Looks Like Someone’s in Trouble

Acting Governor Kim Guadagno, who is filling in while Gov. Chris Christie is out-of-state, tells a gathering in Trenton, N.J., Thursday, July, 12, 2012, that she sent a letter to President Obama requesting federal di... Acting Governor Kim Guadagno, who is filling in while Gov. Chris Christie is out-of-state, tells a gathering in Trenton, N.J., Thursday, July, 12, 2012, that she sent a letter to President Obama requesting federal disaster aid for three southern New Jersey counties hit hard by weekend thunderstorms. Atlantic, Cumberland and Salem counties were battered by a line of severe thunderstorms Saturday night which downed trees, power lines and poles, sparked fires and destroyed some homes. Two people were killed when a tree fell on their tent in a Salem County state park. Others were evacuated, and 192,000 customers lost power, some for days. (AP Photo/Mel Evans) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

According to a piece out in tomorrow’s Times, the feds are moving rapidly to investigate the charges leveled by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer. And they appear to have found witnesses who recall Zimmer describing the threats at the time they were made …

Federal authorities in New Jersey have interviewed several witnesses who said the mayor of Hoboken told them in May about a state official’s threat to withhold hurricane recovery funds if the mayor did not support a development project favored by the governor, people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday.

The statements by the witnesses, two of whom are aides to the mayor, Dawn Zimmer, support the account she gave to federal prosecutors on Sunday, and the interviews suggest that prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have moved swiftly to investigate her accusations.

What’s notable about this new story is that it ties directly, in person, to the state’s Lt. Governor, Kim Guadagno. Whatever we may speculate about Christie’s knowledge of the bridge closure, there’s no direct evidence tying him to the action or proving he knew about it. This is very different.

Of course, Guadagno denies the charges. Here’s Brian Murphy’s run-down of Zimmer’s claim.

Latest Editors' Blog
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: