general samson. again, i'm confident he had no knowledge of this, based on our conversations, and his review of his information. >> i don't know the exact words, but something along the lines of we're taking appropriate action against the new york side and samson is working with us on it. >> yeah, it was something -- yeah. i asked general samson about this. i think -- yeah, said something to that effect. i don't know what it was. he said he has absolutely no idea what wildstein is referring to. >> that's that, settled, he definitely didn't have anything to do with it. two things to mention here, there is one other mention of david samson in the subpoenaed documents that were dumped last week. it was in a chain of text messages submitted by david wildstein. the port authority official who arranged the shutdown after being told to set it in motion by chris christie's deputy chief of staff. other e-mails and text messages submitted to the committee from david wildstein were redacted or partially redacte

chris christie calls him general samson. when frank lautenberg died and chris christie needed to pick someone to take that u.s. senate seat, chris christie tapped jeffrey ciasa. when governor christie started his term as the chairman of the republican governor's association, david samson was among the group of close advisers who went to arizona with chris christie as a sign that samson is seen as important to christie's potential run for national office. david samson and chris christie are very close, when it came out in those subpoenaed documents, david samson is helping us to retaliate. that was a big deal in terms of how high the scandal goes and how close the scandal gets to chris christie. and on the day christie apologized and said he was humiliated and called his deputy chief of staff stupid and the other people involved were stupid and deceitful and showed poor judgment. on that day, when everyone has seen the david samson is helping us to retaliate e-mail, he took a different tone when talking about him. >> i think

general. samson's role becomes more and more important. because this is a prominent very important figure in new jersey politics. this guy is a rainmaker, you want to do a development deal, you hire david samson. it's not bridgette kelly who most people have never heard of until two weeks ago. b, he's the one guy who's in all these e-mails, governor christie sat down with for two hours, the day they all said -- samson convinced him he had nothing to do with it, to me, samson is the fire all, am i wrong about that? >> i agree with you. the problem for the governor, he came out here and gave yet another assure abc that somebody else was not involved. remember, that's how this started. none of my staff was involved, they told me. he did it again with samson. yet samson's name is all over those e-mails. including one that says samson helping us to retaliate. >> here's what you have to believe -- stepian and kelly and berrone cook up the plan and pull it off and the guy on the new york side catches wind and

adamant that samson had not been part of any wrongdoing. >> i sat and met for two hours with general samson say himself. i'm exthat treemly upset and distressed. to be clear neither i for anyone on the board had any knowledge of these lane closures until pat's e-mail. we expect to get a report. but the revelations of the two christy authorities at the port who resigned in december revelations from their subpoenaed records raise questions about samson's role in the briblg affair. on september 13th the port authority's executive director pat foye an appointee of andrew cuomo, fired off a furious e-mail. that stated him to write to bridgett kelly saying the new york said gave ft. lee back all three lanes this morning. we're going nuts. the documents now show him slamming foye. this is yet another exam. of a story, we've seen it before where he distances himself from an issue in the press and ride in on a white house to save the day. if you need prior examples i will provide. in this case he's playing in traffic. made a big mistake. we thought we would tell you more about david samson the head

of his appointees to the port authority is the chairman of the port authority, former attorney general samson. the governor today expressed lots of concern and disappointment and anger he'd been lied to even face to face by people close to him, former attorney general samson is mentioned in the e-mails and text messages that were released yesterday by the record as having taken part in the, quote, retaliation involved in this whole kerfuffle. >> retaliate against the executive director because -- >> of the port authority. >> -- he reversed the lane closure. >> governor christie today said he talked to chairman samson about that and is assured chairman samson had nothing to do with it so he considers that matter closed. he takes his word for it. do you find that dissatisfying? >> well, i think there are so many holes in this whole story, and having appeared before the port authority commission, which i find so frustrating because they happen to be all men, but they all looked at me, you know -- next month she won't be back. and i haven't heard one of their voices. not one of them has said, gee

