Cuomo Helped Christie Cover Up Bridgegate By Conspiring To Issue A "False Report" For The Bridge Closures (UPDATED)

Bombshell testimony from government witness and former Christie ally David Wildstein today in the Bridgegate trial:

David Wildstein, a former top Port Authority official turned star witness in the Bridgegate trial, suggested in Tuesday testimony that Gov. Andrew Cuomo discussed with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie issuing false report on the nightmarish lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in 2013, according to reports.

Multiple outlets reported that Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty to his role in the lane closures, heard there were conversations between the two governors within a month after the incident and they agreed that Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye would approve a false report that blamed the closures on a communication breakdown and push blame onto the New Jersey side of the bi-state agency.

Such a report never was issued, though it was reported Tuesday that it was used for testimony before a legislative committee by former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni.

Cuomo’s office did not immediately comment.

More details from the Daily News:

Gov. Cuomo directed the head of the Port Authority to "lay off" of an inquiry into the Bridgegate scandal until after the 2013 election following conversations with N.J. Gov. Chris Christie, a former PA official testified Tuesday.

David Wildstein, who has already pleaded guilty for his role in the September 2013 gridlock, said he had heard there had been "conversations" between the two governors after the Port Authority's executive director, Pat Foye, vowed to get to the bottom of the lane closures from Fort Lee to the George Washington Bridge.

Cuomo and Christie had agreed in October 2013 that Foye would sign off on a bogus report on the closures in which the Port Authority would admit a communication breakdown resulted in Fort Lee being caught by surprise by an agency traffic study, Wildstein said.

Wildstein recalled saying it would be a "heavy lift" to get Foye to approve the report, but that he believed it could be done thanks to Cuomo.

"My understanding was Gov. Christie and Gov. Cuomo had discussed this, if the New Jersey side (of the PA) accepted responsibility, Foye would sign off on this and that would put an end to this issue," Wildstein said.

 This report would be issued, there would be an explanation to the public, the Port Authority would take responsibility for the failure in communication ... and the question of lane closures would go away."

Under cross examination by Kelly's attorney Michael Critchley, Wildstein agreed that Cuomo's order that Foye "stand down" and "lay off" was only in effect to Election Day in November 2013.

The day after the election, Wildstein said he was contacted by a reporter who identified him as the architect of the Bridgegate plan.

Wildstein told the court today that he believed Foye was behind that leak to the reporter.

Cuomo so far has not commented on this allegation, but if it's true, then Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York, helped Chris Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, to cover up the closure of the George Washington Bridge by knowingly sanctioning a false report about the reason for the closures.

Why would Cuomo do this?

Well, he was running for re-election next year, Christie was head of the Republican Governors Association, so by helping Christie out when he was running for re-election, Cuomo could expect to get help back from Christie in return when he was running the next year.

And that's exactly what happened - Christie mocked the Republican candidate for governor (Rob Astorino), withheld money and resources from the campaign and basically did all he could to help Cuomo win re-election.

At the time, many of us suspected that Cuomo and Christie had a non-aggression pact despite being in different parties.

We now have what appears to be definitive proof of that.

So, would be great to hear what Cuomo's excuse for helping Christie cover up Bridgegate would be, but the governor is whereabouts unknown and apparently his flying attack monkeys haven't come up with a good excuse yet to go public with.

We'll see how long we have to wait until they finally conjure up some bullshit excuse for Cuomo's helping Christie cover up Bridgegate.

UPDATE 2:15 PM: Didn't have to wait long:

Cuomo spox on #Bridgegate "Anyone can say anything, especially a convicted felon spinning a tale, but it’s just false and delusional.”

— Joseph Spector (@GannettAlbany) October 4, 2016

Same old song - Deny, Deny, Deny.

Cuomo's on the witness list for the trial, so there's an outside chance he could be called to testify and put under oath where this kind of denial becomes perjury if proven false.

But best bet here is, he won't be called to testify, the NY legislature will do nothing about these allegations, Democratic and Republican politicians around the state will continue to defend/enable him  and he'll get away with his crimes, as he has since 2010.

Christie's Port Authority Scandal Back In The News

NJ.com:

Amid lingering fallout from the George Washington Bridge lane closures, the Port Authority's top lawyer announced that he would step down at the end of next month.

