mr. christie on this visit by a couple hundred miles. greg abbott will do no events, public or otherwise, with governor christie while governor christie is in texas. mr. abbott announced he'll be in houston while governor christie is in dallas. nor will rick perry get anywhere near chris christie. he didn't go near chris christie at all. texas democrats are delighted that chris christie is there. quote from the chairman to the dallas paper today was this. "what's happening in new jersey is in a lot of respects a mirror image of what you see here in texas with rick perry and greg abbott." so texas democrats are psyched to have chris christie in their state, tarring their own state's republicans by guilt with not quite association. new jersey democrats back home are also approaching ecstatic at this point. now trolling the libraries to find the old evidence of chris christie's oldest political scandals to remind you that there were older scandals as well. but if governor christie is looking for the way this scandal ends, this one is not goi

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference he gave immediately before mr. wildstein was scheduled to appear before the transportation committee. mr. wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him, and he can prove the inaccuracy of some." it's clear that the attorney for this key witness, wildstein, wants to win immunity for his client as a price for delivering this evidence. the question is does this evidence contradict statements made by governor christie. michael isikoff is national investigative correspondent for nbc news, and john wisniewski is co-chair of the super committee that is leading the state's investigation into the bridge scandal. michael isikoff, when you look at the statement made by christie made in the press conference, he said he didn't know about the bridge closure until afterwards. here you have a statement by the lawyer for wildstein saying he knew about it during it. your thoughts. >> he said he

mr. wildstein's motivations were for closing them. joining me to help sort this out is bob engel, the co-author of chris christie the inside story of his rise to power. bob good to have you back on the show. >> thank you. >> let's take the claims in order. mr. wildstein isn't saying that christie personally ordered them, but he knew about the closings while they were happening which contradicts what was said in the news club we just played. how damaging is this to christie? >> it became a really good story friday afternoon because the new york times who got a leaked copy of this letter wrote that he the evidence that the governor knew. well -- that's not what the letter says. the letter says as you pointed out that there is evidence. there's a huge difference between there being evidence, and his having evidence. so the twitter world that we live in now, was all atwitter, with, well, that's the smoking gun that got it. well take a good look at the letter. doesn't say that at all. in fact the governor's office did come along and say this doesn't say anything that we haven't already said. and they're right. >> now is so fa so far there h

christie? >> christopher? (laughs) oh, he was a joy! kids like chrisy are why i teach! definitely presidential material. a born lead we are executive experience. (laughter and applause) mrs. ludemeyer, you're reading off of note cards. did chris christie's people get to you? >> yes. he closed off two lanes of the lunch line. (laughter) i wouldn't endorse him and a week later the class goldfish dropped dead! (audience reacts) i could be next! >> stephen: stay calm, mrs. ludemeyer. >> can i stay here tonight? >> stephen: of course you can! we'll be right back. (cheers and applause) ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze... ♪ [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] you may be an allergy muddler. try zyrtec®. it gives you powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin® because zyrtec® starts working at hour 1 on the first day you take it. claritin® doesn't start working until hour 3. [ sneezes ] [ male announcer ] zyrtec®. love the air. [ female announcer ] this week only, save up to $15 on zyrtec® products. see sunday's newspaper. ♪ ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ i'm ten feet tall ♪ oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ i'm ten feet tall ♪ [ female ann

wildstein resigned from the port authority, governor christie's office called him a tireless advocate for the state. when the governor's office got flak for hiring mr. wildstein, they said he deserved that job, perfect for that job. now governor christie's office is saying the social studies teacher called him deceptive. he'll do and say anything. this story has been getting bigger for a long time. it's never taken a more dramatic turn for the weird before today, though. stay with us. >>> what the people of new jersey need to know is two things about this. one more time. first, i had nothing to do with this. no knowledge, no authorization, no planning, nothing to do with this before this decision was made to close these lanes by the port authority. secondly, while i'm disappointed by what happened here, i'm determined to fix it. i can't promise you that we're going to be perfect. what i can promise you is we're going to do our best. >> new jersey governor chris christie making his first public comments on the bridge scandal tonight since nearly a month ago. that interview was live tonight as more breaking news in this story broke. third figure in t

