sooner would be better. >> kelly ann, over to you.hat's the one issue you would tell republicans to talk more about. >> first the way to attract people politically understand them culturally. the republicans with their reboot and autopsy, when you look at people as voters, people don't look at themselves as voters. even this whole notion on abortion, does a woman, she fills up the grocery cart and the gas tank once a week. she doesn't get an abortion once a week. understand who people are and understand that delivery today, delivery is a system more than a style. it's not about what you wear and how you look at the podium so much as meet people where you live. if you're young and live online, i need to connect with you online politically. what the democrats did in 2012 was masterful. you run excellent campaigns, they run a crappy administration. >> feel free to jump in. >> i listened to all of the stuff about carbon emissions. >> we have time. >> seriously speaking, we have to go where people live outside of the health clubs, grocery

specifically, use said, does bridget anne kelly speak? does bill baroni get subpoenaed and he speaks? do any the people on the e-mails and texts we've been talking about for the past few weeks, do they go into court and do they bring more evidence, more e-mails, more text messages with this that might not tie the governor directly to the mess that they created on the george washington bridge in ft. lee. but at least puts him -- it casts a shadow on his judgment and his leadership. because one member, one republican person said these are the types of people you're hiring. what does that say about you? >> it says you're like them, and they're like you. by the way, the fish rots from the top. that's something dukakis said. the only thing memorable he said when he ran for president. you take your lead from the boss. people end up talking like the boss, dressing like the boss. all the people working for kennedy, thin ties, the whole routine, short hair. christie might be able to weather the political storm, but he can't escape evidence. if you

but just who is bridget anne kelly and when will we hear her side of the story. >>> and she blew the story on college athletes that can barely read. now she tells cnn she's getting death threats for daring to tell the truth. good afternoon, everyone. welcome to "the lead" coming to you from los angeles. it's not just a town, it's not just a county. it's more than 16% of west virginia's population that can't go near the water coming out of their taps right now. put yourself in the position of 300,000 people that can't even cook with the water in their home. a dangerous chemical is swimming through the water supply because of the alleged carelessness of one company that they probably never heard of before it ruined their weekend. this began when a giant tank at a company called freedom industries started leaking a chemical used in coal processing, spilling into the elk river and contaminating a water treatment plant in charleston, the capital city. it unleashed a persistent odor that many have described like black licorice. president obama has signed a bill and no word on when this may

he says "with subpoena on the way, bridget kelly uses "new york times" to send indirect message of loyalty to christie." bridget annely's people were telling chris christie, i'm still with you? >> to a degree, we're always used in some way. >> that's refreshingly honest. >> what we tried to do in this piece was really peel back some of the layers behind this very mysterious woman, if you will, someone who wasn't very well known to most people outside of a very small circle. steve kornacki, of course, knew her. he knows everybody. other people in trenton who worked there, myself included, did not really know her or really cross paths with her. so, you know, she remains a person of great intrigue. >> so you talked to some of her friends for this story. >> yes. >> and the picture that emerges is that this is not the kind of person who would be running some kind of off book rogue operation. >> that has not been her reputation. certainly. she's someone who generally has been known to follow the rules. who likes to sort of envelop herself in a lot of traditions, a lot of values in terms of family, in terms of mentors. she

obviously bridget anne kelly gets subpoenaed. obviously she will take the fifth amendment. >> i would offer her immunity. she or wildstein would be the plump person to offer immunity to. and she's the person who's zeroed in on as the scapegoat. chris christie very carefully and very lawyerly fashion said she terminated him because she lied to me. knew nothing about an advance saying she lied to him. during this come to gee zest meeting, if anybody has the information don't tell me, tell my lawyer. tell my council or tell my chief of staff within an hour. >> he told two different versions of that in the press conference. that's the first version. that was the prepared version. then an hour later in the press conference he said tell me or those two. he included himself in that possibility. we don't know which one is the true version. or if either one of him is true. they could both be false. but the really tuning thi inini stunning thing is where would we be tonight if chris christie upon reading her e-mail the way he says he did t

