governor christie's office knew that fort lee was going nuts and fort lee officials were getting no response. inquiring whether that mayor was getting his calls returned. the gleeful response, radio silence david wildstein forwarded the actual complaints from the fort lee mayor explaining, school buses can't get kids to school for the first day of classes. is it wrong that i am smiling? david wildstein responds, no, no, it's not wrong that you're smiling. i feel badly about the kids. i guess. david wildstein responds, they are the children of buono voters, meaning, barbara buono. the democratic candidate who ran against chris christie for governor when he ran for re-election this past year. do not worry about the harm we are deliberately causing the children of this community. we'll make them pay. the traffic study excuse that was invented to explain what happened, that was made up. the traffic jam was deliberately created on orders from the governor's office directly. it was recognized as something that would cause harm. it was intended to cause harm it was causing harm and local officials

way beyond fort lee. through the george washington bridge, that's the city you go through, but many others were affected. we're told that the governor's journey through fort lee has been slowed by traffic. >> thank you very much. >> that will do it. >> hello, everyone. i'm kimberly guilfoyle along with bob beckel, dana perino and greg gut felled. it's 5:00 in new york city, and this is "the five." >>> in a news conference that lasted nearly two hours today new jersey governor chris christie moved quickly to crush the political firestorm brewing over a series of traffic jams last september that some of his aides may have engineered as retribution against the democratic mayor. first, there was an apology. >> i come out here today to apologize to the people of new jersey. i am embarrassed and humiliated by the

there we see chris christie arriving at fort lee. he is arriving with his entourage and going into -- we have craig melvin on the scene so we'll speak to him soon. we saw chris christie making his somewhat dramatic entrance here to do this personal apology. what we showed before that, of course, was him talking about the traffic study. why does that matter and why does the governor seem to want to put some distance between himself and the idea some study happened? >> there's a traffic study he's saying and maybe a political vendetta. i don't know what the balance is. the only evidence is there was a political vendetta. p exact origins i don't think we fully understand and maybe we will learn. there has been no evidence a real traffic study was commissioned, that took place, that there was any real traffic study at any point. it was curious to hear him almost clinging to that today. the christie claim is he was completely blind-sided by this, had no inkling until yesterday, no reason to be suspicious of anything. that defies common se

it deeply impacted fort lee.e christie when he was trying to build up endorsements as a way of talking about bipartisan in the re-election. pushing through the closure, david wildstein port authority of ny and nj. wildstein and christie are old high school friends. we don't know if wildstein with testify today. they're subpoenaing him on who was behind the traffic mess. let's continue drilling down on this. cnn joe johns is piecing together what happened and the fallout. christie is due to speak at the top of the hour. what do you expect him to say? >> jake, the trouble for the christie administration calls for state or federal investigation. there should be a question or two about that. then there are the hearings. questions are asked about the scandal on capitol hill. on top of that, the governor will have to answer questions about abuse of power and political retribution. this morning the pressure is mounting. >> that's not the kind of leadership new jersey needs and certainly not the leadership the nation nee

you knew that when fort lee called 20, 30, 40 times. you knew that when i kept sending text after text and calling cell phone after cell phone. you always knew that because we were telling you that that was happening. to now -- to shut that bridge down and to put my folks in absolute danger, i think it's more than civil. let me answer the question that way. it's more than civil. >> as far as you know, is there a criminal investigation under way by any local or state or federal authority? >> i know that the independent investigator for the port authority is conducting an investigation. i know that the assembly is conducting an investigation. and i have to believe that now in light of what's transpired over the last 24 hours and now seeing these revelations in these e-mails, now that it's unconditionally confirmed that there's a level of intentionality that's involved, i've got to believe that there's going to be investigations to determine whether this rises to the level of criminality. and i tell you, i'm not rooting for it. i'm not loo

