On Wednesday morning, Christie was in the middle of guest-hosting a four-hour-long shock-jock sports-radio show on WFAN 660AM when the court filings were put on the docket.
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A transcript of the text is contained in court filings submitted late Tuesday night by attorneys representing Bill Baroni, who faces trial next month for allegedly helping to orchestrate the September 2013 lane closure.
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.
Christie cut ties with Stepien in January 2014 after a almost two-hour news conference in which he apologized for the lane closures but denied any knowledge of them or a cover-up.
The text messages were sent between Christie aides Christina Renna and Peter Sheridan during a press conference by the governor in 2013. But after his reportedly tense bromance with Donald Trump and an unrelated (but notable) change of heart on Bruce Springsteen, one of the New Jersey governor’s key blunders while in office is coming back to haunt him. Among the myriad of mishaps that have defined what has come to be known as the “Bridgegate” scandal, this particular exchange reveals that Christie straight-up lied to the media when he said his campaign manager, Bill Stepien, had no knowledge of the incident. Stepien, who led the now-defunct Intergovernmental Affairs unit before Kelly, was sacked by Christie on January 9, after it was revealed Stepien did have knowledge of – but not involvement in – the lane closures.
“Are you listening?” Renna texted, according to the filing.
Christie spokesman Brian Murray said in an email: “The governor’s statements have been clear”.
“I’m listening”, Sheridan replied.
Renna’s lawyer, Henry Klingeman, said in an email only that his client “will answer questions publicly when she testifies at the upcoming trial, not before”. The operation was Stepien’s brainchild, but Kelly took charge after Stepien left to manage Christie’s reelection campaign.
Weeks after it first erupted, Mr Christie apologised for the bridge fiasco, which had vehicle commuters tied up for hours trying to get to their offices in Manhattan as well as other drivers. In real time, before there was a national scandal, she said Christie “flat out lied”.
State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, told nj.com that Renna appeared to have perjured herself in sworn testimony before the Legislature’s investigative committee during an exchange with Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, in December 2013.
Stepien’s lawyer, Kevin Marino, said that the government has been in possession of the test messages for years and has not charged Stepien.
Unsealed email from Bridget Anne Kelly to David Wildstein on August 13, 2013. He was the Port Authority executive who ordered the lane closures near the George Washington Bridge.
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Prosecutors intend to call Renna as a witness, Baldassare wrote. A third Christie appointee, David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government.