christie? >> christopher? (laughs) oh, he was a joy! kids like chrisy are why i teach! definitely presidential material. a born lead we are executive experience. (laughter and applause) mrs. ludemeyer, you're reading off of note cards. did chris christie's people get to you? >> yes. he closed off two lanes of the lunch line. (laughter) i wouldn't endorse him and a week later the class goldfish dropped dead! (audience reacts) i could be next! >> stephen: stay calm, mrs. ludemeyer. >> can i stay here tonight? >> stephen: of course you can! we'll be right back. (cheers and applause) hello, america. the folks at wonderful pistachios have asked me to help sell their product. but, come on. they're wonderful. i'm wonderful. they'll sell themselves. i think we're done. yeah. you were good. in the last thirty seconds due to a lack of "branding." well, let's take care of that. pistachio! pistachio! wait for it... pistachio! wait for it... i love you. uh, i mean, thank you. you're welcome. share the love with delicious heart-shaped donuts from dunkin'. try the new cookie dough donut today. what is focus? it's a wondrous sensation of clarity and alertness... it's owning your opponen

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christie? >> christopher? (laughs) oh, he was a joy! kids like chrisy are why i teach! definitely presidential material. a born lead we are executive experience. (laughter and applause) mrs. ludemeyer, you're reading off of note cards. did chris christie's people get to you? >> yes. he closed off two lanes of the lunch line. (laughter) i wouldn't endorse him and a week later the class goldfish dropped dead! (audience reacts) i could be next! >> stephen: stay calm, mrs. ludemeyer. >> can i stay here tonight? >> stephen: of course you can! we'll be right back. (cheers and applause) everyone thinks i want a contract... but without one, i've done so much this year... nervous father's the mike... ...white...20...motion... is that tim tebow? 180... breathe...hut, hut!! without a contract, "there he is" i've tackled the unknown... "gotcha" i've answered tough questions... "...we can save the whales, we can talk to animals, and we can bring world peace!" "iceland, eyes here..." bottom line... contracts are limiting. yes they are... "uh oh" switch to t-mobile and we'll buy you out of yours. (cheers and applause) >> stephen: welcome back, everybody, my guests tonight are russian a

mr. christie having knowledge of the lane closures prior to the time the lanes were closed. the letter described the lane closing decision as the quote, christie administration's order. the man who since resigned from his post was the one exchanged text with bridget ann kelly. time for some traffic problems in fort lee, he applied, got it. christie fired kelly. justice department as well as the new jersey state assembly and senate are investigating and several people have been subpoenaed. the timing of the letter's release also raises questions, coming just two days before the super bowl hosted by new jersey. in a statement tonight to the governor's office, says the letter from wildstein's attorney confirms, he has absolutely no knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever mr. wildstein's motivations for closing them to begin with. after the mayors of fort lee, jersey city and hoboken. wildstein was in a grade above him and they reunited. in 2007. he didn't have too much to do with wildstein while he was at the port authority. there was a photograph that s

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period of when they were closed, contrarye governor said publicly. he does not say wildstein possesses evidence. governor christie maintains this position. >> i had no knowledge of this, the planning, the execution or anything about it. i first found out about it after it was over. >> reporter: christie's office said it confirmed he had no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened. the wildstein letter also goes in christie's personal credibility. mr. wildstein contests the accuracy of statements the governor made about him and can prove the inaccuracy of some. the main focus of the three-page letter argues his former employer, the port authority should pay all his legal fees. >> he's making a bid for immunity. he's saying i got a story to tell, a story to implicate governor christie if you give me immunity from prosecution. >> if you look at the context, it's important. the port authority was david wildstein's lawyer. it is paying for legal fees for other people subpoenaed. it rejected wildstein's request to

