New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D), who has led the assembly’s investigation into the bridge scandal, on Sunday said his committee will look into claims made by Hoboken, N.J. Mayor Dawn Zimmerman that Gov. Chris Christie’s office withheld Sandy relief aid over a real estate development project.
“Mayor Zimmer is a serious voice. She’s a well-respected mayor in New Jersey. I think we have to give the allegations serious thought because it is a pattern that we’ve heard time and time again throughout New Jersey,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “She’s perhaps one of the first mayors to come forward and say this specific thing happened.”
Wisniewsi said that his committee will look into Zimmer’s allegations as part of its overall investigation of the bridge scandal.
When asked if he was biased or was leading the investigation with any pre-conceived notion about Christie’s involvement in the lane closures, Wisniewski said that he has approached the probe in a methodical way, uncovering new documents about the scandal slowly.
“There’s been no rush to judgement,” he said. “We’re looking at the finance and operations at the Port Authority. Somebody closed lanes from Fort Lee during that. We started asking questions about the lane closures and suddenly we’re looking at emails where somebody in the governor’s inner circle sent an email to close those lanes for clearly what are not governmental purposes.”
Wisniewski said he realized that his investigation cannot change New Jersey politics, but he hopes that he may be able to prevent some future corruption.
“New Jersey politics is rough and tumble, and that’s not going to change,” he said. “But abusing power should not be condoned.”
Watch the full interview via NBC:
