and bob ingle is with the asbury park press. and he is the co-author of "chris christie: the inside story of his rise to power." mr. coffey, talk about the three elements here, criminality, if there was any crime committed, who might have been involved or is exposed to being charged with a crime, and what investigators might do and prosecutors might decide to do with that exposure on their part. >> well, there is still the big question of what exactly is a federal crime here. and obviously, investigators aren't sending subpoenas around unless they have some definite idea as to what the federal crimes might be. i think it's going to take development of facts to see if there are federal jurisdictional elements here. but we think they're looking at, for example, a question of whether there was some kind of extortion within a general meaning of the word of extortion that used the instrumentality of an interstate facility such as a bridge, perhaps a conspiracy to violate civil rights. they've got things that they're looking at. they

bob ingle, you read that story in the times today. i recommend everybody get it online, take a look because it has great detail about those following this matter. it shows how office is set up, where the political people sit. it shows you where the governor has his press conferences. walks in one door, his people would walk in one door. except the day of the big press conference, he fired them all. you said it sounds like it was a good story. now, my question is, is anybody reading that today saying chris christie is not involved in the day to day politics. he's sort of like barack obama. he's above it all. he's a professor type. is anybody going to say that? >> i think some people will say that. what the newer polls are showing is that democrats and independents are starting to have grave questions, republicans are not so much. but the more of in that comes out and the drip drip drip thing, the more people are going to believe that that's the case. >> well, you previewed my next segment. thank you. and thank you kendall coffey for th

bob ingle, of course. coming up, governor christie was seen as the adult in the republican presidential field, the one potential candidate who had competence, crossover appeal, and the political chops to pull it all together. now what? if christie goes down, it will be a free-for-all for those on the right. david corn and jonathan capehart are coming here to watch the clown show. >>> plus, when it comes to talking about women and sex, good advice to republicans might be don't. mike huckabee's discourse on women's libidos is just the latest fumble as republicans try to close the gender gap. >>> also, family feud? we now know the people who helped elect barack obama are joining team hillary. so what happens when the loyal eye for an eye clinton aides clash with the new obama numbers crunchers? >>> finally, let me finish with a dangerous predicting tomorrow when tomorrow is a couple years from now. this is "hardball," the place for politics. hey guys! sorry we're late. did you run into traffic? no, just had t

also bob ingle who is with the asbury park press, author of "chris christie: the inside story of his power." congressman pallone, tell us about this story, how you smelled it out, you thought it was fishy. i do think it is odd we have a $25 million ad makes the guy look gorgeous, has his wife narrating it. when it looks like a political ad that should be paid for by private funds, not by hurricane relief money. >> chris, i think the main thing here as the asbury park press brought out in their own investigation is that this money that could have been used, you know, for sandy relief. i still have a lot of homeowners and businesses who haven't gotten their money to rebuild or raze their homes. the fact of the matter is it was the difference between the low bid which was not chosen, which was not going to include chris christie and his family, and the bid that was chosen, which was about $2.2 million more expensive. and so this is one of the things that i'm asking the inspector general to look into. whether there was impropriety in choosing a higher bidder for more cost just because ch

thank you for bringing this story and bob ingle for reporting it. still ahead, bill maher joins us.about new jersey than someone from there? this is "hardball," the place for politics. (vo) you are a business pro. seeker of the sublime. you can separate runway ridiculousness... from fashion that flies off the shelves. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. and only national is ranked highest in car rental customer satisfaction by j.d. power. (natalie) ooooh, i like your style. (vo) so do we, business pro. so do we. go national. go like a pro. suddenly you're a mouth breather. a mouth breather! how do you sleep like that? you dry up, your cold feels even worse. well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. cold medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip, and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more so you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do. sleep. add breathe right to your cold medicine. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right. add breathe right to your cold medic