wildstein resigned from the port authority, governor christie's office called him a tireless advocate for the state. when the governor's office got flak for hiring mr. wildstein, they said he deserved that job, perfect for that job. now governor christie's office is saying the social studies teacher called him deceptive. he'll do and say anything. this story has been getting bigger for a long time. it's never taken a more dramatic turn for the weird before today, though. stay with us. e for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer ] truth is that won't relieve all your symptoms. new alka seltzer plus-d relieves more symptoms than any other behind the counter liquid gel. oh what a relief it is. we've got allstate, right? uh-huh. yes! well, i found this new thing called... [ dennis' voice ] allstate quickfoto claim. [ normal voice ] it's an app. you understand that? just take photos of the damage with your phone and upload them to allstate. really? so you get [dennis' voice] a quicker estimate, quicker payment, [normal voice] quicker back to normal. i just did it. but maybe you can find an app that will help you explain this to your...father. [ vehicle

it, and that i first found out about it after it was over. >> reporter: christie's office released a statement, saying in part, "mr. wildstein's lawyer confirms what the governor has said all along, he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened." the wildstein letter also goes at christie's personal credibility. "mr. wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some." the main focus of the three-page letter argues that wildstein's former employer, the port authority, should pay all his legal fees. >> david wildstein is making a bid for an immunity deal. he's saying, i've got a story to tell, a story that can implicate governor christie, if you give me immunity from prosecution. >> reporter: christie's office also said in that statement that the government denies wildstein's other assertions and releases a list of quotes from the governor claiming he's been consistent about what he knew and when he knew it. one other figure in this bridge scandal, bill stepien, who ran both of christie's gubernatorial campa

mr. wildstein in the sunglasses and striped tie talking with governor christie. these two men were the first two christie appointees/allies to resign during the course of this scandal. they were number one and number two. the third person to lose his job in this scandal, bill stepien, chris christie's two-time campaign manager, about to become the head of the new jersey republican party and widely expected to be the campaign manager for governor christie if he mounted a bid for president in 2016. bill stepien was the third person to lose his job during this scandal. the following morning after bill stepien lost his job, bridget kelly lost hers. fired by christie a day after the e-mail surfaced, "time for traffic problems in ft. lee." those are the first four christie allies or staffers that have left or lost their jobs since the scandal started. as of today, we now have number five. christina genovese renna. it was her e-mail that proved that governor christie didn't tell the truth when he said his staff knew nothing about it during the lane closures. she release

mr. christie to having knowledge of lane closures. team christie decided to attack the messenger, including actually attacking david wildstein's performance as a high school student. and david wildstein's past, people and newspaper accounts have described him as tumultuous. he was publicly accused by his high school social studies teacher of deceptive behavior. that attack on wildstein, the juvenile, high school attack on wildstein is clearly the most desperate moment yet in team christie's attempt to save chris christie's political career and presidential ambition. after the weekend of desperate lashing out at david wildstein last night, chris christie said this -- >> if prior to that -- i know prior to that there were press accounts about traffic issues up there. and if someone, you know, if i read that or someone said something to me about traffic issues up there, it wouldn't have been meaningful to me because i didn't know there was any problem up there. i didn't know we had actually closed lanes up there before that. when this fir

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane close yirs during the period when the lanes were closed contrary to what the governor has stated publicly and described it as the christie's administration order. the lane closures were hatched bibi staffers as a political payback. on january 9th, in a two hour news conference, christie repeatedly denying anything about it. >> i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, it in its planning or execution and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that is shown here. >> jordan johnson is saying he never believed the governor a. >> as always, suspect of the inner circle of the governor not knowing about this. >> he was appointed by the governor and since resigned and exchanged the emails with the chief of staff and time for traffic problems she emailed and he replied got. christie fired kelly. in a statement the governor's office is saying that the letter from the attorney quote confirms that what is governor has said he not no idea of the closures before they happened. >> the future of the controversial keystone pipeline now in the hands of john ker

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated to in the press conference. now, right now it is like waving over you, right? it is like what? i'm going to explain to you whether this is a deal or not. tying him to having knowledge. the evidence exists to him tying having knowledge -- what does that mean? he knew? is that what you think? then why don't you just say he knew. it is not what the letter says, more on that. first, here is what governor christie said in his january 9th news conference. >> i knew nothing about this until it started to be reported in the papers about the closure. but even then i was told this was a traffic study. i had no knowledge of this, the planning, execution or anything about it. and then i first found out about it after it was over. and even then, what i was told was that it was a traffic study. and there was no evidence to the contrary until yesterday. that was brought to my attention or anybody else's attention. >> senior credibility eric shawn has more. >> chris christ