Port Authority General Counsel Darrel Buchbinder, 68, sent a letter to agency colleagues Monday informing them of his "bitter-sweet" decision to retire after 36 years with the agency.

...

Buchbinder's decision to step down form his $277,000 -a-year job comes amid multiple investigations involving the bi-state agency and current and former officials following the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closures.

They include civil and criminal probes by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office into the use of $1.8 billion in Port Authority funds on the Pulaski Skyway and other New Jersey infrastructure projects that Buchbinder's office signed off on.

Buchbinder, who has not been accused or any wrongdoing, is among several Port Authority lawyers for whom the agency has hired outside lawyers to represent them in the post-Bridgegate investigations.

Not related to the investigation into the Pulaski money?

Perhaps.

Or perhaps not.

Something to keep a watch on, at any rate.

Christie's got the Bridgegate trials coming up early next year, the David Samson/United investigation is still ongoing (with Christie's pal David Samson expected to be indicted in that case) and there's the Pulaski investigation still ongoing.

Christie likes to make like all his corruption problems are over.

They're not - not by a long shot.

US Attorney Mum On Christie

From NJ.com's update of US Attorney Paul Fishman's press conference:

Fishman is going over what David Wildstein pleaded guilty to and running down the charges against Baroni and Kelly. Calls it a "calculated scheme." Fishman added that the lane closures were a "political vendetta" against Fort Lee mayor Mark Sokolich.

...

 Despite reporters' best efforts, Fishman won't talk about the governor.

...

No one else is likely to be charged. "Based on evidence currently available, we aren't going to charge anyone else in the scheme," Fishman said.

...

Baroni and Kelly will be arraigned at 11 a.m. Monday.

...

Fishman said he won't talk about who else might have known about the lane closures.

...

 There may come a time when officials will name un-indicted co-conspirators mentioned in indictments, Fishman said.

...

Fishman won't say if Baroni and Kelly will be offered a similar deal to Wildstein.

...

Fishman also won't discuss Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer's allegations against Christie.

Christie and his defenders will latch onto the "Based on evidence currently available, we aren't going to charge anyone else in the scheme" statement, but that doesn't mean Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni won't provide it if they're offered a deal from the feds.

More later.

Multiple Indictments Expected To Be Announced Today In Bridgegate Investigation

From the Bergen Record:

Former Port Authority executive David Wildstein is expected to plead guilty to charges related to the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal today, as federal prosecutors prepare to announce developments in their nearly 16-month-old investigation.

Wildstein's appearance is scheduled for 11 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark followed by a press conference with federal authorities at 1 p.m. to discuss developments in the case. He arrived at the courthouse just before 9 a.m. looking considerably thinner than the last time he was in public.

A guilty plea would be a signal that Wildstein, a former Christie ally who ordered the lane closures, has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators. Prosecutors are also expected to announce other indictments that grew out of their investigation later in the day. The charges against Wildstein and the identities of others who face charges were unclear early Friday morning.

Wildstein cooperating, other indictments are to be announced...it's Christmas in May.

Should be interesting to hear what the feds have to say today.

If prosecutors made a deal with Wildstein, he's got to have something on higher-ups.

Since his lawyer has said in the past that Wildstein has evidence that Chris Christie knew of the bridge lane closings as they were happening (contradicting Christie's claim that he only learned about them later), that may mean the feds are looking to work their way up the chain to Christie.

Can a guy from Jersey run for president while under indictment?

We may soon find out the answer to that question.

Bridgegate Criminal Proceeding Coming Today

From the Bergen Record:

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey will announce a development later today in their nearly 16-month-old investigation into the George Washington Bridge lane closures, they said this morning.

The office said there will be a "proceeding of interest in a criminal matter" related to the bridge probe at 11 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark followed by a press conference with federal authorities at 1 p.m. to discuss developments in the case.

Bloomberg News has reported that former Christie crony David Wildstein is set to plead guilty to criminal charges in the matter, leading to speculation that Samson is going to cooperate with federal prosecutors in the case.