no one spoke out including bridget anne kelly. so the question is, would she not speak out to him because she was scared for her own future, didn't want to acknowledge that she played some sort of alleged role here? or was she trying to protect the governor, it would be better he shouldn't know about what we did? paul, go ahead. >> well, she's an experienced political figure and would know that his statement would be scrutinized carefully especially since he's a potential presidential candidate. my bet is she was afraid how it would affect herself, she would be fired. and she's probably saying frankly how can closing down three lanes of traffic on an approach to a bridge be this enormous scandal? it will blow over. and i think she obviously miscalculated and it's cost her her job. >> wolf, can i just make one more point about chris christie's conversations with his colleagues or his subordinates? he said he is going to continue his own investigation. he's going to talk to everyone on his staff and try to figure out what happened h

today bridget anne kelly appears to be the person who ordered the shutdown of the lanes. she's hired a law firm to represent her. governor chris christie also secured representation for himself. hiring a former district attorney who specializes in organized crime. meanwhile, the governor himself is still planning to travel to florida tomorrow to do fund raising events for governor rick scott. on this trip, he will not make a single joint public appearance with rick scott. and in fact, governor christie will not make a single appearance on this trip to florida that is open to the public at all. this is going to be closed-doors only. joining us now is assemblyman lou greenwald, the majority leader in the new jersey state assembly, the top democrat in the assembly, also a member of the newly created select committee on investigations. thank you for being here. >> thank you for having me. >> the bergen record, this is late breaking. they're reporting tonight based on a single source that the subpoenas issued by your committee today include bridget anne kelly and the governor'

. >> there is one sent a few weeks before the lane closeure from bridgette anne kelly, a deputy chief of staff for governor christie to david wildstein the political appointee at the port authority in charge of the bridges, bridget anne kelly says time for some traffic problems in fort lee. and david wildstein responds, got it. the mayor of fort lee reached out to wildstein saying help, please, it is maddening, unquote. wildstein forwarded the plea to someone whose name has been redacted in these e-mails, in fact. is it wrong that i am smiling, the person asked. no, wildstein replied. >> stephen: no, it's not wrong to be smiling, it's wrong to have saved the text about you smiling. (laughter) >> stephen: well, nation, this morning in a triumphant 108 minute someone else-a-culpa, christie faced these allegations head on with a press conference that jamd the airways with a 32 denial pileup. >> i was blindsided yesterday morning. i was done with my workout yesterday morning-- (laughter) >> and i got a call from my communications director at about 8:50, 8:55. informing me of this story th

in the "crossfire", margie o'meara, and kellie ann conway who polls for republicans.ction more? democrats? republicans? or the voters? tonight on "crossfire." >>> welcome to "crossfire." i'm van jones on the left. >> i'm newt gingrich on the right. in "crossfire" tonight, democratic and republican pollsters. as we start the new year, the biggest request el is whether either party can get its act together enough to win a decisive victory, or whether we stumble through the year in a series of localized elections, leaving us in the doldrums until 2016. i know where your vote is. >> well, i hope the democrats can get their act together, and get a wave going, but we could blow it. we've got to bring this thing out. we have some of the best minds in the country to help us think this through. margie o'meara,ened kelly ann conway who worked for none other than our own newt gingrich. now, listen, you have to look at the numb% and tame them seriously. i am imagining we're hoping obama care fades a bit and we can go after you guys on minimum wage. why don't the republicans just

governor christie's fired deputy chief of staff bridget anne kelly has also hired an attorney who is no doubt schooling her in the finer points of the fifth amendment. the special committee officially announced they are issuing 20 subpoenas today. 17 of those to individuals, including david samson, the chairman of the port authority, and the next chief of staff, as well as two fired staffers, kelly and bill stepien. it will include the campaign office, administration and port authority. although governor christie has not yet been subpoenaed, john wisniewski would not rule out the option, and if governor christie was hoping for a quick end to the investigation, the chairman of the special committee is refusing to give a time line. >> we don't know how long this process will take. you know, one of my colleagues on the floor said that this should be concluded -- i think he used 90 days a time frame. if that were possible, that would be great. it's also entirely possible he could get to the end of two years and not have all the answers. >> joining me now is vincent deprieto, speaker of t