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed contrary to what the governor stated publicly and describing the decision as quote the christie administration's order. the lane closings were hatched by the governor's staffers as political pay back against fort lee mayor. a democratic who refused to endorse christie for re-elect n re-election. christie repeated denied knowing anything about it. >> i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue in its planning or execution. and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here. >> new jersey assemblyman johnson says he never believed the governor. >> i was suspect of the inner circle of the governor not knowing about this. >> he since resigned from the post. he's the one that exchanged the emails last summer with the deputy chief of staff bridget ann kelly. time for traffic problems she emailed him and he replied got it. christie fired kelly and vowing to take appropriate action if the staff memberers knew about the closings and the letter from the attorney quote confirms what the gov

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference he gave immediately before mr. wildstein was scheduled to appear before the transportation committee. mr. wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him, and he can prove the inaccuracy of some." it's clear that the attorney wants to win immunity for his client as a price for delivering this evidence. the question is does this evidence contradict statements made by governor christie. michael isikoff is national investigative correspondent for nbc news and the co-chair of the super committee that is leading the state's investigation into the bridge scandal. michael isikoff, when you look at the statement made by christie made in the press conference, he said he didn't know about the bridge closure until afterwards. here you have a statement by the lawyer for wildstein saying he knew about it during it. your thoughts. >> he said he knew about them while they took place. and we jus

in early december, christie said, quote, the first i ever heard of the issue was when it was reported in the press. which i think was in the aftermath of the leaking of mr. foye's e-mail. that e-mail leak happened on october 1. but in january, christie said he learned about the closures before that story with the leaked e-mail. >> no, i think it was -- it wasn't pat foye's e-mails, but i think there was an earlier story about that. i don't remember exactly. >> something about the traffic, yeah. >> it's not a game of gotcha. it's about getting the facts straight. joining me now is new jersey state senator nia gill. she is on the supercommittee investigating the bridge scandal. and former u.s. attorney kendall coffey. let me start with you, senator. >> yes. do. >> you have a clear understanding of when the governor first learned about the lane closures? >> that's why this investigation is so vitally important, so that we can take all the factual evidence together and make that determination. and in this sense, given what the port authority does, it controls the bridges, the busiest airport and the world trade center. so if you take it in that context and

mr. christie and why he would hire an individual who he liked initially and apparently now has a problem with him, with mr. wildstein. but all of these allegations swirling around, like i said before. but we want the facts. the people of ft. lee, the people of new jersey, the people of america want to know the facts. who, what, where, when, why, and how and when did he know. my constituents that i speak to, they believe that he had some knowledge of it. it's just the general feeling of the people that i speak to in my district. however, that's why we have an ethics investigation, a thorough investigation, and they -- this select committee will get to the bottom of it. >> well, we are looking forward to that. gordon johnson, thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> absolutely. >>> i think everybody is troubled. i think that's part of what it is like living on this planet. >>> that was philip seymour hoffman back in 2002 on the "today" show. officials are going to address the cause of the actor's death. we'll get the latest from the scene. >>> plus, president obama on the offe

mr. christie may have gone off the rails. >> the idea is it's not fear for shareholders and employees of a corporation to be punished if it's the corporation itself that's messed up. she's have all been controversial. even regular prosecutions of ordinary citizens, other people are affected, like families and communities. so a lot of us wonder why doesn't this apply to everyone, why just corporations? what it does, the prosecutor gets to work out this deal where he defers prosecution, really says he won't bring the case if the corporation does what he wants, which is often to pay a lot of money, pay some kind of fine. >> one of reports indicates the way mr. christie engaged in this behavior resulted in a change in the rules down in washington, d.c. >> karen, it's unbelievable. he hooked up folks as a prosecutor. he hooked up seton hall with $5 million, hooked up his man john ashcroft with a $50 million gig and even the famous david samson got hooked up for $10 million. the department of justice said we never thought to make a rule against this because it's so obviously wrong but they had