Wildstein's lawyer has said previously that Wildstein has "evidence" that Christie knew of the lane closures at the GWB as they were happening, something that contradicts Christie's public statements that he only learned about the matter from news accounts.

In addition, Bloomberg News reported that federal prosecutors are looking at bribery/extortion charges for another Christie crony, former Port Authority chairman David Samson:

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey is investigating whether United employees made improper attempts to influence Samson at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, according to people familiar with the investigation. The authority oversees Newark Liberty International Airport.

...

Although many details of the discussions between United and the authority remain unknown, documents reviewed by Bloomberg News indicate there may have been a direct link between the request for the Columbia flight and the Port Authority’s process of approving projects involving the airport. They raise the possibility of bribery or extortion, according to legal experts who reviewed the information in the documents.

In considering whether laws were broken, the intentions of Samson and United will be important, according to former prosecutors and others, none of them them involved in the case. For bribery-related violations, prosecutors must show a quid pro quo -- or specific intent to give or receive something of value in exchange for an official act.

If prosecutors believe a crime was committed, they must then determine whether to treat the Newark-Columbia route as a shakedown or a bribe, said Daniel Richman, a Columbia University law school professor and a former federal prosecutor.

I wonder what Christie's thinking this morning?

Former Christie Aide Reported To Plead Guilty This Week In Bridgegate Scandal

This sounds like trouble for Chris Christie:

David Wildstein, a former ally of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, is set to plead guilty this week, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, suggesting he may be cooperating with prosecutors probing traffic jams he ordered near the George Washington Bridge.

Wildstein is scheduled to appear Friday in federal court in Newark, where grand jurors have heard testimony in secret for months about gridlock over four mornings in Fort Lee, New Jersey, according to the person, who requested anonymity because the matter isn’t public.

He would plead guilty to a charging document known as a criminal information, the person said. It was unclear what the specific charges would be in the plea. The plea was originally scheduled for Thursday, the person said.

And why that's a problem for Christie:

Christie has denied knowledge of a plot to close two of the three local-access lanes to the world’s busiest bridge, which is run by the Port Authority. If Wildstein pleads guilty and cooperates with prosecutors, he could give them an inside view of how the plot unfolded.

Wildstein's lawyer has said in the past that "evidence exists" that proves Christie knew of the bridge closure plot at the time it was happening.

Christie said on the campaign trail tonight he's not "in the least bit concerned" about the Bridgegate investigation.

If he's not, then he's in some serious denial.

If Wildstein pleads guilty and cooperates with prosecutors, watch some of the other players in the investigation look to make their own deals with the feds before all the good deals are gone.

Bridgegate Indictments Expected Soon - Maybe Next Week

NY Times tonight:

It has been falsely predicted many times in the last year, but now it seems to be true: The federal investigation into the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge appears to be coming to a head, with an announcement of indictments as early as next week.

...

 People close to the case say prosecutors are likely to bring charges based on a rarely used provision of a fraud statute, under which they would argue that Mr. Christie’s associates used the bridge, or the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs it, for a purpose other than its intended one. In the case of the bridge, the closings were apparently meant to punish Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee, a Democrat, after he declined to endorse the governor’s re-election bid in 2013.

What is less certain is whether prosecutors will find crimes in the other ways Mr. Christie used his powers in the service of political ambition. He used Port Authority money to fill holes in his budget; his lieutenants doled out flags and steel from the remnants of the World Trade Center to woo mayors whose endorsements they sought. An office of “intergovernmental affairs” worked to cultivate endorsements, all in the hopes that the governor could use a huge winning margin to argue that he was the Republican most likely to win the White House in 2016.

Investigators months ago subpoenaed records from officials at the authority and Mr. Christie’s 2013 campaign regarding Jersey City, where Christie administration officials canceled a day’s worth of meetings that had been set up with the city’s new mayor after he told the campaign that he would endorse the governor’s opponent. Those records could be used to establish a pattern of punishing local officials.

Investigators have also questioned potential witnesses about efforts by the Christie administration to cover up the political motives behind the lane closings, explaining them as a traffic study.

Oh, goodie.

Got my popcorn ready and everything.

Shall we take a pool out on who gets indicted?

Bridgegate Investigation Nears Closure - Are Christie's Former Allies In Sights Of Prosecutors?