. >> emails made public on wednesday revealed that bridget anne kelly, chris christie's deputy chief of staff had written to the agency overseeing the bridge. . >> there's no justification forever lying to a governor or a person in authority in this government. and as a result, i have terminated bridget anne kelly's employment immediately. >> chris christie said he asked bill steppian, another advisor to not seek the chairman of the republican party. >> 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. and take the action i believe is necessary. >> that action, said chris christie, included travelling to fort lee to apologise to commuters and officials. the mayor spoke after the meeting. >> i viewed it to be productive. with assurances this will not occur in the future. >> on wednesday the prosecutor's office of paul fishman will consider charges. david wildstein carried out the lane closures on instructions from chris christie's staff. >> i respectfully assert my right to remain silent >> all of that i

actually happened from those who were in charge of this ridiculous scheme, so you're going to see kelly ann, wildstein, and everybody else who we know now was involved or perhaps those who we don't know were involved. they'll all come and they will all testify or take the fifth, as they have in the recent past. the real challenge for chris christie and those around him is that, you know, he threw these folks under the bus or off the bridge, however you want to characterize it. they are not going to be too happy with them, and to save their own skins, there's a lot of precedent for this. they may well make a deal and turn state's evidence. >> that's part of the deal with him, this sort of drip, drip, drip of information. there are so many different investigations going on on so many fronts, in addition to which, there are people who are looking like they could have some real serious legal problems and maybe they will turn evidence, right? >> they certainly have an incentive to do so. of course, the biggest unanswered question is how much christie knew, is he telling the truth that he didn't

top in my mind, did brinlt ann kelly come up with this idea by herself? and why did he decide not to talk to her after he found out about the e-mails? but before he fired her? it's something that is sort of critical to figuring out exactly how this decision was made and how the process went down. the clip at the said, what did i do wrong to make folks think it was okay the lie to me? the other question is, there was a culture here that even if christie is telling the whole truth when he says he had no knowledge of any of this -- what did he do to create the culture that let them thing it was okay. that's the question that a number of republicans have raised to me privately. >> inside the beltway, are people buying the story? >> well, his press conference and his performance at the press conference gave the republicans i talked to enough cover to not have to go after him. you know in the immediate hours after this scandal broke two days ago, there wasn't really anybody who felt comfortable with their own political fortunes to step out and defend him. and,

you know, earlier e-mails and text messrages are what first provided the evidence and what bridget ann kellyaid. in addition to bridget ann kelly and some of may sources here in trenton are saying that she's tremendously well-liked by her peers and there's wide ranging disbelief it was just her who issued this order, that it must have come from above or could be somewhere else. we know that the most trusted political adviser in chris christ christie's orbit will be on that list. he was dismissed last week. people think that he may know more as well. we will certainly see bridget anne kelly and bill. >> we also understand that there is a new attorney assisting the panel. one with experience deal high-profile governors and scandals. talk about him. >> well, carol, his name is reid shar and he was former assistant u.s. attorney in illinois and he worked on both corruption trials for illinois governor rod blagojevich who is no longer the governor. he is now in prison. she is in a law firm. both sides are lawyering up. we just learned in the last hour that chris christie's administration brought

