Bridge Controversy Expands Into New Areas For Gov. Chris Christie In New Jersey - WaPo

[WillyT]

Bridge controversy expands into new areas for Gov. Chris Christie in New Jersey
By Robert Costa, Matea Gold and Carol D. Leonnig - WaPo
Updated: Monday, January 13, 5:35 PM

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TRENTON, N.J. — A roiling political scandal involving the administration of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie expanded into new areas Monday, ratcheting up the pressure on the embattled Republican on the eve of his annual address to state legislators. As Christie spent the day finalizing his State of the State speech, Democratic lawmakers announced the creation of special investigative committees with subpoena power to further scrutinize a scheme in which top aides to the governor worked to paralyze traffic in Fort Lee, N.J., in an apparent plot against the town’s Democratic mayor.

Meanwhile, new documents released by Jersey City officials Monday suggest that the Christie administration punished the Democratic mayor of that town last summer by cutting off his access to top state officials when he declined to back the governor’s reelection bid. And in Washington, federal auditors have begun looking into Christie’s use of Hurricane Sandy recovery money to pay for an expensive tourism marketing campaign last year starring him and his family.

The developments compound the political challenge Christie faces in trying to move past the controversy, which began as a local furor over blocked access lanes to the George Washington Bridge before exploding into a national story that threatens his future as a leading GOP presidential candidate.

“This started as an inquiry into the Port Authority, and now the trail leads directly into the governor’s office,” Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D), who will head the assembly’s investigation of the bridge episode, said in an interview. “The scope of our investigation has gotten considerably larger, and it’s clear there was an inappropriate use of power.”

When asked about the new investigations, a Christie spokesman pointed to the governor’s remarks at a news conference last week in which he said his administration will “work cooperatively” with legislators.

The governor is expected to address the bridge scandal in Tuesday’s speech...

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More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/christies-staff-cut-access-to-jersey-city-mayor-who-would-not-endorse-him/2014/01/13/32d76970-7c83-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html