The chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation said Thursday that he won’t call hearings on
September lane closures on the George Washington Bridge while federal
prosecutors look into the matter.
“I don’t put us out of the game entirely,” Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) told reporters, as quoted by the Bergen Record. “I just don’t think a hearing at this point – it would be seen as entirely political and my guess is we wouldn’t get many answers.”
“The federal prosecutors are not gentle,” he added. “So I reside my faith in them and will be watching closely.”
The U.S. Attorney for New Jersey is investigating whether the lane closures broke any federal laws after receiving a referral from the inspector general at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the George Washington Bridge.
Rockefeller asked Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to review the lane closures in December. He also asked the Port Authority to answer a series of questions about the lane closures.
Christie denied in a lengthy press conference any knowledge of his administration’s involvement in the bridge scandal before Wednesday, when documents connecting the lane closures to his deputy chief of staff and two of his former appointees to the Port Authority became public.
“I think they got a big fat problem there,” Rockefeller said, as quoted by the Bergen Record. “Am I convinced [Governor Christie] didn’t know about it? No I’m not.”