mr. christie having knowledge of the closures during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference. >> this is a hugely significant development in the investigation. it is a direct challenge to the credibility of governor christie, but until we see the evidence that david wildstein is talking about, it's very hard to know how to evaluate. >> reporter: on january 9th in that press conference, christie adamantly denied knowing about what he called a political vendetta. >> i am humiliated by the fact i didn't know it, i was deceived. it was an awful way to feel. >> reporter: wildstein, who was appointed by christie, had already resigned from the port authority when he appeared at the hearing before the assembly, but wouldn't answer any questions. >> on the advice of my counsel, i assert my right to remain silent. >> reporter: what did the governor know and when did he know it have been the key questions since documents were released showing christie's now former deputy chief of staff, bridget anne kelly, sent a e-mail to wild

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed contrary to what the governor stated publicly. basically, accusing the governor of having lie and when people first heard this they thought the governor is going down. he lied. but i went back to the transcript of the governor's press conference on this 3 1/2 weeks ago -- >> two-hour press conference. >> and 26-page transcript, on page 5, he says i knew nothing about this. until it started to be reported and even then i was told it was a traffic study. it was in the papers and wildstein said he knew about it during the closures that could have been as late as thursday. christie is saying i learn about it on friday. i don't know that they're really that far apart in what they're saying. while the tabloids in new york say gov, you're lying is that such a big lie? >> okay. this defection, i mean, people will attribute different motivations for wildstein, saying he'll get a more lenient sentence if he turns on the governor. are there more in the inner circle? >> there are. he's clearly looking for

mr. christie had knowledge of the lane closures. >> this is a hugely significant development in the investigationit's a direct challenge to the credibility of governor christie. but until we see the evidence that david wildstein is talking about it's very hard to know how to evaluate it. >> reporter: on january 9th in that press conference christie denied knowing about not to mention okaying what he called a political vendetta. >> i'm humiliated by the fact i did not know this and i was deceived and that's an awful way to feel. >> reporter: david wildstein was appointed by christie had resigned from the port authority when he appeared at a hearing in front of the new jersey state assembly without wouldn't answer any questions. >> on the advice of my counsel i respect fully assert my right to remain silent. >> reporter: what did the governor know and when did he know it has been the key question. bridget anne kelly sent an e-mail to david wildstein saying time for traffic problems in ft. lee. david wildstein replied got it. new jersey is conducting their own investigation. responses to those subpo

mr. christie to the lane closures. ing reason for not endorsing christie last year or christie knew about the lane closures ahead of time. several hours after the letter posted online, the christie administration responded in a statement of their own. mr. wildstein's lawyer confirmed he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened. as the governor said in the december 13th press conference, he first learned lanes were closed when first reported by the press and in the january 9th press conference, had no indication this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of january 8th. well, let's rewind to the very moments. here is what christie claims he knew and when. >> and i knew nothing about this until it started to be reported in the papers about the closure. even then, i was told this was a traffic study. >> reporter: there is still confusion about the closures or the motivation behind them christie was referring to in the press conference. that is what ma

now christie's office responded saying the claim doesn't really change anything. quote, mr. ernor has said all along, he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened. so christie denies knowing there was anything deliberate, a plot of some kind, to close the lane for political purpose. and he found out about that aspect in news reports. so we don't know yet what this all means, but it is an interesting, new detail. air ray ka? >> kelly, thank you. >>> governor christie spending his weekend promoting super bowl xlviii and while he's doing that thousands of law enforcement officials are out in force protecting the city and metlife stadium on the eve of the big game. katy tur is live along super bowl boulevard, as it's known, in times square with more on what you will notice and what you won't. katy, good morning. >> reporter: hey, lester. quite a bit you won't notice, and some of that is the most sophisticated stuff, including things like this. it's a pocket radiation detector. new jersey, new york officials and the fbi have thousands of them acro

