Could a Text Message Implicate Chris Christie in Bridgegate?

As Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) told reporters in December 2013 that he and his senior aides had no knowledge of the scandal known as Bridgegate, one of his aides sent a text message to a colleague: “Are you listening?” Christina Renna, Christie’s director of intergovernmental affairs, asked Peter Sheridan, a staffer for Christie’s re-election campaign at the time. “He just flat out lied,” continued Renna.

The messages were part of a document from a court filing in United States District Court in Newark on Wednesday. The filing comes on behalf of Bill Baroni, a top Christie appointee for the Port Authority, and Bidget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to Christie. A trial is set for next month, when both Baroni and Kelly will testify, along with Renna, the aide who sent the text messages.

What is Bridgegate? In the fall of 2013, two lanes on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge–a major thoroughfare connecting New York City with New Jersey and the most trafficked bridge in the world–mysteriously closed down. Commuters were furious–and flummoxed–at the blocked lanes. At the time, the Port Authority said the lanes were closed for a traffic study. But skeptics, including Democrats and the media, saw a deeper ruse at hand.

.@ChrisChristie denies the claim that he ‘flat out lied’ about Bridgegate https://t.co/dBd9DffDG5 https://t.co/3JJtP2UYXP

— POLITICO (@politico) August 10, 2016

Around the time of the lane closings, the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, refused to endorse Christie in his re-election bid. Communications between Christie’s staff and the Port Authority revealed the “traffic study” to be a smokescreen in order to punish Fort Lee, the town directly connected to the New Jersey side of the bridge. There has been no evidence to directly link Christie or any of his senior staff.

“I absolutely dispute it,” Christie told reporters on Wednesday after they asked him about the allegation made in the text exchange between his two aides. “It’s ridiculous. It’s nothing new. There’s nothing new to talk about.”

But if Renna’s text messages are to be believed, there could be more to Christie’s–or his aides’–involvement in Bridgegate than meets the eye.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.