sampson, general sampson. again, i am confident that he had no knowledge of this. >> last week, chris christie issued a sweeping defense of this man, david sampson, one of several people implicated in the first batch of e-mails who has managed to escape the axe. david sampson is not a formerly anonymous political operative like david weinstein or bridget kelly. he is a pillar of new jersey politics. >> the question of the hour is, is david sampson at some point going to be subpoenaed by this committee and what i'm hearing is that there is an enormous amount of pressure to not have him subpoena david sampson, because of his role in new jersey politics? >> he has one of the thickest resumes in the state. it calls him the second most influential man in new jersey politics. he has worked under four governors, democrats and republicans, serving as everything from general counsel to the new jersey turnpike authority to attorney general of new jersey, 2002, under democrat, jim mcgreevey. he runs one of the most power

and david sampson is very close to chris christie but there's no evidence to suggest that, you know, sampson and christie are conspiring on this. >> reporter: zimmer said she wrote about it in her personal diary. i thought he was moral, it reads. this week i found out he's cut from the same corrupt cloth that i was fighting for the last four years. it literally brings tears to my eyes. zimmer, who refused to back the project, says hoboken received only $342,000 of the $100 million in sandy funding it requested, but zimmer did not speak out at the time. >> i probably should have come forward. >> reporter: today christie aides shot back calling the charges outlandishly false and noting zimmer praised the governor last august writing in this tweet, "to be clear, i am very glad governor christie has been our gov. it's very clear partisan politics are at play here as democratic mayors with a political axe to grind come out of the woodwork." they call them categorically false. christie is now facing three investigations into charges that his office engaged in political payback against anot

was there pressure not to subpoena david sampson? >> i received no pressure on david sampson one way or another, but he's an individual we need to look at. clearly, the response that's in the e-mails, that he was going to help retaliate, that pat foye, the executive director's playing in traffic. if this was a regular traffic study and somebody stopped it by mistake, i don't think you have that kind of response. it was an angry response. >> in the e-mails, whether he knew or not, he was fighting along with them. >> yes. >> i want to bring in michael powell who's been covering this closely. michael, i'm going to direct this to you because i understand why you won't be commenting on things that have not been disclosed. politicker nj have acquired a list of named that are the subject of subpoena. talk about kevin o'dowd's role. >> he is the chief of staff. right? he's also the man who is about to become, by the way, the next attorney general, seemingly, until his name was pulled back. i mean, this is a powerful man within this. and pull

sampson.ho received patrick foye's outraged e-mail about what was happening at the george washington bridge that included foye's order to stop the lane closures immediately. sampson now claims that that e-mail was the very first time he learned at the george washington bridge. here is the chairman of the port authority saying that he had absolutely no idea there were lane closings at the most important bridge in the world until he read an e-mail at the end of the week about those lane closures, and objecting to what was happening and saying the lane closures violate federal laws and the laws of both states. now, what was david sampson's reply to this e-mail? he's chairman of the port authority. did he immediately write, hey, thanks for heads-up, pat? thanks for saving us from this potentially dangerous problem, both dangerous to public safety and legally dangerous? no. that's not what he said. david sampson wrote an e-mail to a port authority vice chairman, scott ripler, complaining about patr

number one on the list is david sampson. david sampson headed up chris christie's transition team when he first became governor of new jersey. here he is last june. the other two in the picture are david wildstein, who orchestrated the shutdown of the bridge. also bill baroni who lied to the state assembly about it and told them it was for a traffic study. both of those men have already resigned because of the scandal. david sampson has not and says he will. he's head of the port authority, chairman. he is christie's top political appointee. we've reported on this show about how some of david sampson's behavior surrounding the shutdown remains unexplained and odd. the most odd is his public behavior concerning this traffic disaster, which we now know was man-made and engineered for political purposes, the contrast between his behavior surrounding that shutdown and a similar traffic disaster that happened on another bridge back in 2011 on easter sunday. that traffic jam was also caused by the port authority by a shortage of t