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed, something that the governor has repeatedly denied. >> i had no knowledge of this, the planning, the execution, or anything about it, and that i first found out about it when it was over. >> reporter: in the beginning, christie cynically mocked it, that fort lee, new jersey, for a week in september. >> i worked the cones actually, unbeknownst to everybody. >> reporter: after a smoking gun e-mail from his deputy chief of staff, time for some traffic problems in fort lee, he held a two-hour news conference, emphatically denying that he knew anything about what happened on the busiest bridge in america, until the traffic >> i'm telling you, i had nothing to do with it. >> reporter: now, he said that the governor was inaccurate at that press conference. and already the state's largest newspaper has published this -- christie is now damaged goods. if wildstein's disclosures are as powerful as he claims, the governor must go. late today, a denial from governor christie's press office saying he's stick

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed." allegation christie staunchly denied during a press conference. >> i had no knowledge of this, the planning, the execution or anything about it and i first found out about it after it was over. >> all praise for new jersey. >> reporter: he's seen on stage at radio shock jock howard stern's birthday party in manhattan. his office continued the denials stating the governor has absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closure. but will there be others who come forward? noticeably silent christie's deputy chief of staff bridget ann kelly. and christie's former campaign manager is pleading the fifth. >> this is really a story about people being advised with certain authority and abusing it and coming up with a cover story and spending quite a bit of time and resources to do that. >> meanwhile, republican fund-raisers for christie are planned in six major states in the coming months at the birthday party last night chris christie introduced bon jovi but new jersey's largest student "the st

in a letter released by his lawyer wildstein claims that evidence exists evidence exists tying mr christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two hour press conference so you know christie is denying this new will all those sorts out but whether or not he's guilty of anything whether or not he goes to jail or sixteen people in this administration do sort of like the reagan administration you know we had more elected a more senior administration officials go to prison than any other administration has for the country yet nobody remembers that about the reagan administration whether any of that happens i still think by twenty you know his twenty sixteen probabilities are toast and what i thought was really interesting is the national journal today is reporting that the leading contender for the republican primary right now is mitt romney and there's this major rehabilitate mitt romney effort going on and is out there doing the new circuits right now netflix just released this biopic about mi

christie. so, one, is it true? is it true that mr. wildstein did not take that helicopter ride with governor christie during the bridge lane shutdown after they spent the day together at the 9/11 event? number two, whether or not david wildstein was onboard with mr. christie during that helicopter ride, was this the route back to trenton that the governor took? was this the as the crow flies logical route that as you can see steers well clear of ft. lee and the traffic gridlock that had been bestowed on that town on purpose as an unexplained political punishment? we do not yet know. when the newark "star-ledger" asked if the governor's helicopter flew over the george washington bridge on its way back to lower manhattan from trenton, the governor's office would not comment today, so we don't know. but we may be about to find out for sure, anyway, because the new jersey legislative committee investigating the bridge shutdown is tonight sending out 18 new subpoenas and among these 18 new subpoenas is one to the state police aviation unit

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed. contrary to what the governor stated. mr. wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some. >> i had no knowledge of this, of the planning, the execution, or anything about it. i first found out about it after it was over. and even then, what i was told was that it was a traffic study. >> and tonight the governor's office said the letter supports him. the statement does not address if governor christie knew about the closings at the time. in part, they say mr. wildstein's lawyer confirms what the governor said all along. he has no knowledge of the closures. the governor denies mr. wildstein's other assertions. the lawyer's letter does not accuse of governor of knowing the plan was part of a payback scheme. but you know this will only start ramping up more. public hearings are expected to start in trenton this in just a few weeks. >> eric shaw, thanks so much. more with the panel coming up in the break. joini