this is not a fort lee issue. there's no dedicated lanes to fort lee, i'd love to have them, if you're offering, yes maybe that's the way of making up for all of this. >> why did you not endorse governor christie back during the re-election, which apparently was contributing to this. wouldn't you endorse governor christie if you were to run for president? >> i didn't endorse governor christie, because i am a follower, believer, and supporter of democratic principles, okay? simple as that. i didn't support governor christie, because at least me, this city, i seek no other higher political office. i'm born and raised in fort lee, only ever wanted to serve in a leadership capacity to try to help the people i grew up with, so i've been blessed with the privilege to serve as its mayor, this is not a stepping stone for me, if i was looking at this as a stepping stone, maybe i'd think of other ways to do it, not me, i'm loyal to the democratic party, proud of what we've accomplished on a county level, state level, i'm pr

this is fort lee, new jersey. the borough of fort lee, roughly 35,000 people live here. it's in the shadow of that aforementioned bridge, the george washington bridge, the busiest in america. this is city hall. this is where we are expecting governor christie's arrival any minute now. this is the largest media presence the borough of fort lee has probably ever seen. literally 50, 60 cameras here waiting on the governor. we're told the governor may arrive out back. the governor, when he comes, in addition to apologizing to the mayor to his face, the mayor said in a news conference earlier today that he wants governor christie to apologize to the people of fort lee as well. the mayor said he felt that the governor had essentially disrespected the people of fort lee, that he didn't respect the folks here when his administration shut down that bridge back in september. all of this happening just a few hours after governor christie apologized for almost an hour and a half, two hours and tried to explain things as well. take a listen. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the

fort lee. the story of governor chris christ christie, has changed. today for the better part of two hours the blunt no-no sense governor answered questions in trenton, apologized repeatedly. he was sad, had to inv in the traffic closures clearly done as a political vendetta against the mayor of fort lee and the straight-talking postpartisan governor insisted he is not a bully. >> no. i'm not. i mean, listen, kelly, politics ain't bean bag. okay? and everybody in the country who engages in politics knows that. on the other hand, that's very, very different, that saying, that, someone's a bully. >> now, out of a job effective immediately, bridget kel. the governor's deputy chief of staff who wrote the now infamous e-mail in september, time for some traffic problems in fort lee after the mayor of that borough apparently was not going to endorse christie in his re-election campaign. chris christie has said as we reported that he's going to come to fort lee to personally app l apologi apologize. th

it doesn't punish fort lee's mayor. it punishes people trying to get the (bleep) out of fort lee. [ laughter ] the mayor he's the one guy who has to stay there. you are thinking about why are you talking about a traffic jam from september anyway. funny story. >> newly released e-mails link the office of chris christie to a controversial lane closure at the george washington bridge. >> one of christie's top authorities at the port authority, time for some traffic problems in fort lee, she wrote. got it he said. [ laughter ] >> jon: oh, no you didn't that is very specific. so -- wow. governor christie's team up 24 points in the polls up 14 points in points -- in the polls, fine. >> is it wrong i'm smiling? i feel badly about the kids, i guess. and then they are the children of buono voters. [audience reacts] >> jon: okay that makes them evil. [laughter] did probable presidential favorite chris christie personally order this traffic hit? i don't know. but i do know one thing about the effects of this burgeoning scandal, yo

the next part is that trip to fort lee. i spoke to aides who say they don't have anything set up yet but he is absolutely going to be in fort lee today. they are going to try to work that out with the mayor of fort lee. that was a big part of the conversation, if not, what should he do? there's a bit of an on the fly type of moment happening for the christie team. off to my right in the room, the governor's left were his key advisers who are watching this throughout. i was told it went on so long in part because i didn't want to stop it and be accused of not taking a sufficient number of questions. i was pleased i got a second and third question in as did other colleagues. there was a sense towards the end of it that a lot of things had been asked, would it be sufficient to deal with the questions that are answerable today, there are many questions that will need more documents and more time and maybe even subpoena power to get to bottom of. he really boxed himself in, that he knew nothing about this and did not authorize i

