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Time for some TRAFFIC!

Regardless of the ongoing attempt by NJ Republicans to allow Giuliani to arbitrate, I don't think Wisniewski will drop the issue any time soon. But with the non-bridge-related expansion of the scope of this scandal, does the NJ legislature's subpoena authority extend to investigation of the Hoboken affair? I can see the Republicans slamming him for a power grab here.
 
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grunion said:
Regardless of the ongoing attempt by NJ Republicans to allow Giuliani to arbitrate, I don't think Wisniewski will drop the issue any time soon. But with the non-bridge-related expansion of the scope of this scandal, does the NJ legislature's subpoena authority extend to investigation of the Hoboken affair? I can see the Republicans slamming him for a power grab here.
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Saw him on MSNBC tonight, and yes, his current mandate extends to the Sandy Shakedown.
 
Christie is now giving his 2nd-term inauguration speech. He enters this new term under a siege of sorts.
 
grunion said:
Regardless of the ongoing attempt by NJ Republicans to allow Giuliani to arbitrate
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This would be the same Guliani whose staff and lawyer now work for Christie. How can you arbitrate when you are clearly biased to one side?
 
barehl said:
This would be the same Guliani whose staff and lawyer now work for Christie. How can you arbitrate when you are clearly biased to one side?
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Not only that, but arbitration is not needed. NJ Lege already has what it needs: oversight authority and subpoena power.
 
hgc said:
The answer to this is easy. He asked for and received many endorsements from Dem politicians because he was trying to "run up the score," as he himself put it in his "epic" press conference. He wasn't just running for governor, he was running for president, and his bi-partisan cred and overwhelming margin of victory (hoping for, but missing, the record) was a part of his presidential campaign positioning.

Even if he weren't running for prez, what politician would turn down mass support from the opposing party?
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That's an easy answer and it might be right, but I have also read commentary by insiders in both parties who say this theory is out of touch with the reality of NJ politics.

They need to cut a deal with one of these people, and get them to spit it out.
 
Bob001 said:
The Christie guys talked about closing the two lanes permanently. Just the talk would have been enough to scare away the investors. And if the financing had fallen through, it wouldn't be easy to get it back. Closing bridge access was a lot quicker and more blatant than trying to find some kind of administrative or legal obstacle, especially if the primary goal was to embarrass the mayor.

The speculation is that by causing a Democratic mayor to fail, Christie would boost his own reputation as the only guy in New Jersey who can get things done. It might also be that Christie expected some kind of concessions or participation that he didn't get.
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That's more along the lines of what I suspect. The mayor was hogging all the credit for a big economic development, and they did this to show him that he needs to have them on board and in the press releases. Whether or not that is true, it would at least make more sense.

Bob001 said:
New Jersey has hundreds of towns and municipalities, and quite a number of Republican officials did endorse him, likely under pressure. Christie wanted to establish himself as someone with lots of bipartisan support to enhance his credibility as a presidential candidate. It also helped pull money away from his Democratic opponent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...586bf8-7e2d-11e3-93c1-0e888170b723_story.html
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ss...mpaign_announcement_in_burlington_county.html
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It sounds like many or most of these people supported Christie because he did something to help them (or their constituents) prior to the endorsement, not because he pressured them.
 
Charlie Wilkes said:
That's more along the lines of what I suspect. The mayor was hogging all the credit for a big economic development, and they did this to show him that he needs to have them on board and in the press releases. Whether or not that is true, it would at least make more sense.
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The thing is that Sokolich was promoting the project as mayor of Fort Lee before Christie was even elected governor. I haven't seen anything that says Christie had anything to do with it, except for maybe trying to sabotage it. One partisan source speculates that Christie was mad because his developer cronies lost the Fort Lee bid.
http://www.msnbc.com/steve-kornacki/the-bridgegate-theory-you-havent-heard
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/nyregion/traffic-jam-investigator-offers-ulterior-motive.html?_r=0
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251349067
 
Bob001 said:
The thing is that Sokolich was promoting the project as mayor of Fort Lee before Christie was even elected governor. I haven't seen anything that says Christie had anything to do with it, except for maybe trying to sabotage it. One partisan source speculates that Christie was mad because his developer cronies lost the Fort Lee bid.
http://www.msnbc.com/steve-kornacki/the-bridgegate-theory-you-havent-heard
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/18/nyregion/traffic-jam-investigator-offers-ulterior-motive.html?_r=0
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251349067
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Partisan? Does that change the facts they are reporting on?

We know Christie was in contact with Samson and we know fundraising is going to be even more important to Christie if he does run in 2016.


PA Chairman Samson had a keen interest in the Fort Lee Bridge Traffic -- Just not in Fixing it

KOS links to: Smoking Gun For Bridgegate? Might Rest With Losing Bidder In Fort Lee's $1B Hudson Lights Development
Which firms were the losers in this coveted and hard-won development Hudson Lights project? One of the firms that bid on developing the entire 16-acre parcel, which was split into two phases of development, was Silverstein Properties in conjunction with Taubman Centers. Silverstein is the World Trade Center developer. It was Silverstein's bid to develop the entire parcel, including the Tucker piece. But it appears that Tucker wanted to keep its piece and develop it themselves. ... Larry Silverstein was a long-term client of David Samson.
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In addition, an issue with the traffic could prevent a development loan to one of the winning bidders opening the door back up to Silverstein.

Back to KOS:
Take away that "easy access" to the GW bridge, and you may very well take away the "easy financing" -- financing that the [...] Tucker Development Corporation, was still in the process of securing.
Take that "winning bid" out of the picture -- and another "losing bid" just might get another shot it -- at this Half-Billion dollar project. That's a LOT of Interest.
Not that anyone "remembers" being involved in bidding for a Billion Dollar deal like that ... Do they?
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TPM
I find it hard to believe that would-be investors in this project weren’t alarmed by the prospect that Port Authority officials had decided, without warning, to begin running experiments to see what would happen if local access to the GWB was temporarily, and then permanently, restricted.
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Skeptic Ginger said:
PA Chairman Samson had a keen interest in the Fort Lee Bridge Traffic -- Just not in Fixing it[/url]

KOS links to: Smoking Gun For Bridgegate? Might Rest With Losing Bidder In Fort Lee's $1B Hudson Lights Development

In addition, an issue with the traffic could prevent a development loan to one of the winning bidders opening the door back up to Silverstein.
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So now the twin towers of pain that will define Christie's downfall have their common strain. It appears that the state of New Jersey has been run for the exclusive benefit of David Samson's law firm's clients.

I think that l'affaire Christie will go down in history as an astounding scandal.
 
If not Sampson, at least RE developers that donate enough money to campaigns and whatever other little Easter eggs they pass out.
 
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