. >> this is the former attorney general, general samson, the state of new jersey. that's the kind of respect he engenders. >> in fact, david wildstein when the first memo comes from the new york appointee saying randy foye saying this is ridiculous, scorching. are you lucky no one died. it gets forward by david wildstein to david samson, general, can i call you on this? assemblyman, there is some polling out today about voters in new jersey, how they are processing all this. 51% do not think the governor is honest. 52% do not think christie was personally involved in the decision. are you surprised by those numbers? >> those numbers do not surprise me at all. if you apply common sense to what we have thus far and we don't have that much thus far, but it's obvious to me that this young lady, miss kelly, did not initiate this action. miss kelly who worked in the shadow of the governor and was very close to the inner circle. so i find it very hard to believe that this young lady, miss kelly, would initiate action and the governor not know what was going on. >> are you

samson, general samson. that he had no knowledge of this based upon our conversations. and his review of his information. >> so what you have right there is chris christie, the easily duped boss, chris christie the guy who anyone working for him can lie to, and he's fooled. or maybe, maybe you just have chris christie not telling the truth. maybe chris christie is just not telling the truth when he says i'm confident that david samson had no knowledge of this. even if we take christie at his word and he believes that david samson had no knowledge of the lane closures and even if we take david samson at his word that he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures, what we do know is that when david samson was told about it by the only truth teller in this story, who was trying to make things right, david samson's reaction was to threaten the truth teller. to say he's playing in traffic, "made a big mistake." chris christie fired his campaign manager last week based on just the tone of his e-mails,

samson, general samson, and i am confident that he had no knowledge of this based on our conversation and his review of his information's all as he said yesterday he is angered by this and upset about it and he is going to cooperate with the investigation that is ongoing and discussion at the port authority about what can be done in the future t stop such conduct. >> you mentioned earlier the question you are asking, are you also asking the question, how did i conduct myself beginning with lending folks and stuff like this, not a criticism but the decisions that were made were closer through your administration or campaign that allows you to think it is co-pay against these. >> i know who i am. i am not that person. it is easy for people to be characterized in public life based upon their personality. i have a very direct blunt personality and i understand why some people would characterize that especially people don't like you as bullying but it is not that and i know that about myself. i am more focused on why the truth wasn't told to me. >> in politics that person there, also -- >>

david samson, former attorney general of new jersey, he headed up the governor's transition team when he became governor, a close political ally. the governor said yesterday, even though samson's name turned up in the first provocative 22 pages of the documents, he was helping take part in retaliation. we weren't sure what that meant. the governor sat down with him, talked to him for two hours, is confident he had nothing to do with this. how does david samson come across in the documents? >> the other thing this shows, which we only had in vague indications from sources was that the new york and new jersey sides basically went to war after pat foye found out about the lane closures and reversed them. samson is the key figure, infuriated by the fact the e-mail got to us, other newspapers and really is going after him to his new york counter parts saying you have to bring this guy in. he's always trying to stay distant from issues, ride in and solve the problem. it sounds petty, but what they are fighting about is the basic duties of the organization and whether they are being managed

forwarding it to david samson, saying general, as in former attorney general, can i call you on this now? right there, i have a question. what was that phone call? >> they're on a war footing. they always are in team christie. so the notion you would have one man, particularly samson at the top, who's, you know, sort of stroking his chin and wondering, again, credulity. >> that's key. one of the things you get from this, a huge bulk of this has to do with what a freak-out, a flipout was happening in ft. lee and how much it was blowing up through ft. lee politics and through new jersey politics and into the governor's office and into the press and through the port authority where people are writing in saying, it takes me half an hour usually, took me 2 n 1/2 hours to get to work yesterday, 2 hours yesterday. what is going on? >> you have christie operatives saying don't talk to the press about this and didn't even alert the ft. lee police? i mean, it's utter madness. >> another christie associate, this is key, brought to our attention by our own great steve kornacki who knows new jers

david samson is a former attorney general of the state of new jersey. he is very, very, very well connected in that state. not in a particularly partisan way, none of this story is particularly partisan. there's people from both parties and no parties on all sides of this. by all accounts david samson is well respected in the state. but he is also the top chris christie related official, ally or appointee in this scandal who is most implicated in this bridge disaster and more who has not yet resigned or been fired or been blamed in any way. david samson is cast in the worst light of anyone who is still standing this far into this scandal. and so far new jersey governor chris christie has been totally, almost unusually aggressive in asserting in unqualified terms that david samson is innocent of everything. in the governor's apologizing for this scandal before he went back to calling anybody who cared about it a partisan, the governor did say that he met directly with two people in his office about this scandal. two people directedly reported to him, his