the mayor of fort lee wants to sue. this is going to go on and it's going to thrift lid on his administration, it's going to last two years this way. >> i just look at the string of firings that's taken place. a guy loses the big $250,000 a year job you put him into. another guy for 130 a year. now he's pretty much targeted his deputy chief of staff, bridgett kelly. how many more people will take the bullet for him before somebody says this is the deal. >> you're waiting for the john dean of trenton to show up. that may come, it may not come. to your question, chris, you said the shape of the field determines who wins. i think actually the membership of the audience determines what the show is. the tea party gang still controls the base of the republican party. so when it comes to winning primaries and caucuses, especially, that party is so far to the right, it hasn't moved back to the center after the shellacking it got last year. so the gravitational pull is to the right for ted cruz and rand paul. >> but never in the

a top aide had engineered a massive traffic jam in fort lee as revenge against the mayor. today christie called that member of his inner circle "stupid and deceitful." he said she lied to him about it and he fired her today asked if the traffic jam ploy reflected his style as governor christie said "i am who i am. i am not a bully." elaine quijano begins our coverage. >> i come out here today to apologize to the people of new jersey. i apologize to the people of fort lee and i apologize to the members of the state legislature i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. >> reporter: for nearly two hours, governor chris christie apologized, announcing he'd fired his deputy chief of staff, bridget anne kelly for lying about her role in lane closures that tripled traffic in fort lee new jersey, last fall. >> i am a very sad person today. that's the emotion i feel. a person close to me betrayed me. a person who i counted on and trusted for five years betrayed me. a person who i gave a high government office to betrayed me. i probably will ge

the mayor of fort lee is an i had ohio, said bill stepien. confronted with these today, christie was chastened. governor chris christie entered apologetic and, he said, heartbroken. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people on my team. >> echoing the words of yesterday's written statement, christie asserted his ignorance of the e-mails and text messages that showed some of his top staffers conspireing to shut down the bridge in an act of political payback. >> i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or in its execution and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here. >> he said heads have already rolled, including bridget anne kelly, whose name is all over the e-mail and text message chain. >> i've terminated the employment of bridget kelly effective immediately. she was not given the opportunity to explain to me why she lied because it was so obvious that she had. >> bill stepein was also fired less than a week being nominated by the governor for the chairman of the state. >>

this is the mayor here, the mayor of fort lee. roughly about an hour ago. this is a news conference he held. it lasted about 20 or 30 minutes. at the beginning of the news conference, he made it clear that he did not want governor christie to come today. later in that news conference, i asked him, i said, you know, the governor said he's coming anyway. i asked him, do you mind now? he said no, that's fine, the governor can go ahead and show up. but this is something else that the mayor had to say. take a listen. >> an apology today might be a bit premature. i have a distinct feeling there's going to be another press conference or two or three or 12 after this. not disrespectful in any way. it's not designed to be. i am not shunning the governor. it's just that i think there's so much more that's going on here. >> steve, what can you expect governor chris christie to say to the mayor, perhaps even to the people of fort lee when he shows up here in an hour or so? >> i assume you would hear everything that he said in an hour and five minutes. basically reitera

gridlock is entangled in the fort lee gridlock? >> the governor, governor cristie said he did not order this gridlock, he did not authorize it. he did not know about it. he did not learn of the responsibility of his deputy until just a couple days ago. and i think, john, if he is telling the truth, i think he can survive this. but i will say this. the story strange for a lot of people and if it turns out he hasn't been telling the truth on this, i think he is a politically goner as far as the presidential candidate is concerned. but i think again, if he is telling the truth, i think he can fight his way back from this. >> cristie's defense is that he didn't know what his staff was doing. >> for a governor for a reputation of running a tight ship, a par military operation, it's hard to believe that a deputy chief of staff would order this up and the e-mail says time for the traffic jam to begin, suggesting their earlier e-mail. in fact, there have been over 800 e-mails and texts that have turned over. the u.s. attorney is investigat

later today, i'm going to be going to fort lee. asked to meet with the mayor to apologize to him personally face to face. and also to apologize to the people of fort lee in their town. i think they need to see me do that personally. and i intend to do that later on today. >>> people of those communities for four days days were impacted in a completely callus and indifferent way. and i'm going to go and apologize for that. let me conclude with this. this is not the tone that i have said -- set over the last four years in this building. it's not the environment i have worked so hard to achieve. we saw just a few months ago and i have seen over the course of the last four years, republicans and democrats working together. not without argument. governments never without argument. but ultimately coming to resolution on some different issues in a bipartisan way and running a campaign that was, in fact a bipartisan campaign. and so i am extraordinarily disappointed by this. but this is the exception. it is not the rule of what's happened

