Two senior members of Gov. Chris Christie’s administration warned a New Jersey mayor earlier this year that her town would be starved of hurricane relief money unless she approved a lucrative redevelopment plan favored by the governor, according to the mayor and emails and personal notes she shared with MSNBC.
The mayor, Dawn Zimmer, hasn’t approved the project, but she did request $127 million in hurricane relief for her city of Hoboken – 80% of which was underwater after Sandy hit in October 2012. What she got was $142,000 to defray the cost of a single back-up generator plus an additional $200,000 in recovery grants.
In an exclusive interview, Zimmer broke her silence and named Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Richard Constable, Christie’s community affairs commissioner, as the two officials who delivered messages on behalf of a governor she had long supported.
“The bottom line is, it’s not fair for the governor to hold Sandy funds hostage for the City of Hoboken because he wants me to give back to one private developer,” she said Saturday on UP w/ Steve Kornacki. “… I know it’s very complicated for the public to really understand all of this, but I have a legal obligation to follow the law, to bring balanced development to Hoboken.”
This is no longer just about the George Washington Bridge, but about a long pattern of Christie abusing the powers of his office for the last several years. Now that Mayor Zimmer has broken her silence, who else will come forward? Likewise, the bridge investigation is continuing as well, and there's news now that David Wildstein one of the Christie aides at the center of that mess, now wants to tell his story to New Jersey state lawmakers under oath if he's granted immunity.
An attorney for David Wildstein, one of the men at the center of the investigation into last September's lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, said his client has a "story to tell" if granted immunity from state and federal prosecution. Alan Zegas told the Wall Street Journal Friday that Wildstein wants to testify before one of the legislative committees investigating the closures.
"There is a story to tell," Zegas said. "He would be happy to talk about all he knows."
Christie is in a heap of real trouble now, and it's falling apart fast and gaining speed.
For a bunch of folks claiming that the Bible is the literal word of God, they sure do have trouble understanding "Thou shalt not kill."
ReplyDeleteOf course, much of the Old Testament implies that God was kidding about that part... one wonders what other parts of the Bible were practical jokes by the Big Kahuna.