Christie Predicts BridgeGate Will Have Zero Effect On His Political Future

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie answers questions from Bob Schieffer of CBS News at the 2014 Fiscal Summit organized by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in Washington, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Lawmakers and policy exp... New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie answers questions from Bob Schieffer of CBS News at the 2014 Fiscal Summit organized by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in Washington, Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Lawmakers and policy experts discussed America's long term debt and economic future. (AP Photo) MORE LESS
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) was asked Wednesday what effect the George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal will have on his political ambitions.

“I think it will have none, because I didn’t do anything,” Christie said, according to Time magazine.

Christie was speaking to CBS News’ Bob Schieffer during an appearance at the Peterson Foundation Fiscal Summit in Washington, D.C.

The lane closures caused a massive, multi-day traffic jam in September in Fort Lee, N.J., and prompted an investigation by state lawmakers, and eventually one by federal prosecutors. Several of Christie’s closest aides and allies at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have resigned or been fired over their ties to the scandal. But in March, a legal team representing Christie’s office released a report clearing the governor of any role in the plan to close the lanes, and Christie has since then tried to put the issue behind him.

Speaking with an eye toward a potential future presidential run, Christie said Wednesday he thought “this will be a footnote by the time any of these decisions are made.”

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Notable Replies

  1. I’m surprised he didn’t claim that it would HELP him.

  2. He certainly won’t have a clear, smooth glide to the White House as he may have had before this.

  3. If Governor Christie can make a prediction, so will I.

    Republican primary challengers will use BridgeGate against him.

    Rand Paul already did when he said, “I have been in traffic before and I know how angry I am when I’m in traffic and I’ve always wondered, ‘Who did this to me?’”

  4. Avatar for dnl dnl says:

    “I didn’t do anything” …great summation, Christie.

  5. He sure is in a hurry to make this go away and in his favor.

    What’s the rush, Christie?

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