The WSJ last night:

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman’s investigation into lane closures at the George Washington Bridge and other alleged abuses at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expected to wrap up in coming weeks after more than a year.

The investigation has seemed to quicken in recent weeks, with prosecutors returning to witnesses with questions that indicated they were close to finishing this stage of their probe, according to people familiar with the matter.

It remains unclear whether the findings will implicate current or former allies to Gov. Chris Christie and whether prosecutors can answer questions that investigations by the governor’s office and the Democrat-led Legislature haven't. 

What isn't unclear is what prosecutors are looking at.

First, Christie ally David Samson:

In recent weeks, attorneys for potential witnesses have turned over documents and emails to prosecutors that relate to former Port Authority Chairman David Samson, according to a person familiar with the matter. These documents include accounts of communications between Mr. Samson and United Airlines.

Prosecutors are looking into whether Mr. Samson asked the airline for a special weekly flight to Columbia, S.C., near his vacation home while the company was negotiating with the Port Authority. The flight was canceled after Mr. Samson left his position.

Prosecutors have interviewed people and asked questions that indicate they are looking for evidence of quid pro quo, according to a person familiar with the matter.

United declined to comment, referring to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that said the company and senior executives are cooperating with a federal investigation. A spokeswoman for Mr. Samson declined to comment.

Mr. Christie’s advisers have long worried about Mr. Samson’s future and the political implications it could have for the governor.

Mr. Christie stayed in touch with Mr. Samson, a longtime friend and political ally, after the bridge revelations even as he cut contact with others, according to people familiar with the matter.

And former Christie "friend" David Wildstein:

Prosecutors also have focused on any possible attempt to conceal the lane closures or misrepresent why they occurred in September 2013.

Prosecutors have asked about photos depicting the governor and David Wildstein, then a Port Authority official, talking at a ceremony for 9/11 at ground zero in Manhattan, and whether the governor told any of his staff about their interaction, a person familiar with the matter said.

Mr. Wildstein, who was hired by the Christie administration, was involved in the decision to close lanes at the George Washington Bridge allegedly in retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J.

Prosecutors also have quizzed potential witnesses about how the administration explained the closures publicly even as documents later showed they fretted privately, asking detailed questions about conversations among Mr. Christie’s political orbit in late 2013.

The governor has said he doesn’t remember what he discussed with Mr. Wildstein on Sept. 11, 2013, when the bridge lane closures had entered their third day. He has denied knowledge of the lane closures before they occurred.

Mr. Wildstein’s calendar indicated he met with Christie administration officials in 2013 after the bridge lane closures and frequently talked to allies of Mr. Christie, including Mike DuHaime, the governor’s top political adviser, and Bill Stepien, a senior Christie aide who lost his role after emails concerning Fort Lee were disclosed.

Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer, Alan Zegas, declined to comment. He has written to the Port Authority saying “evidence exists” that would show Mr. Christie knew of the closures while they were occurring.

I'm not a lawyer, don't know much about the law or anything like that, but it seems to me from the WSJ story that prosecutors are targeting Samson and Wildstein, looking to squeeze them and see what information comes out.

And with Wildstein having indicated that "evidence exists" to show Christie knew of the lane closures as they were happening, I would say that Christie is going to have some trouble with this matter when all is said and done.

Hard to know what Samson has said to prosecutors, but Wildstein sounds like he wants to talk, having been thrown under the bus by Christie back in that January 2014 news conference.

Not mentioned here is Bridget Anne Kelly, the writer of the infamous "Time for some traffic problems" email - she's been thrown under the bus by Christie too, so I wouldn't be surprised if she isn't looking to take Christie out too.

Finally, all this stuff is a problem because prosecutors are able to sift through an email trail.

No wonder New York's Criminal-In-Chief Andrew Cuomo is burning the midnight oil having all emails over 90 days burnt from the servers.

Is Chris Christie Toast?

It has been fairly quiet on the Chris Christie scandal front since Christie crony David Samson resigned from the Port Authority a while back and Christie is going around the country raising money for the Republican Party like nothing's the matter, that all is on schedule for his 2016 run for president.

