New Jersey legislature: no evidence that Christie was involved in bridge scheme

[Mr. Morden]

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Report-No-evidence-Christie-involved-in-bridge-5936755.php

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[ShamDam]

Any damage to Christie's 2016 chances that this had -- which I always have thought were minimal -- should be fully mitigated by now. Sure, it may continue to affect people's initial perception of him, but there's no way that this is getting brought up as a campaign-defining anything over a year from now.

[MaxQue]

Let's do another inquiry, like Republicans are doing on Benghazi!

[IceSpear]

Let's do another inquiry, like Republicans are doing on Benghazi!

Only one? Let's do 10 more!

[Attorney General, LGC Speaker, and Former PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Even if nothing comes up on Christie, he still has to convince the electorate that he can appoint a cabinet who won't go around punishing those that don't support him. If he can do that though, Bridgegate will probably be just like "You Didn't Build That" - a bad incident portrayed as a huge setback that actually ends up having hardly any effect at all.

[RogueBeaver]

Ideology, temperament and Madoff will be far more harmful to Christie than Bridgenado.

[Yelnoc]

It doesn't matter if Christie is cleared of all wrong-doing. The fact that this happened has permanently tainted Christie as a "corrupt politician" in the minds of a lot of Republican voters.

[IceSpear]

It doesn't matter if Christie is cleared of all wrong-doing. The fact that this happened has permanently tainted Christie as a "corrupt politician" in the minds of a lot of Republican voters.

[Bull Moose Base]

People who have seen the report describe it as saying the investigation was widely stonewalled, no way to know exactly when Christie knew about lane closures, but has been dishonest about the timing of knowing other things.

[Yelnoc]

It doesn't matter if Christie is cleared of all wrong-doing. The fact that this happened has permanently tainted Christie as a "corrupt politician" in the minds of a lot of Republican voters.

Well no sh!t, but the relevant voters to the primary process are Republicans. And yes, a lot of Republicans are skeptical about Christie after a year of his name being followed by the word "scandal" in most headlines.

[Chancellor Tanterterg]

Implying the New Jersey Democratic establishment hasn't been in the tank for Christie throughout the Bridgegate scandal

[IceSpear]

Implying the New Jersey Democratic establishment hasn't been in the tank for Christie throughout the Bridgegate scandal

Yup. If you combined the NJ Democratic establishment into one person, they'd be Andrew Cuomo.

[ShadowRocket]

In related news, WNBC is claiming that the US Attorney may wrap up its investigation next month with at least six indictments expected:

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/George-Washington-Bridge-Traffic-Jam-Fort-Lee-Chris-Christie-New-Jersey-Indictment-Port-Authority-284905201.html

[Likely Voter]

I think it has been fairly obvious for a while that he didn't know about the scheme before it happened. The issue is that he had a political operation running amok and abusing the power of his office. It is likely some in that operation will end up getting indicted, which means they will likely be on trial during the campaign. And while he didn't know about it before, it is definitely not clear when he found out about it. Remember there was never any evidence that Nixon knew about Watergate before the break in, hence the phrase "it's not the crime, it's the coverup."

Bottom line, Christie's bipartisan 'above politics' persona has been completely evaporated, and that 'electability' thing was the main counter he had to his lack of being a 'real' conservative.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Ideology, temperament and Madoff will be far more harmful to Christie than Bridgenado.

His temperament is arguably one of his assets.

[RogueBeaver]

Ideology, temperament and Madoff will be far more harmful to Christie than Bridgenado.

His temperament is arguably one of his assets.

Until he calls some Iowan activist an idiot.

[Ebowed]

Ideology, temperament and Madoff will be far more harmful to Christie than Bridgenado.

His temperament is arguably one of his assets.

Until he calls some Iowan activist an idiot.

I think, although I hope otherwise, that this is a thing that would impress a lot of voters.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Ideology, temperament and Madoff will be far more harmful to Christie than Bridgenado.

His temperament is arguably one of his assets.

Until he calls some Iowan activist an idiot.

I think, although I hope otherwise, that this is a thing that would impress a lot of voters.

Right. As it turns out, being a unapologetic asshole really resonates with the Republican base. My parents seem to love him for it. (And are, coincidentally, outraged over this particular "waste of money.")