bringt ann kelly, christina renna, evan ridley, bill stepien, rugina egea and michael drewniak. with all of these people involved in a reelection mode, they are going to have to say that none of them informed the governor at all during the course of this even if he is going to be questioned at a re-election stop. >> these are people who are going to now come under serious pressure. as you said reid schar is a very serious prosecutor. you listed the number of people he has gotten convictions for. he is somebody who should send a signal to governor christie and all of the people you mentioned that the time for game playing is over. when you have bridget ann kelly who is now out of a job, unceremoniously fired without the governor talking to her who we know from press reports is not happy about what happened and how it happened in terms of her firing, these are people who will have to answer a lot of the questions that the congressman was just raising. and the question i want to have answered and i hope that reid schar will find it, when bridget ann kelly sent the e-mail saying tim

and very disappointed. >> he's referring to bridget anne kelly.ty chief of staff to the governor of chris christie. >> he wasn't the only one betrayed here. the people of the state of new jersey were betrayed here. it wasn't just personal to chris christie. he may be sad but he's angry, too. but the people of new jersey were the ones sitting on those bridge and tied up in traffic and, you know, not just chris christie. i think the strategy was high risk and reward potentially, reward if it turns out to be true and high risk because there were a lot of high points that s.e. pointed out that were delivered. i didn't know. i looked on my ipad. i was exercising. that's how i found out. >> these people have no room. >> nothing. >> that is risky. >> hi risk, high reward. >> jeffrey, let me bring you into this. because i was surpriseds that was quickly as it happened that one of the associates david wildstein from the port authority in new york had resign d a couple of weeks ago as a result of this, maybe not, he was there testifying before the state leg

this morning the bergen record published emails between bridgett ann kelly and mr. wildstein who ordered the lanes closed. the campaign manager were copied on other emails after the lanes was re-opened. back in august a month before the bridge closure, christie's deputy chief of staff emailed mr. wildstein quote, time for some traffic problems in fort lee. he wrote back. got it. today new jersey democrats said the case might call for criminal charges or federal investigation. but the assemblyman investigating said the documents do make one thing clear. >> they call into serious question the honesty of this governor and his staff. as a result of what has been revealed today this governor has a lot of explaining to do. so many questions remain unanswered. >> governor christie cancelled an event scheduled for this morning and late this afternoon put out this statement. quote, what i've seen today for the first time is unacceptable. i am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was i misled by a member of my stambgs but this completely inappropriate and unsan

when bridget anne kelly lyled to him. that was it, he didn't need to look to the underlying conduct. what happened what happened and why they would have done this presumably on his behalf on to his benefit? >> matt katz, the underlying conduct, that's the issue that i keep coming back to because was it a one off? it seemed as though from the e-mail exchange when bridget anne kelly e-mails about it's time for a traffic jam in ft. lee and david wildstein says got it. it's almost automatic, they are having a conversation which seems to be -- >> as p it were part of a playbook. >> we picked it up in the middle of the conversation it seemed in those documents, but what it might indicate is the perception of the governor might be true and that perception is that they -- there's a subtle understanding that rolls down from the top that -- enemies are taken care of so to speak. that's the perception christie is trying to beat. he's having a problem about that because others are now coming forward saying that the governor has gone

obviously he's dismissed his aid bridget anne kelly, and bill stepien. what about the culture of the office? what does that say about chris christie that they could do something like that? >> but this is what happens in political operations. i mean, people get wrong messages. it happens all the time. it happened, again, i go back to the irs scandal. the people in the irs, president obama wanted them to do this. president obama didn't want them to do this. but they got the sense because of that culture that they were supposed to target right wing groups. it was totally wrong. i think it was totally wrong for these people to have interpreted chris christie this way. he's handled it the best way you can handle it. held a press conference, flatly denied it. if it's not true, he's put his political career completely at risk. turns out there's evidence he knew about it, he's taken the risk that his political career is over. i don't think he would do that if there's any suggestion he knew about this. >> do you think this goes away for chris christie? have you t