with fort lee. certainly not something that i'm prepared to talk about now. >> can you explain why one the e-mail published and first found out there was anything going on -- >> it wasn't with pat foy's e-mail but there was an earlier story than that. i don't remember exactly. >> about the traffic though. >> something about the traffic, yeah. >> why didn't you respond then especially after the e-mail all of this stuff about emergency services? >> we did. we did and we were told it was a traffic study. >> but they tell you it was a traffic stulddy but the mayor is saying the ambulances can't get around. >> we were told they did a traffic study where they did not want the normal flow of traffic being interrupted to the traffic stu study would be a valid one. we did respond. we asked him and that's how we responded. again, i'm not somebody who's going to be getting into the details of a traffic study where one is done appropriately or inappropriately. i can tell you that at that first moment, that's wh

in it brit and kelly wrote time for some traffic problems in fort lee.rt lee back into a parking lot for four days, slowing emergency response time, including ambulances, perhaps contributing to 9 death of a 91-year-old woman in cardiac arrest. texts do appear to show that aides mocked the results of the actions. wildstein responding no. and here is the mayor of fort lee responding to the revelations last night on msnbc. >> i have to read this to you and get your response to it. we have david wildstein who has since resigned, saying it will be a tough november for this little serbian. got a response to that? >> david wildstein deserves an ass kicking? sorry. there i said it. >> if you think this doesn't translate beyond state politics, thing get enagain it carries over 102 million vehicles each year. what would be the result for chris christie, he carefully calibrated brands and aspirations for the oval office? >> somebody on our staff had done this, i can tell you for myself, and i didn't know what happened? i would burn down the office until you found

fort lee mayor mark sokolich joins me tonight. >> mr. governor christie characterized your meeting as productive. would you? >> i would use them as productive. i felt there was a heart-felt apology which we accepted. and we took governor christie at his word. i mean, i'm not so sure we have much more of a choice. but we did. it was a sincere exchange. >> as far as you're concerned, is this over? or still is this just one chapter that's done? >> there's mounds of documents that still need to be gotten through. there's a lot of folks, there's a large ensemble that's apparently involved in this. there are names that were redacted from the test in the e-mails. so i think any reasonable person would reach the conclusion that there's more to come or more stuff to find out about. >> when you read that e-mail from bridget kelly to the port authority saying we need to have a traffic problem for fort lee and the response was got it. when i read that it sounded as if the person on the other end of that knew instantly what that meant. and i'm not su

, and also to apologize to the people of fort lee in their town. i think they need to see me do that personally. and i intend to do that later on today. people of those communities for four days were impacted in a completely callous and indifferent way. and i'm going to apologize for that. let me conclude with this. thithis notthe tone that i've se last four years in this building. the environment that i have worked to achieve. we saw in the last four years republicans and democrats working together. not without argument. government is never without argument. but ultimately coming to resolution on so many different issues in a bipartisan way and running a campaign that was in fact a bipartisan campaign, so i'm extraordinarily disappointed by this. but this is the exception. it's not the rule what has happened in the last four years of this administration. i have considered it, over the last four years, to be my job, as governor of new jersey, republican and democrat, or unaffiliated. and i've worked with elected officials on both sides of the aisle

the fort lee mayor initially told governor christie not to come, but just a short time ago he said he is glad the governor persisted, and accepts his apology. governor christie told reporters he went to a top aide four weeks ago in insisting he tell him if anyone was involved in what is gate. dubbed as bridge >> a come on here today to apologize to the people of new jersey. i apologize to the people of fort lee, and i apologize to the members of the state legislature. >> a website printed e-mails topcating an eight and a port authority employee deliberately closed lanes as political payback. onlyovernor insisted he learned the truth from an aide at the gym. insisting he is not a bully and did not set the tone for bad behavior and his administration, he said today he had no reason to seek retribution against the fort lee mayor for not endorsing his bid for governor him a claiming he never asked for the democrats endorsement and in his words, could not even picked the new jersey mayor out of a lineup. when ibest i can do is see stuff like that to end it. i'm not in the business of satis