bob ingle, the author of chris christie, the inside story of his rise to power.e you. >> you bet. >> legislature appears to be taking somewhat of a mulligan on the investigation. is it now on a better course? >> i don't know if it is. the problem they've been having is that people are starting to think it's really a political circus and not a serious investigation. it's not a criminal investigation anyway. they can't do that. this is really about according to them finding out if the rules need to be changed. this can't happen. but the republicans are unhappy because they have four members and three of the four are from the assembly. the senate republicans think they should have better representation. it's ripe for this to turn into a political brew ha ha. >> what time of timetable are we looking at here? >> i think it's wide open. there are 20 subpoenas out there that are due back on february 3rd. nobody thinks really that everybody is going to be back on february 3rd. even if it were, they will take time to go through there before they talk about what they have.

thank you, bob ingle, bob. >>> coming up, chris christie is fighting for his political life. never mind 2016, his governorship could be at stake. and now a new poll as troubling news for the governor. chuck todd is going to be down here along with mark halperin. much more on the investigations in new jersey coming up in this program. how far will all of this go as christie told big republican money men this weekend even he doesn't know when his troubles will end. that is probably the truest statement he has made. >>> plus, president obama says marijuana isn't any more dangerous than alcohol, or you could say it's as bad as alcohol. with more states moving to legalize it, we'll talk to two members of the kennedy family who know all about addiction. >>> and let me start with this, how this story out of hoboken promises to ignite a far wider investigation into the current politics of new jersey. and that is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> with just 18 days to go now until the winter olympics in sochi, russian police say they're on the lookout for as many as four black wi

bob ingle and steve kornacki, who has logged so many hours on msnbc over the last couple of weeks. thanks to all of you. that does it for me, i'm chris jansing as we continue to watch the post inaugural address by chris christie. because of the huge snowstorm and that's something the governor will have to deal with on a practical level. his big party tonight has been canceled. we'll take a break and be back with more news after this. you're saying i can get at&t's network with a data plan and unlimited talk and text for as low as $45 a month? $45 a month. wow...no annual contract. no annual contract. no long-term agreement. no long-term agreement. really? really. ok, so what's the catch? there is no catch. ok, i'm obviously getting nowhere with you. i'm gonna need to speak with the supervisor. i am the supervisor. oh, finally someone i can talk to. [ male announcer ] it's not complicated. new smartphone plans starting at $45 a month, with no annual contract. only from at&t. with no annual contract. so i tri only from at&t. ed depend no annual contract. so i it really made the diffe

. >> bob ingle, i'm sure we'll talk to you again soon. thank you very much. let's get straight to the power panel. alice stewart and jimmy williams and senior white house reporter carrie brown. the speech will happen at 3:00, the state of the state, we're hearing that he's going to spend sometime at least talking about the bridge scandal. obviously it's not going to be the bulk of that speech, probably just a nod. should we see a different tone than we saw in that marathon on thursday press conference, carrie? >> it's quite possible. i think that chris christie sort of put himself out there in terms of taking all of the hits and taking the questions and going through it. that was really his one shot to be reflective and just let the media have at him. at a certain point we may see this today with the speeches he's going to perhaps turn more defiant and say i'm not going to let this get in the way of doing my job. i spent almost two hours answering questions. i'm happy to participate in any kind of investigation but i'm not going to be hamstrung by this. i ima

>> steve kornacki, bob ingle. that brings us to today's big question. governor chris christie travels to florida, do you think bridgegate will hurt his national fundraising ability? weigh in on facebook and twitter. >>> another member of congress announcing he will not seek re-election. this time it's jim maran calling it quits. is congress getting sick of congress? >>> and a vote expected in the house any minute on a bill that would avert another government shutdown. we'll talk about those stories and more with republican congress john yarmuth next. while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it