. >> now, bridget anne kelly is the author of what i guess is the smoking gun, the hottest e-mail in this collection where she says -- seems to start it all off by saying it's time for some traffic problems at fort lee. you would like to get her testimony, surely, and it seems the simple question to her would be why did you write that e-mail? isn't that as simple as it is in terms of the question to her? >> i think there's another question. you don't write that e-mail out of the blue and expect the person receiving it to understand. there were discussions beforehand. there was a plan hatched before that e-mail was fired off. we'd like to know what that plan was about. we'd like to know what the meetings were about. we'd like to know what the purpose for this plan was. we know, for example, that in the week preceing there was efforts made to set up a meeting between the head of the port authority, chairman david sampson and governor chris christie. did that meeting have something to do with the e-mail that bridget kelly ultimately issued? those are questions we need to have answered.

he then announced that he had fired his deputy chief of staff bridget anne kelly. that he's asked bill stepien, his former campaign manager to step aside from future republican political organizations, at least for now. and he distanced himself from david wildstein, the representative on the port authority who had earlier stepped down. the governor insisting he is heartbroken, he's betrayed by those he says who lied to him, but ultimately he also said, i am responsible. he said i was blindsided, but i am responsible. glor gloria borger is here, jake tapper, gloria, first you. what's your assessment of how he did? this was a major event not only for him but the people of new jersey and maybe the country if he decides to run for president. >> look, under the circumstances he was confronted with, wolf, i think he did well. i mean, he said he was humili e humiliated, blindsided, lied to and stunned. he called it a callous act. he called these e-mails stupid. he said he had no knowledge or involvement in this issue. and he tried to address the question of whether this i

when bridget anne kelly -- >> don't you love the name bridget? old school. >> for traffic problems in ft. lee. steve said it strains cred creditdulity that the governor wouldn't know about it. >> or she could speak that the bridge commission would say sure, babe, sure. just call me up, i'm going to stop the bridge traffic for four days because you call me up without ever calling back the chief of staff or the guy's counsel counsel. this really what chris wants me to do? because this may be against the law. >> chris, here is the thing. she sent that at 7:34 a.m. she got a response back at 7:35 a.m. there was no phone call. >> so you think it was a cue, that they had set up ahead of time? >> i said on your program about a month and a half ago that let's just wait to see what the governor knew and when he knew it. and right now today i think this press conference opens up the door for more questions. and it really was i think short term. it gives him some room, not a lot. because you've got folks pleading the fifth. you've got folks still possibly r

. >> emails on wednesday showed that bridget anne kelly, a staff member wrote to the staff overseeing the bridge. >> there's no justification forever lying to a governor or a person in authority in this government. and as a result i have terminated bridge et's -- bridget anne kelly's employment immediately. >> i am responsible for what happens under my watch - the good and the bad. when mistakes are made, then i have to own up to them. and take the action i believe is necessary. >> and that action, said christy, including travelling to fort lee and apologising to officials there. the mayor spoke after their meeting. >> he viewed it to be a productive meeting with the assurances that it will not occur in the future. >> paul fishman's office said they would consider a criminal charge. they are getting testimony under oath. the lane clearance were carried out by david wildstein, oninstruction from chris christie's staff. all this as chris christie considers a 2016 presidential campaign. >> if you don't have the trust of the voters, and you can handle the job and the position correctly, t

that e-mail was sent august 13 from the account of bridget anne kelly to david wildstein. one of the governor's top appointees at the agency that controls the bridge. got it, he replied. when the mayor of fort lee called about the xwrid lock, kelly then e-mailed wildstein to find out if anyone called him back. radio silence was the response. christie's critics questioning whether he was truly ignore an of the communications of his staff. they wanted an investigation. >> his statements and actions thus far have proven that he is not the straight shoot their he has claimed to be. and the questions -- require answers. he needs to step up and face the music and answer those questions. >> the other headache for dpof christie is he says he didn't know what was going on in his opponent office and that while he says he was misled by a member of his staff, the e-mails seem to suggest that others, including people at the port authority, may have had knowledge of what was going on. >> joe johns reporting live from washington. it tests some of the image issues facing christie. a tough