i represent fort lee, indeed i lived in fort lee for a couple of years. so i know this area quite well. i know the geography very well. i have been to four port authority commission meetings in october, november, december. i have asked question after question. so let's look at this whole thing. i am really glad that the governor has finally, after four months, expressed outrage. let me point out that all of the new jersey commissioners are nominated by the governor. he is the one who appoints them. then we move ahead to his two top lieutenants at the port authority, the deputy executive director and mr. wildstein who was a childhood buddy of his. when those two people left and it was a parent that they were directly involved with this, the governor never asked them, did anybody in my office have anything to do with this. the governor should know that. >> let me jump in. should chris christie be firing people over this? >> yes, absolutely. i will back up what mayor sokolich just said. anybody who used the george washington bridge -- just think about it. it

fort lee, the town, will sue the state for the disruption and the police overtime. anybody who was inconvenienced will sue the state. and if the estate of this whom, who died, can demonstrate that schad she gotten to the hospital in a reasonable period of time, they will sue the state for her wrongful death. i would think the state would be quick to settle these cases. the last thing it want is trial after trial about this. >> it's clear now this was politically motivated. not on the governor's part but clearly those world, -- involve, this is politics. governor christie said he didn't know the mayor of fort lee, new jersey, who we asked to appear on the program. he says he doesn't know him. this was political payback to suggest this sort of thing done happen on a much grander stay here in the tri-state or around use be to feign naivete that does not exist at the table. >> when the governor spoke about this a couple of weeks ago and made a joke been it -- >> i was the one moving the code, ha-ha-ha. >> a joke for which he apologized today. he was acting as if, come o

tonight's lead, time for some traffic problems in fort lee. those eight words are sending shockwaves towards new jersey governor chris christie tonight. they are contained in a stack of private emails and text messages among top christie aides that became public today. documents that make clear a local political story now reaches all the way into the office of governor christie. more than a month governor christie has denied he or his staff had anything to do with closing traffic lanes leading to the busiest bridge in the world. for four days in september, the move backed up traffic for hours. some believed the closure was political revenge, a payback to the democratic mayor of fort lee where the lanes were closed. for his refusing to endorse christie's re-election. two of christie's appointees said the lanes had been closed as part of a traffic study. but there was no evidence of a study. both men are close to christie. wildstein is a high school friend and both men were forced to resign after the story became public. this morning the bergen

elaine quijano is in fort lee for us tonight. elaine? is outraged by today's developments and insists he was misled by his staff. elaine quijano is in fort lee for us tonight. elaine? >> reporter: scott, it was a local traffic jam on the approach to the busy george washington bridge behind me linking new york and new jersey. in september unannounced lane closures backed up traffic into the new jersey town of fort lee. the closures sparked accusations of political retribution against mark sokolich, fort lee's democratic mayor, who did not endorse governor chris christie during his successful reelection bid. christie denied the allegation. now e-mails and text messages reveal a top christie aide appears to be responsible for the closures. last august, his deputy chief of staff, bridgette anne kelly wrote: that e-mail w that e-mail was sent to david wild and seen the, a christie ally, who was in charge of the bridge, the port authority of new york and new jersey. his response to the directive? "got it" he wrote. when the closures happened,

democratic leaders accuse the governor of punishing fort lee's mayor. for refusing the endorse christie in his reelection campaign. >> who deserves the apology? my family, the families who live here in fort lee, who were hours late for the opening day of school, they deserve an apology. >> reporter: before today, governor christie denied his office had anything to do with the shut down and sarcasticly denied being personally involved. >> i was actually the guy out there in overalls and hat, working the cones. >> reporter: governor christie is considered a gop frontrunner for 2016, a no-nonsense politician with bipartisan appeal. >> if this scandal continues it could be a drag in terms of whether or not he is successful in that effort. >> reporter: in a statement tonight, the governor distances himself from an unnamed person in his staff and says that people will be held responsible for their actions. brian, it looks as if the story will make news in the coming days. >> if you didn't say that i would, stephanie gosk, thank you. starting us off tonight. >

