When Bridget Anne Kelly became infamous for an email linking New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) administration to politically motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, we didn’t know too much about the governor’s deputy chief of staff beyond a now-scrubbed official biography.
But a New York Times story published Tuesday painted a portrait of a fiercely loyal deputy who was more likely to carry out orders than go rogue.
Christie fired Kelly after documents obtained by TPM and other news outlets showed her discussing the lane closures weeks before they occurred with a Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, David Wildstein. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” she wrote.
The governor said at a press conference that he let Kelly go because she “lied to me.” Christie said he asked his staff last year to volunteer any information they had about the lane closures, and his deputy chief of staff didn’t come clean.
But close friends of Kelly, most of whom insisted on remaining anonymous to avoid being involved in the investigation, told the Times that the disgraced aide was fiercely loyal to Christie. One friend said Kelly was the type that “follows the chain of command” rather than acting alone.
“She’s not a cowboy,” the friend told the Times.
Political operatives who knew Kelly in Trenton further described a shift in her manner once she moved up in the State House, and indicated she was close to Bill Stepien, Christie’s longtime confidante and campaign manager who was also axed for his involvement in the bridge scandal.
From the Times:
Several Trenton political operatives said that Ms. Kelly, having paid her dues, became more brusque after being elevated to Mr. Christie’s inner circle. She stopped mingling with lobbyists and other staff members, and, they suggested, she seemed to relish teaming up with Mr. Stepien in administering political payback.
“A lot of these guys lose perspective on reality,” a Republican official said. “I think that’s what happened here.”
New Jersey lawmakers looking into the lane closures are likely going to subpoena Kelly in their investigation. If that happens (and she doesn’t invoke the Fifth Amendment), we may get a better sense of the motivation for the political payback scheme straight from Kelly herself.
