The chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has raised the subject of resigning from his post, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing anonymous government officials.
David Samson, a Christie adviser and appointee to the bi-state agency that oversees the George Washington Bridge, had discussed the possibility of stepping down long before the bridge scandal, according to the Times.
But anonymous government officials told the newspaper that Samson has revisited the idea. Although no final decision has been made, the resignation could take place before the agency’s next board meeting in February, they said.
Christie aides told the Times they knew of no plans for Samson to step down. The chairman himself denied that he was weighing resignation.
“The story is incorrect,” he wrote in an email to the Times.
The New Jersey lawmaker leading the state assembly’s investigation into the bridge affair said Friday that Samson’s role deserved closer scrutiny, after newly released documents from former Port Authority executive David Wildstein referenced a meeting between the chairman and Christie that took place a week before the governor’s deputy chief of staff sent an email about causing “traffic problems” in Fort Lee, N.J.
“By submitting these documents, Mr. Wildstein is telling us they are related to the lane closures in some way,” Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D) said in a statement. “The question that demands answering is how?”
Christie said last week during a marathon press conference that he was confident Samson played no part in the political payback scheme.
“I sat and met for two hours yesterday with Mr. Samson — General Samson — and again, I’m confident that he had no knowledge of this, based upon our conversations and his review of his information,” the governor said, as quoted by the Times. “So I think, you know, as he said yesterday, he is angered by this and upset about it.”
