Christie Administration Attorney Accused Of Having Conflict of Interest

FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2008 file photo, attorney Randy Mastro, right, argues a case in state Supreme Court in New York while New York City Corporation Counsel Stephen Kitzinger, left, listens. Gov. Chris Christie's... FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2008 file photo, attorney Randy Mastro, right, argues a case in state Supreme Court in New York while New York City Corporation Counsel Stephen Kitzinger, left, listens. Gov. Chris Christie's administration hired Mastro's law firm on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014 to assist with an internal review in the wake of an apparent political payback scandal in New Jersey. The firm will be looking into a plot that shut down lanes to the George Washington Bridge for four days in September, 2013, causing massive traffic jams. (AP Photo/ Marc A. Hermann, Pool, File) MORE LESS
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Officials at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey are worried the law firm retained by the administration of Gov. Chris Christie (R) as it faces two investigations into the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge has a conflict of interest. According to a report published by the Bergen Record Friday, Port Authority officials plan to outline these concerns in a letter to the firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

The potential conflict of interest centers around the fact the firm represents the Port Authority, which oversees the bridge, in a lawsuit brought by the American Automobile Association over toll hikes instituted by the agency in 2011. Last September’s lane closures, which some Democrats have alleged were ordered by Christie’s allies in an effort to retaliate against a local mayor, have been discussed in the AAA lawsuit. The closures led to days of gridlock in Fort Lee, N.J.

On Thursday, the Christie administration announced it hired Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP to conduct an internal review of the lane closures and to assist with the U.S. Attorney’s investigation into the matter. The team working for the Christie administration is headed by Randy Mastro, who leads Gibson Dunn & Crutcher’s “crisis management” practice. Committees formed by the New Jersey General Assembly and state Senate are also investigating the closures.

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