The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey confirmed to TPM on Thursday that it was evaluating whether federal laws were broken in the George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal.
“The Port Authority Office of Inspector General has referred the matter to us, and our office is reviewing it to determine whether a federal law was implicated,” U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Rebekah Carmichael said in an emailed statement.
Documents released Wednesday showed that members of Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) staff were involved in discussions to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge last year. The lane closures led to a massive, multi-day traffic jam in the town of Fort Lee, N.J. — a traffic jam Democrats have argued was intended as a form of retaliation against Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor. Former officials with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the bridge, have maintained that the lanes were closed as a result of a traffic study.