obviously bridget anne kelly lied to him and his staff. you believe that, right? when asked the staff, do you know anything about this, you believe that she lied to him, that part? >> the governor gave over 100 people for 60 minutes to come clean. for a man who was a u.s. attorney who did prosecutions before breakfast, he lacked any healthy inquiry about what happened. he fired bridget kelly. now, if it were me, i would at least sit down with the woman and say, why did you do this? how could you come up with this? he said, i didn't talk to her. >> just again, my understanding is that his counsel told him once this came out and they saw these e-mails, don't have anything to do with her. i think that's fairly standard, right? >> clearly. but somebody should have sat down and said, bridget, what were you thinking? why would you do this? they let her go, never talked to her. that's the same thing that happened when mr. wildstein left. pat foye said, nobody here has spoken to him about why the lanes were closed. and so this lack of skepticism on a very important issue

. >> the question then comes up, besides firing bridget anne kelly, the woman at the heard of this, that everything he had to say was truthful so he doesn't get in hot water later on. how likely is that or does this drag on and the longer it drags on, it does upset his second-term agenda, at least at the outset, and that doesn't help his cause. >> it doesn't. and remember, this whole thing was about democratic mayors in new jersey signing up to endorse his re-election campaign. that is what the e-mails were about. a democratic mayor in fort lee who didn't enforce him for re-election. so this image about bipartisan and reaching across and the national campaign perspective that would get broken a bit if it comes out that this is the kind of culture inside the governor's office that he allowed to sit in. he is doing a lot of things. going to fort lee, doing an apology tour. he is trying to reach out. but again, neil, as you know, these things could have many different elements and other e-mails and other people could testify. one good thing for the governor there was news from "the new york

bridget anne kelly asks if anybody got back to him.ame comes after mayor, i believe his name is fulop, that mayor is a democratic mayor of jersey city who refused to endorse republican governor chris christie in his re-election bid. that mayor said there was a lot of revenge against him for refusing to endorse christie. he didn't say specifically christi christie had anything to do with it. he refers to democrats that supported him as christiecrats. he says one of his bills was scuttled because he didn't endorse christie. on september 18th, after the story starts to get some tracks in the news, because there is the suggestion it was a political vendetta and a mystery as to why the lanes were closed on the first day of school. david wildstein says to bill stepien who is the campaign manager. he says, he is ready to go to work for empty boxes. he says the mayor, the little serbian, is going to have a bad november. he writes back, christie's campaign. it is fine. the mayor is an idiot. win some, lose some. there are ai lot of questions fo

newly released documents show chris christie's deputy chief of staff, bridget anne kelly, her story ordered the closure of lanes leading to the george washington bridge to punish the mayor of fort lee for declining to endorse christie's bid for reelection. in an e-mail to another christie appointee in high school friend, david edelstein, kelly wrote "time for some traffic problems in fort lee." causedsures cost -- massive traffic jams with just one the operational over a four- day period. avid while e-mail to steam. the scandal could threaten his candidacy for the republican nomination presidential candidacy in 2016. christie denied involvement saying he was "outraged and deeply saddened" by his deputies actions. we will have more on the story after the headlines. the white house is facing questions over a new memoir from former defense secretary robert gates that criticizes president obama and vice president joe biden. gates writes obama never believed in his own policy of escalating the afghanistan war with a surge of 30,000 troops will stop aids also calls i'd and "wrong on nearly all ma

those of us guessing where you are going next are expecting subpoenas from people like bridget anne kellytell us if that will be the next step? >> they will be zaeef receiving subpoenas. they will be subpoenas into the governor's office. there will be a lot of subpoenas. i don't want to surprise people by telling them tonight, but they're going to be coming and we're going to be looking at figuring out where that chain of e-mails came from. i mean, you've pointed out. others have pointed out. you don't get an e-mail, it's time for traffic problems at ft. lee unless there was a discussion beforehand, somebody higher than you made you believe you had the authority. right now, we don't know who that is. we'd like to find that out. if way to find that out is look at documents that bridget kelly may have had, bill stepien may have had. was the new jersey party directing operations of at least one person in the governor's office? that would be stunning if proven. >> have there been any orders to either the governor's office or any of these other groups or individuals who may be involved telling