i want to bring in jonathan capehart and columnist bob ingle and msnbc legal analyst kendall coffee.r a while and we heard him apologize and take responsibility and even heard him say over the weekend this has been like being hit by a 2 x 4. where do you see him standing right now in this scandal? >> i think he's hoping that it will all blow over and nothing will be directly tied to him. >> so when he said over the weekend that he's readier, if that's a word, the way he put it, than he was in 2011 to be president, do you think that he believes he can still run for president? >> i think he thinks he could. i think he's been looking at it for a long time and if he doesn't do it now, when will he do it? i think they are hoping against hope it's going to go away and not tied directly to him and he can get back on track in maybe a year or so. >> we're expecting this to start any minute. but let me get a quick thought from you. we know -- at least it's been suggested to us, the governor is not going to mention the bridge scandal. anything he can say or do today to start moving this thing i

i want to bring in steve kornacki, most of msnbc's "up" and bob ingle, co-author of "chris christie,is rise to power." the most significant item so far, the documents pouring in since yesterday. >> there was this infamous memo from pat foye on the new york side. he's not on christie's team. on september 13th, he basically documented everything that was going wrong with these closures and he was totally appalled and he used very emphatic language. one of the things he said in this memo is that it may violate federal and state law. what we found out in this new dump of e-mails is that when he sent that memo, when he sent that e-mail, chris christie's pointman at the port authority, bill baroni, took that and three hours later forwarded it to a woman who at the time is running governor christie's authorities unit. she's part of his team, part of his office. she is responsible for overseeing his personnel at authorities around the state like the port authority. this is somebody very close to chris christie. who is she now? she is a woman who is tapped to succeed kevin o'dowd as his chief

inglÉs). >> y quiÉn estarÍa a cargo de preparar esos principios es el congresista bob g quien preso de el comitÉr y viajar. >> cabe mencionar que nunca menciona las palabras legalizaciÓn y ciudadanÍa tÉrminos que provoca la ira de quiÉnes esta misma semana dijo que serÍa un colosal error para el partido republicano abordar el tema porque difÍcil diria al partido. >> sin embargo, error dicen los defensores de los inmigrantes serÍa que los republicanos lo ignoren. >> quizÁs el partido republicano no estÁ viendo las implicaciones que hay en una elecciÓn de medio tiempo, pero deben tener los ojos puestos en el 2016 saber que van a necesitar del voto latino para llegar a la casa blanca. >> entretanto en cÍrculos demÓcratas no hay nada alegrÍa por lo anunciado pero hay satisfacciÓn que se presentarÍa algo antes de que el presidente pronuncie sobre su discurso anual del estado de la uniÓn. >> ¿cuÁndo fue la primera vez? cuando... el presidente respondiendo a ese en su mensaje. >> pero la interrogante es si republicanos podrÁn poner acuerdo entre ellos mismos para que esos principios se conviertan en le

inglÉs). una propuesta a la que usted se opone. >>> >> que por cierto, quiero rendir homenaje a un amigo mÍo que acaba de fallecer, el principal productor de de esta idea, bobenadores que votaron por el proyecto si les hubieran presentado este modelo, no habrÍan recurrido a otra forma. (todos hablan). >> por eso yo no soy un senador estadounidense sino un ex canciller de mÉxico y comentarista mexicano,. >> yo estoy ansioso con poner el tema en la mesa, porque he tratado durante aÑos en columnas de prensa o en cartas, de presentarle al pÚblico estadounidense claramente que hay miembros de las Élites intelectual, polÍtica, acadÉmica que quieren ver un libre flujo en amÉrica del norte, declaro mi fidelidad al amÉrica del norte. >> y algo mÁs, en este paÍs nosotros estamos interpretando la dÉcima cuarta enmienda de la constituciÓn como un derecho a nacidos en territorio estadounidense a tener la ciudadanÍa estadounidense, al menos en teorÍa, 20 aÑos de fronteras abiertas, crear un continente, por no decir medio mundo que pueda considerarse ciudadano estadounidense. >> sabes que serÍa el fin de nuestra identidad. >> sabes que el nÚmero de mexicanos estadounidens