samson. i believe a former attorney general of new jersey. chairman of the port authority. he headed up the governor's transition team when the governor first became governor. the governor said yesterday even though chairman david samson's name turned up in the first very provocative 22 pages of leaked documents, said he was helping take part in retaliation, although we weren't sure what that meant from those documents. the governor said in his press conference that he sat down with david samson, talked to him for two hours. he's confident he had absolutely nothing to do with this. how does david samson come across in these documents today given that he's been so important to chris christie? >> well, the other thing this really shows, which we only had in vague indications from our source, was that the new york and new jersey sides of the port authority basically went to war after pat foye found out about the lane closures and reversed them and samson is the key figure here. just infuriated by the fact that pat foye's e-mail got to us and got to other newspapers. and really

general. then there's charlie mckenna, the governor's counsel. and david samson, who is the chairman of the port authority of new york and new jersey, but more importantly in this case, in addition to that, is very, very close confidant of chris christie and has been for a long time. >> these subpoenas, this is legislative. how much of this is politics? these people can just plead the fifth. >> that's right. but they can collect a lot of documents, so that's significant. this story only exists because of some e-mails that were disclosed. so there are likely more e-mails that are relevant to this controversy. but the point about the legislative committee is that they don't have the power to give immunity. to david wildstein, who took the fifth, ms. kelly, who will certainly take the fifth, the only person who can give them immunity is paul fishman, the u.s. attorney, who is also investigating, but it's not clear whether he plans to give them immunity. so we may never hear from these people. >> anderson, when you have 20 subpoenas out there and five or six people t

samson is a former state attorney general under governor mcgreevey at the start of mcgreevey's term in 2002 and '3. david samson was the counsel, the governor's first election campaign, was the chairman of his transition committee when he was transitioning into office. so of those four, he's closest with samson. he went to high school with david wildstein. they weren't in the same class, and i know it appeared they were necessarily close, but part of what, i guess, part of wildstein's interesting connection to this whole thing is that he had been anonymously the editor of a political web site here in new jersey for years. he ran under a pen name, ran columns. a lot of the sort of stories of the things that christie was accomplishing as u.s. attorney and his focus on weeding out political corruption got a lot of attention and publicity through the web site. so there's a sort of connection, i suppose you could say, between wildstein and christie's operation not from the time that he was governor, but going back further. baroni was an ally of christies -- pardon me, beg your pardon -- thr

samson. he is a former state attorney general under governor mcgreevey in 2002 and 2003. was the counsel to the governor's first election campaign, was the chairman of his transition committee. four, he is closest with samson. he went to high school with david wildstein. they don't appear to have been necessarily close. of his connection to this whole thing is that he had been an anonymous website of an editor of the website in new jersey. andn anonymous contributor editor of the website in new jersey. on politicald corruption and got a lot of attention and publicity through the website. between a connection wildstein and christie. baroni was an ally of christie's and ofstate legislature the four, the least close to him is bridget kelly. she is the deputy chief of staff. who is still employed? being the chairman of the port authority is an unpaid position. he still has that job. , as founder and head of one of the most he stillal law firms, has the position to which christie has appointed him. the other three have lost their jobs. wildstein in december and bridget kelly y

and finally, what about that apparent meeting between governor christie and david samson, former state attorney generala week or so before kelly wrote that time for some traffic e-mail. we know that meeting apparently happened because of text messages subpoenaed from david wildstein, told to turn over records that are relevant to the lane closure. so by turning over those texts, he is suggesting that the christie/samson meeting had something to do with the closures. again, there are far more questions than answers here. even if undermining sokolich's prize redevelopment program was part of the scheme, we don't know why he was targeted or if there was someone else, someone bigger at stake at the heart of this. weigh still don't know who would have been involved. documents haven't told us that story. we do know the biggest project ever undertake nen ft. lee, that had huge economic ramifications was affected by the closures. was on so can kolich's mind during the closures and could have been significantly altered if those closures had remained in place for good. this affected more than just the traffic. w