he turns up in e-mail calling the mayor of fort lee an idiot. governor christie has already fired both of these people who you see on their screen here. and scuttled bill stepien's plan to become head of the republican party. apparently the plan was to subpoena those two people. now they're getting expert advice from the prosecutor who put blagojevich in prison for corruption. that gentleman is assisting the assembly in its investigation. a source involved tells nbc news that it was the advice of the new special counsel that caused the assembly to lengthen its subpoena list from two, bridget ann kelly and bill stepien, to instead the 17 people and three entities who are getting served tonight. the source saying, that's what happens when you talk to somebody who knows how to do one of these investigations, end quote. so by the end of the hour tonight, by the end of the night, we may know who is on that long list of subpoenas from the assembly. as of right now we do not know and we are trying to find out. we do, however, have a different subpoena

also to apologize to the people of fort lee in their town. i think they need to see me do that personally, and i intend to do that later on today. people of those communities for four days were impacted in a completely callous and indifferent way. i'm going to go and apologize for that. let me conclude with this -- this is not the tone that i have set over the last four years in this building. it is not the environment i have worked so hard to achieve. we saw just a few months ago, and i have seen over the the course over the last four years, republicans and democrats working together. not without arguments, but ultimately coming to resolution on so many different issues in a bipartisan way and running a campaign that was a bipartisan campaign. so i'm extraordinarily disappointed by this. but this is the exception. it is not the rule of what has happened over the last four years in this administration. i've considered it to be my job to be the governor of every new jersey citizen, republican, democrat, and independent. i've worked with offici

the mayor of fort lee is about to join us. we'll have a full report on this whole story., listen to what the mayor of fort lee just told me about who he thinks the governor should apologize to. >> calls are going to be made. call the families that waited two to three times longer for an ambulance to arrive while their loved one was clutching their chest because of chest pains. call the thousands of parents that couldn't get their kids to school on time for the first day of school and the three or four days thereafter. you know, call, call those people that had to deal and endure this. that it's given me time toabout reflect on some of life'seen biggest questions. like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view. i wonder if i can see mt. rushmore from here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. bulldog: the red tags mean the red tags mean save up to 40% on clear

or the mayor of fort lee?but chris christie denied his office was involved. >> i was the guy working the cones. you are not serious with that question. >> reporter: that was in december. today the governor releasing a statement calling the e-mails unacceptable and saying he's outraged that he was misled by a member of his staff and that the completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without his knowledge. >> may not be the end of it. the other headache for governor chris christie is he didn't know what he was going on in his own office. while he says he was misled by a member of the staff, the e-mails seem to suggest that more than one staffer may have had knowledge of what was going on. the governor promised accountability for those responsible, don. >> thank you, joe. >>> joining me now is chairwoman of the democratic national committee, congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz. thank you for coming in. >> thank you, don. good to be here. >> democrats are quick to react today. the dnc sent out

there was a call of a missing child in fort lee. thoroughly because of the traffic chaos from this closure. >> so this was serious. i'm going to have to hold it there. we'll certainly be watching this theory next week. assemblyman gordon johnson and goldie taylor, thank you to both of you for being on the show. happy new year to you both. >> happy new year to you and thank you for having me on. >>> up next, why 2014 may be a big year for toronto mayor rob ford and comedians. stay with us. and the ones who turn ideas into action. we've made our passions our life's work. we strive for the moments where we can say, "i did it!" ♪ we are entrepreneurs who started it all... with a signature. legalzoom has helped start over 1 million businesses, turning dreamers into business owners. and we're here to help start yours. >>> big news today from our neighbors to the north. toronto mayor rob ford has officially filed to run for re-election. he was the first candidate to show up at toronto city hall to register today. he tweeted this photo writ

