Embattled NJ Governor faces probe over Sandy funds

New State Probe

The Democratic-controlled state Assembly on Monday said it had formed a new special investigative committee with subpoena power to probe the bridge incident, nicknamed "Bridgegate" by local newspapers.

E-mails released last week showed the massive September traffic jam was orchestrated by Christie's staff, apparently as political payback against the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, who did not endorse Christie for re-election.

"The evidence that has come out in recent weeks makes clear that this now goes above and beyond a transportation issue and goes into the highest ranks of the executive branch," said Assemblyman John Wisniewski. "A concerted and focused investigation with increased resources is now needed."

Christie has adamantly denied any knowledge of a scheme to snarl traffic and there is nothing in the e-mails to suggest he had any direct knowledge of the scheme.

The scandal could dent Christie's carefully cultivated image as a get-things-done leader who puts the people ahead of politics - an image enhanced by his easy re-election last year in heavily Democratic New Jersey.

Without proof that Christie lied or knew that an aide was behind the lane-closure plan, Republicans said it is unlikely to be a factor by the time voters in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina begin to weigh in on the presidential race in early 2016.

Other Democratic mayors who declined to endorse Christie said they believe they were punished too. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said in a statement that Christie administration officials began to cancel meetings with him abruptly after he said no.

Christie last week fired a top aide who appeared to have called for the closure of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge. He has denied knowledge of the his aide's role in triggering the four-day incident, which paralyzed Fort Lee, on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River.

News of the Sandy funds audit arrives on the eve of Christie's annual State of the State address in Trenton on Tuesday, which kicks off a second term he won in a landslide.

US Attorney for New Jersey Paul Fishman, whose job Christie held before being elected governor, has opened an investigation of the decision to close the lanes.

Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski said he had referred contempt charges David Wildstein, a former Port Authority employee at the center of the bridge scandal, to county prosecutors after Wildstein declined to answer questions about the scandal during an assembly hearing last week.

The governor also faces a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday by Rosemarie Arnold, a lawyer who charges Fort Lee residents suffered financially from being trapped in traffic.