samson street. the woman was taken to san francisco general hospital.he investigation continues. >>> 20 minutes before 8:00. three more bay area flu deaths have been reported and now flu deaths have occurred in all nine bay area counties. a 61-year-old woman in sonoma county with underlying health issues died from the flu in napa county anle 4-year-old -- an 84-year-old man with multiple medical issues died. and in contra costa county, the death of a hl-year-old man last month has been flu-related. 20 people in the bay area have died from the flu so far this season. >>> some restaurant owners are complaining about a new food safety law in california which requires food handlers to wear plastic gloves. the law goes into effect over the next six months. the owner of a sushi restaurant calls it unfair and a threat to his livelihood. chefs say their handy work is a feast for the eyes and the palate. >> it's impossible to wear our gloves during the making sushi. >> some restaurants say the state never notified them about the law. they say their workers will

. >> samson, the chairman -- >> of the port authority. >> right. >> the former attorney general.losing down three lanes on the george washington bridge in order to get retribution against a democratic mayor because he didn't endorse chris christie. i think as we move forward we're going to find there is a wider discussion and other things that may have implications here that have not yet been uncovered. >> something more nefarious? >> such as? >> oh, i won't say nefarious, but i will say things that may be more complicated that we're not focusing on. and that's why it is so important with respect to the committee and we have subpoenaed the documents, but i think there is another story to be told as to what other interests may have been interested in the retaliation. >> now, in looking in the interests as you so eloquently put it, may have been interested in this, will the fact that there is such a wide net of subpoenas also help look into other possible interests that we may not be looking into yet in the media? >> i think, yes. and i'm a practicing attorney. i've been an attorne

samson. the former new jersey general. an announcement. they were going to go along with christie's idea. the port was going to cooperate with the state on what they called access infrastructure enhancements. they didn't commit to a number but the number kicked around at the time was $1.8 billion. now it's less than the $3 billion they were going to contribute to the a.r.c. tunnel but more than enough to let christie fund the projects he wanted to fund through 2016, the year they expected him to go off and run for president. christie's people bragged about how they were changing the way the state funded its transportation projects. the christie transportation capital plan reverses this irresponsible practice of borrowing over each of the next five years. the christie plan will increase while at the same time decreasing the use of borrow in. that's what they were saying. it was highly unusual, though, for the port authority to spend money on projects so far afield. projects that didn't in some way benefit both new jersey an

christie's team may not want to talk, but generally speaking, their e-mails, sadly, can't take the fifth amendment. bridget kelly, david samson others who christie contends all went rogue are bringing in expensive fire-breathing defense attorneys, meanwhile. it's pretty clear they're not going to roll over. their boss is going on the offensive, publicly calling them liars generally, and her, kelly particularly, bridget kelly a liar. it's now their turn to fire back. now governor christie may be completely innocent, of course. but for that to make it in court, no one on his staff can testify he said anything that resembled an order on this matter of the bridge closing, that he talked to any of them about the bridge matter, that he talked to the lieutenant governor about squeezing hoboken mayor dawn zimmer to support a real estate deal, that he knew what they did, the planning and execution of that bogus traffic study. in other words, the guy that spent his entire career looking for opportunities was in this case suddenly and repeatedly out to lunch. that's what it has to look like in court. congressman frank pallone and bill a

samson, he's somewhat of a grandfather figure. he's in his 70s. he's known and respected by a couple of generations. actually his respect has gone across party lines in the past and he was christie's choice to serve as the chairman of the port authority. what we're learning from the new e-mails is he aggressively pushed back against a withering critique of the lane closures at the port authority as they were playing out. the other new name in the mix is regina, christie's current pick to replace kevin as his chief of staff. but her job before this has been the director of what's been called christie's authorities unit. she's part of the governor's office. and in that role as the head of the authorities unit we know now she was forwarded on september 13th of last year a copy of that same withering critique of the lane closures that were written by new york officials. so we with now say that someone up side the governor's office was alerted to the sere yois concerns about the lane closures four full months ago and that someone is chris christie's current pick to be his next chief of staff. so that bri