the fort lee mayor reacted to today's news this way. >> don't do any favors. don't reach out for me. you need to reach out to the families who were waiting for ambulances taking three times longer to get there. you need to reach out to the thousands of families that couldn't get their kids to school and you need to reach out and figure out how much this cost fort lee so we can get a reimbursement check. david wildstein deserves an ass kicking. there i said it. >> i for one have a new favorite mayor. wildstein filed a lawsuit that might stop his testimony from happening. and chris christie canceled his only public event today and the normally talkative christie only issued this of written statement. what i've seen here for the first time is unacceptable and i am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was i misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. one thing is clear. this type of behavior is unacceptable and i will not tolerate it because the people of new jersey deserv

and fort lee comes to a standstill.o find out that people are supposed to be protecting public actually impaired public safety. >> reporter: why did this happen? fort lee's mayor, a democrat, who refused to support christie, as he was on a platform for bipartisanship, wondered the same thing. >> i apparently got somebody mad at me. those e-mails are pretty damning. >> reporter: the e-mails show despite christie's claims otherwise, his staff was cheering as fort lee suffered. is it wrong that i'm smiling? no. i feel badly about the kids. the aide's response, they are children of buono. >> i'm done remaining silent. we need apologies. we need explanations. >> reporter: in a statement governor christie said what he saw is unacceptable. he's outraged and saddened. he was mislead, he said, by a member of his staff. and while the governor says he won't tolerate it, he did not announce any firings. jim avalov, abc news, washington. >> i remember that traffic jam. it not only created such headaches for drivers but also caused s

alison harmelin, cbs news, fort lee, new jersey. >> the documents suggest new jersey' top appointee to the port authority of new jersey and new york was aware there might be political fallout from having helped orchestrate the traffic jam. he left the job last month. >>> about 300,000 people in west virginia have been ordered to stop brushing their teeth, bathing, even washing their clothes. they are turning off the tap because of a chemical spill that contaminated the water supply. it happened about a mile upstream from the state's largest water treatment plant. now people are scrambling for freshwater. the feds are investigating. >>> the security breach at target worse than anyone thought. canceling your credit card may not be enough. what kind of damage hackers can do with your personal information. >> we're on the national stage and it's just a lot of fun for everybody. >> carolina-bound! the 9ers talk about their unfinished business as they continue their play-off run. >> skies will be clear for that football game, 56 degrees your kickoff temperature. warmer than green bay, huh? h

kelly wrote an e-mail saying time for traffic problems in fort lee. got it, replied david wildstine. >> i was blindsided yesterday morning. >> reporter: he repeatedly denied playing any part in the lane closures and said there was no reason for political payback against the fort lee mayor. >> the mayor was never on my radar screen. >> reporter: the governor said he should shoulder the blame. >> i am responsible for what happens under my watch, the good and the bad. and when mistakes are made, then i have to own up to them. . [ music ]. . >>> it didn't dak beach blanket babylon long to pick up on this. we'll have the interpretation of today's events. >>> checking other bay headlines tonight, a bay area teen is facing battery charges after she said she stood up to bullies. this video caught the fight a couple of months ago at hercules high school. jewlyes gutierrez admits she slapped a girl who threw gum at her. she identifies herself as transgender. >>> new billboards going up in oakland exposing the problem of human trafficking and sexual exploitation

kelly reportedly targeted fort lee's mayor because he refused to endorse christie during last year's election. the republican governor traveled to fort lee to apologize to mayor mark sokolich in person. >> he has taken we believe to be a big step in regaining the trust of our community and quite frankly this region. >> reporter: but at least 6 new jersey residents have filed a federal lawsuit against the governor and the state claiming the delivered action made them late for work. the new jersey state assembly and the u.s. attorney generals office are investigating the incident. marlie hall for cbs news, fort lee new jersey. >>> san francisco's beach blanket babylon was quick to come up with its own colorful salute to the problems for the new jersey governor. >> i didn't know what was going on but my staff who did fired, gone! ♪[ music ] >> there you go. the musical revue put new words to the song, one day more, from "les miserables." there is a satirical twist to the lyrics as it pokes fun to what's being called "bridge- gate." ♪[ music ] >> beach blanket babylon is known for the ou