New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) reportedly called New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and instructed him to tell the executive director of the agency that oversees the George Washington Bridge to “fuck off” during the initial investigation into lane closures orchestrated by his allies.
Matt Katz, a reporter who covers Christie for WNYC and New Jersey Public Radio, related the anecdote in his book “American Governor: Chris Christie’s Bridge to Redemption,” which was released Tuesday.
A former top Christie aide and two of his ex-appointees at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were indicted last year in an alleged scheme to close lanes on the bridge in September 2013. The lane closures had snarled traffic in Fort Lee, New Jersey for days, bringing grief to the town’s Democratic mayor, who’d refused to endorse Christie’s re-election bid.
Christie has long maintained that he knew nothing about the lane closures.
In “American Governor,” Katz gave further details about the governor’s activity during state lawmakers’ initial investigation into the lane closures in late 2013. His reported call to Cuomo came after Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye testified before state lawmakers that he was “not aware” of a traffic study, which Christie’s allies had said caused the lane closures. Katz reported that as Christie watched the hearing online, he texted with his incoming chief of staff, who was then serving as the governor’s liason to the Port Authority; those texts were later deleted.
Christie asked the New York governor to relay the colorful message to Foye after the hearing was over, according to Katz’s book.
“I told Cuomo to tell Pat Foye to fuck off,” Christie allegedly said while recounting the conversation to his staff.
Christie’s campaign didn’t immediately return TPM’s request for comment.
h/t: Politico
