s being unfairly singled out despite evidence like Renna’s text messages that others were involved in the lane closures.
Renna’s attorney, Henry Klingeman, said Wednesday his client “will answer questions publicly when she testifies at the upcoming trial, not before”.
Christie has long maintained that he had no involvement in the scandal and that he has been truthful in his public statements.
Speaking to reporters in NY after appearing on a sports talk radio show Wednesday morning, Christie denied the claim that he lied. (And as we have seen in the past, Christie is one to jump the gun if he gets irritated.) Christie and members of his office have continually denied of having any involvement in the controversy, but new court documents have revealed otherwise.
Christie claimed he had already cleared the issue campaign manager Bill Stepian, who lost his boss’s confidence for several reasons including a romantic relationship with Kelly, his eventual replacement.
Stepien’s lawyer, Kevin Marino, said that the government has been in possession of the test messages for years and has not charged Stepien. “I can say with confidence that Bill Stepien was not involved in the Bridgegate affair, and any suggestion that he was is simply false”.
To date, three people have been indicted in the lane closure investigation.
She may have come away the pundits’ victor, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday, Sept. 16, 2015, Carly Fiorina talked too much last night about herself and not enough about the issues.
The governor was then asked about his campaign chief.
Sheridan replied that Christie was doing fine.
In May 2014, Renna testified to lawmakers who were investigating the lane closings. Prosecutors say the gridlock over four mornings was meant to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.
Renna told the panel that the request, on December 12, 2013, was “strange” and “paranoid”. Of the lane closures, Genovese Renna said of Kelly: “I wouldn’t say she was the architect, but I’d say she was instrumental”. He also said the text alleging he lied was sent by Renna when she was not under oath.
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Renna at the time said the ethics violation was a case of “an otherwise innocent conversation between spouses turns one of them into an inadvertent rule-breaker”.