Jeff Smith at Politico says pay no attention to what's going on at the surface of the scandal story because down below things are not going so well for Christie:

Federal prosecutors have convened a grand jury to look into the Bridgegate allegations, but that investigation opens Christie up to all kinds of ancillary investigations - in short, everything he has done as governor will come under scrutiny.

That scrutiny is bound to turn something up, particularly relating to Christie's relationship to former Port Authority chairman David Samson, who has conflict of interest problems all over the place, most famously in the Hoboken Sandy aid extortion story that has Hoboken mayor Dawn Zimmer telling prosecutors Christie's lieutenant governor threatened to withhold aid from Hoboken unless she greenlighted a real estate development deal with connections to a firm Samson runs.

Zimmer and the others telling their stories to federal prosecutors are not talking smack for the hell of it - they open themselves up to criminal charges for that sort of thing, so whatever stories they're telling, they're mostl likely on the up-and-up. Even more troubling for Christie, Zimmer's story can perhaps be corroborated by three or four other people she told about it at the time, including the Hoboken city lawyer who just had his attorney-client privilege waived so he can talk to prosecutors.

Christie crony David Wildstein just got immunity to talk to prosecutors about what he knows, including the allegation that surfaced that Wildstein told Christie of the bridge closures on September 11, 2013, well before Christie claims to have known about the incident.

Smith says Wildstein probably doesn't have any evidence fatal to Christie - otherwise he wouldn't have had his lawyer publicly fishing around for immunity for Wildstein - but he's got enough to do damage, as does the other Christie crony, Bridget Anne Kelly, who got trashed in Chris Christie's internal Bridgegate scandal investigation and report released a little while back:

There is a little known federal statute called “misprision of a felony” (18 U.S.C. § 4), which could be used against Christie if Wildstein can prove that he told Christie of the bridge closing contemporaneously. The statute, used against people who fail to report knowledge of a felony to the appropriate authorities, is generally only applied against those in a special position of authority. Kelly’s recent response to the Mastro report, in which her attorney wrote that she could arbitrate a he-said/she-said dispute regarding Christie’s contemporaneous knowledge of the bridge closing, strongly implied that Kelly’s involvement in the affair came at the behest of superiors as she sought to “pursue the goals of the Office.” With the Mastro report and the governor himself having now thoroughly trashed Wildstein and Kelly in a pre-emptive attempt to erode their credibility, they have precious little to lose by telling all.

But the biggest problem Christie may face is what Samson does:

The available evidence suggests that Samson is in real danger of an indictment, and Christie and his lawyers’ desperate effort to shield him from any blowback indicate that they are acutely interested in keeping him quiet. Christie implied in announcing Samson’s resignation that the 74 year-old may simply have wanted to relax, but assuming that prison is not the ideal retirement community, Christie must be concerned about Samson’s exposure—and potentially his own. And based on my knowledge of federal investigations, if Samson is indicted, the only way he’ll likely be able to avoid prison is by revealing knowledge of wrongdoing by Christie – knowledge that, as the governor’s longtime mentor and close ally, he may be uniquely situated to possess. As Christie knows better than anyone, the feds don’t hand out immunity like pediatricians hand out lollipops. And neither judges nor parole boards appear to resist elderly incarceration; indeed, seniors are the fastest growing generational cohort in federal prisons. So if Samson is indicted and wants to die a free man, he probably has to give up something meaningful – i.e., Christie.

Chris Christie can make believe on the surface like nothing's wrong all he wants - underneath it all, he's got serious exposure to a whole host of potential indictments.

Wildstein's talking, Kelly's got reason to talk now after Christie's internal report did a hammer job on her, Samson's got reason to talk if he doesn't want to die in prison - and they all may have some interesting things to say about Governor Chris Christie.

And that's leaving Sheriff Andy Cuomo himself out of this, who Christie allegedly called over the Bridgegate mess himself to try and get Cuomo's PA representative to stop causing trouble for Christie.

Hard to know what Cuomo knows - and what he did with that knowledge - but that's certainly a potential problem for Christie as well.

It appears that Christie and Cuomo conspired together to raise Port Authority bridge and tunnel tolls and PATH fares in order to steal the money for their own projects in their respective states, so Cuomo probably has good reason to protect Christie in order to protect himself.