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures contrary to what the governor stated publicly." even the democrat leading the state investigation says no such smoking gun is in the 900-plus page of documents that wildstein turned over in compliance with a subpoena. >> the use of the words, evidence exists, as opposed to saying i have documents or i have an e-mail is a curious choice of words. it raises questions about what does he have and why doesn't the committee have it? >> now, this investigative committee was supposed to receive more subpoena documents today but officials tell cnn that they do not expect any to come out today because so many of those involved have asked for extensions. christie's office sent out an e-mail asserting that governor christie had no involvement or knowledge or understanding of the real motives behind david wildstein's scheme to close lanes from the gorge washington bridge. they also took time to outline the events from wildstein's past, like suing over a school board election when wildstein was a teenager or being accused of deceptive behavior b

mr. christie to having knowledge. erent message, ben. >> it absolutely is a totally different message. my biggest critique of the media in the chris christie scandal is not even their ability and attempt to go after chris christie. i wish they were this hard on barack obama. i like that the media is this rabid. i wish they weren't getting things wrong. if the media were this rabid with regard to all of our leaders, i think we'd be a better country. if this sort of thing had come out about barack obama, an update would have been listed by the "new york times" and a lot of excuses. >> after the times had that report that afternoon, the letter was there for all to see, all had you to do was click on it, they were wall to wall and they were wall to wall on cnn and they had lawyers analyzing this. they reacted as though the report was christie knew, he was in on it, he planned the whole thing from the beginning, he and brigette ann kelly are like this. >> and they were saying if this is true, christie would have to resign.

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closuriers while the lanes were closed." he governor's office responded saying "mr. wildstein's lawyer confirms what the governor has said all along here, had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever mr. wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with. as the governor said in a december 13 press conference, he only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press. and as he said in his january 9th press conference, he had no indication that this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of january 8th. the governor denies mr. wildstein's lawyers' other assertions. joining me now, the master of new jersey, steve kornacki, and new jersey assemblyman gordon johnson, a democrat who represents fort lee. help me out with this. there seems to be conflicting information about what the governor knew and when he knew it, right? i want to read another statement we got from his office last night. just to clear up any lingering confu

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period when the lanes were closed contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two hour press conference." the not not and msnbc, they have been all over and fox news has been more restrained and more skeptical. >> the state's leading newspaper is saying, if this is true the government must resign. >> the official official who engineered this, said the new jersey governor knew more than he had said and there is evidence. >> the potential blockbuster in the chris christie bridge scandal. >> the evidence exists tie him to having knowledge. he knew? he knew? is that what you are saying? why not say that. >> is this a blockbuster for the medicinia? >> no, i think that it came out late friday afternoon, i was on twitter and everyone went "smoking gun, it's over, he will have to resign." suddenly, everyone stepped back, and we looked at the motives of wildstein, trying to get money for his legal bills and trying at this point to save his own skin. >> he is trying to get immunity and he did not provide any evidence that the law

mr. christie to having knowledge of the lane closures during the period the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated in a two-hour press conference. no proof has come to light that christie knew of the lane closures. here's what the governor said on january 9th. >> i'll say one last thing just so we're really clear. i had no knowledge or involvement in this issue in its planning or its execution, and i am stunned by the abject stupidity that was shown here. i had no knowledge of this, the planning, the execution, or anything about it. i first found out about it after it was over. >> this came right as new jersey was preparing to host the super bowl. this could have been a huge platform for christie. the governor was booed twice at presuper bowl events. >> governor chris christie. governor. >> good afternoon, everybody. >> it's not just football fans who are upset the governor. "the star ledger" called for christie to be impeached in the accusations are true. i think the pressure must be getting to christie after wildstein's lawyer released the letter. christie also claimed h

when david wildstein was forced to resign in scandal, governor christie released this statement. mr. wildstein has been a tireless advocate for new jersey's interests at the port authority. we are grateful for his commitment and dedication to the important work of the port authority and thank him for his service to the people of new jersey and the region. that statement, as with all such press releases in governor christie's office was written under the supervision of the subpoenaed press secretary michael gorniak. he is still chris christie's press secretary. and chris christie's press office run by michael gorniak on saturday sent out a memo that attacked david wildstein using the very information included in the almost 2-year-old article. that same article in which he himself is now trying to use against david wildstein. it's that article in which he defended dafd wildstein. it refers to david wildstein being, quote, publicly accused by his social studies teacher of deceptive behavior. owe. >> accused by his high school social studies teacher of deceptive behavior? what does that