damaging e-mails which he called stupid and callous, he has now fired deputy chief of staff bridget anne kelly, seen here with the governor in september, wrote "time for some traffic problems in ft. lee." today, the man who responded got it. he appeared at a state assembly hearing. >> on advice of my counsel, i assert my right to remain silent. >> reporter: david wildstein who already resigned from the port authority, refused to answer questions. >> same answer, sir. same answer, sir. same answer, sir. >> reporter: the e-mails suggest there was a deliberate political motivation behind four days of snarled traffic last september at the george washington bridge. >> the delays at the gw bridge are a solid hour. >> reporter: aimed at the democratic mayor of ft. lee, who did not back christie in the reelection. christie said he does not lead a culture of political payback critics say this shows you are a a political bully, that your style is payback. are you? and does this compromise your ability to serve? >> no, i'm not. listen, kelly, politics ain't a beanbag. and everybody in the country who eng

bridget ann kelliful she ordered highway lane closures in fort lee, new jersey for three days last yearful that caused gridlock near the george washington bridge. one of the busiest spans in the country. the e-mail said it is for political revenge because the mayor refused to endorse christie for that. he is taking responsibility. >> i am embarrassed and humiliated by the conduct of some of the people object my team. >> also, this morning. one of christi.'s port authority appointment tees refused to answer questions. and he resigned last months and there are still questions whether this will impact his expected run in 2016. >>> there are growing concerns about the flu as they urge people to get vaccinated. >> health officials confirmed. first flu-related death. this woman has died as a result of the swine flu. >> they spoke with an al mad daly city health official -- alameda health official. >> that makes six deaths related to the flu in the bay area. >> we spoke to a pharmacist in alamedaful and he said he has seen a spike in the null of people getting the vaccine. it isn't unusual for ja

he has gone on to fire his employee bridget ann kelly.it following e-mails that surfaced that suggested the four-day traffic jam over the bridge was orchestrated to hurt the mayor that did not support christie's reelection last year. >> i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, planning, or execution, and i'm stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here. >> in the e-mails, kelly tells one of the governor's high school buddies at the port authority, time for some traffic problems in fort lee. got it the official replies. two weeks later, the problems occurred. for days, commuters, even emergency vehicles were snarled in traffic. it is threatening his potential bid for the 2016 republican presidential nomination. on thursday's news conference, christie was contrite. >> ultimately i'm responsible for what happens under my watch. >> shortly before the news conference, the "new york times" reported that the attorney in new jersey would open an inquiry into the scandal. >> wow. governor jerry browne introduced his budget proposal

and one of the things i found very curious about bridgette ann kelly's e-mail that said time for some in fort lee sent at 7:34 in the morning and what i found very curious is that the response that came back came within a minute later that just said got it. to me, that said to me there's some premeditation here that the person on the other end knew exactly what to do. so where is that -- where is that information? that premeditated planning? are we going to see that many could out next? perhaps, i don't know. >> david pringle and jonathan capehart, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> coming up, one of chris christie's biggest defenders in congress is in the news himself. congressman michael grimm's caught on camera meltdown. that's next. the conversation about his car loan didn't start here. it began way, way back. before he had children. before he got married. it started in his very first apartment. see that overdue bill? it arrived after he moved out. and he never got it. but he's not worried. checking his credit report and score at experian.com allowed him to i