We'll have to see how this all plays out - I'm not ready to say Christie's toast yet, but I would say this is a helluva lot of fun to watch play out.

I bet Mary Pat isn't laughing so much these days.

David Wildstein Ruins Super Bowl Weekend For Chris Christie

Ever since the letter David Wildstein's lawyer sent to the Port Authority alleging that Christie had lied about the GWB lane closures made it into the news on Friday night, Chris Christie has been having a miserable time.

First he had to sneak into Howard Stern's 60th birthday party on Friday so as not to have to respond to questions from the press about the Wildstein memo.

Then yesterday he got booed at a Super Bowl ceremony in Times Square even as the other politicians there seemed to have such a great time:

Mr. Wildstein’s letter came as the governor prepared to celebrate the playing of the Super Bowl in New Jersey.

The governor was booed at a Super Bowl event in Times Square on Saturday, where he sat on stage with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York. 

While the other three beamed and waved, Mr. Christie looked down. Mr. de Blasio sat next to Mr. Cuomo and punched him playfully throughout the ceremony, and the two giggled.

Ms. Brewer seemed to try to cheer up Mr. Christie. At ceremony’s end, reporters pushed toward the stage and Mr. Christie stepped to the back. When coaxed to the front by Ms. Brewer to pose for a photo, reporters asked Mr. Christie a barrage of questions.

“Governor,” one shouted, “any truth to the allegations?”

Mr. Christie said nothing and walked off the stage behind a giant speaker blaring Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”

Sad Chris Christie - this should be one of the best weekends of his life, with his state hosting the Super Bowl and he serving as its governor.

Instead, he looks like this:

 And this:

Yeah, not having a great weekend, is he?

Judging by how desperate he's gotten in pushing back against Wildstein, I'm betting the next few weeks don't get any better for him.

I wonder if this guy will ever return:

Fort Lee Teachers Union Calls For Christie Ally To Apologize To Fort Lee Children

A statement from the Fort Lee Education Association:

The Fort Lee Education Association is deeply offended by the disparaging remarks made about our students by David Wildstein, the childhood friend of Governor Chris Christie who worked at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. When members of the Christie Administration callously created a traffic nightmare in our community, Mr. Wildstein wrote that Fort Lee’s youth are “the children of Buono voters” so there was no problem with them being stuck in gridlock and late to school.

The more than 400 teachers and Educational Support Professionals who belong to the Fort Lee Education Association come to work daily to equip these children for their future. Our only mission is to provide the best possible education for our students every school day. We never judge our students based on the politics of their parents, because their education is our only concern. For Mr. Wildstein, though, they were nothing more than acceptable collateral damage of a politically-motivated attack on our community.

This is not the first time Fort Lee schools have been attacked by the Christie Administration. Several years ago, the governor made deep, harmful cuts in state aid to our district. Fort Lee High School students protested in the street as they saw the damage being done to their school. Unfortunately, Governor Christie did not listen to the pleas of the students, so valuable educational programs were eliminated and members of the Fort Lee Education Association were sent to the unemployment line. 

Even though Governor Christie came to Fort Lee to apologize for the traffic nightmare intentionally created by his administration, the fact is he has fostered an environment in his administration of hostility toward public schools and the people who work in them. He is part of a movement that promotes the corporate privatization of schools. Students are seen as commodities to help private companies increase profits. Mr. Wildstein’s remarks exemplify the true contempt this administration has for New Jersey’s public school students.

We recall when Governor Christie came to Fort Lee High School two years ago to appear on a television program and promote his educational policies. He did not speak to the students or members of the Fort Lee Education Association. That was indicative of the attitude in the Christie Administration, where promoting the governor’s image was more important than listening to the people who spend their lives in public schools. That same attitude is what allowed Mr. Wildstein to think that it was acceptable make such despicable remarks about our students as they sat stuck in traffic instead of being in their classrooms learning.

Mr. Wildstein owes a personal apology to the students whose education he disrupted and whose value he denigrated with such callous indifference.

If the citizens of the State of New Jersey are fortunate, Wildstein will get to make that apology in a courtroom while wearing a prison-issued orange jumpsuit.