christie has had at least i think eight of your former aides working for him, including bridget ann kellyme is the one who contacted the guy on the port authority and now fired by governor christie. what is bridget ann kelly like? she worked for you. do you know her well? >> i don't know her at all. >> you don't know her. >> i don't know her -- >> she worked for your presidential campaign but a low level. >> she worked somewhere in my presidential campaign. i don't remember what she did or coming into contact with her there. i did come into contact with her since she has been working with governor christie, however. she seemed like a very fine person to me. but i really have very little knowledge about her. >> what happens now? i mean, there is not just -- you know, you say this is a political witch hunt. the legislature investigation. but there is also a prosecutor looking into it. state attorney looking into it. >> there is. there is a prosecutor looking into this. and, you know, that, i think, is a different story. the united states attorneys office in new jersey. although the prosecut

wasn't david wildstein who received the e-mail from the deputy chief of staff bridget ann kelly saying time for some traffic trouble in new jersey? >> right, right. at fort lee, correct. >> fort lee. so that is david wildstein what you suggesting is that david wildstein was in a position to actually order the lane closures, correct? into right. the evidence suggested that he was the one that the port authority officials that actually implemented the lane closures were taking orders from david wildstein. he was the higher up port authority official who said yes, we are going to be closing all lanes for you know later said to be a traffic -- >> as we walk through this, david wildstein actually testified didn't he in front of a committee of the legislature looking into this and he -- he took the fifth, didn't he? >> right. he didn't have a lot to say. he took the fifth. he didn't really discuss anything at all. during that same hearing his attorney alluded to -- it might have been right after the hearing that they -- that he might be willing to discuss things if he is grand immunity which

that was from a woman named bridget anne kelly. the governor at the press conference said he never spoke with miss kelly after that e-mail surfaced. do you intend to subpoena bridget kelly to get answers to the questions. >> we intend to subpoena bridget kelly. i want to point out, rachel. there's a pattern here. when pat foy came and said this was all david wildstein's idea, he did this, it was his plan and we asked the question, well, of course you spoke with him, didn't you? no, of course not. now the governor, well this was all bridget kelly's idea. you spoke to her, no? of course not. and so it seems like the plan is let's just fire the people or terminate them or have them resign and not ask any questions which doesn't seem to meet the expectation the governor created today that he really wants to get to the bottom of it. he wants to sweep it under the rug by making people disappear. >> some long-term observers of new jersey politics have suggested recently that it may at least until yesterday have been the governor's strateg

. >>> more now on the woman everyone wants to hear from, bridget ann kelly. until this week only new jersey political junkies knew her name. now it's rush hour to find out more about her. the answer tonight from erin mcpike. >> reporter: the divorced mother of four worked for chris christie since 2010 and was appointed his deputy chief of staff in april. about five months later she sent a career-ending message "time for some traffic problems in fort lee." the e-mail certainly seems incriminating. but those who know kelly say they doubt the dedicated staffer could have orchestrated this on her own. >> i think a lot of people find it hard to believe that she was acting as a rogue political operative conducting this operation regarding the bridge solely by herself. >> reporter: here in new jersey, bridget ann kelly has been a staple of republican politics for more than a decade. she began as a legislative aide for republican assemblyman david russo and eventually rose to become his chief of staff in 2002. she joined the christie camp as director of legislative a

brigette ann kelly says, did he call him back, and wildstein writes back, radio silence. name comes right after mayor fulop, we should say, another democratic mayor from jersey city, who had refused to endorse governor christie, who also alleges that there was retribution against him for not endorsing him. the next day on september 10th, mayor -- the mayor of ft. lee, new jersey texts to a different political appointee on the port authority, saying the bigger problem is getting kids to school. help, please. it's maddening. somebody, we're not sure, because the name was redacted -- somebody writes, "is it wrong that i'm smiling" when david wildstein forwards this message, complaining about how horrible things are. is it wrong that i'm smiling. and this person writes, i feel badly about the kids. and then writes about a minute later. i guess. wildstein writes, they are the children of barba bueno reporters. this vendetta of revenge in this. we should point out, there is as of now absolutely no evidence that governor christie himself knew about any of this. but also no respo