sampson simpson's owner's coming home. sampson is not coming to the door. caring that somebody has walked into the house. >> come here! hey, come here. samp! >> finally sampson makes an appearance. he just pokes his head around, like, is it okay? is it safe? >> hi, buddy. >> he finally gets it together. >>> guess what's back, guys? the cinnamon challenge. an older internet trend where you're challenged to take a giant spoonful of cinnamon and try to swallow it down and it's called the cinnamon dragon by most people because they end up spraying it out of their nose and mouth and cough and make a mess. this guy in the beanie, they call him slob. you can see he does have a giant spoonful of cinnamon. >> slob, yeah. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> oh, oh, oh, oh. >> his friends are dieing in the background. >> you okay? >> uh-huh. >> his buddies little thumbs-up and he's still working the cinnamon in his mouth. >> he did it. >> no way. >> no? >> you do it. >> do it. >> you are a giant among men. >> no. no, way. >> yo he just beat the cinnamon challenge. >> slob actuall

sampson's top aide at the port authority, phillippe danielles. and she was told about it the friday before the shutdown happened. and she fielded calls and messages about what a disaster the shutdown was, once it was underway. and also interestingly, i'm not sure anybody saw this coming, but paul nunzado is a police official. he had told the official that they had nothing to give them when they subpoenaed him the first time around, but he did tell the press, incorrectly, that there had been no ambulance delays are caused by the shutdown when it happened. now he's getting a second subpoena. those people were all people from the port authority that got subpoenas last night or today. now, that's the port authority. in chris christkrooe chris chri other than bridget kelly, we've saw e-mails from her boss, kevin o'dowd, chris christie's nominee to be the next chief of staff of new jersey. and regena egea. and his chief council, who christie says is one of two people who direct report to him on this issue of the bridge shutdown. also the governor's chi

. >> david sampson has emerged as a key figure in this. and sampson, we've talked about on the show. he's very well respected. he's part of the new jersey establishment. it does seem, though, that there's just almost an inherent conflict in him being at this law firm that's politically connected while sharing the port authority. forget whether the guy is an angel or a devil. he's in a position that is almost the abuse of power and conflict of interest seems baked into it. >> it really came out in that story that your colleague steve kornacki reported. you have a former law colleague of david sampson who now works for the chris christie administration recommending hoboken goes for this money. the port authority approves it. suddenly emerges as the best developer for this ad. >> let's look at this google map. this has gotten lost in the story. the prologue. the premayor version is this. unless you approve this development of the rockefeller group, the money won't start coming. but let's remember, the whole thing zarlted with the port authori

sampson as in david sampson, christie's top port authority appoint appointee, close adviser and man whose name pops up numerous time in the fort lee traffic scandal e-mails. less than one week after zimmer wrote asking for more money and the city voted against the rockefeller development deal, zimmer met with lieutenant governor at a local grocery store. revealing zimmer's account of that meeting this past weekend. >> zimmer told us guadano delivered a message to her. if want that sandy money you need to get that rockefeller project meev ioving, because it very important to the governor. >> reporter: zimmer documented the incident in this journal writing that guadano said to her, i don't know all the details but with with the governor friday night. the imsuppression you are against this project and you have to move it forward. >> the fact is that the lieutenant governor came to hoboken, she pulled me aside in the parking lot and she said, i know it's not right. i know this thing should not be connected but they are, and if you tell anyone i'll deny. >> it and the lieutenant governor wasn'

sampson as in david sampson, christie's top port authority appointee and adviser and whose name pops up many times in the ft. lee traffic scandal e-mails. in less than one week after zimmer wrote asking for money and the city voted against the rockefeller development deal, zimmer met with lieutenant governor kim gaundano at an event. >> zimmer has told us that gaundano pulled her aside during that visit and delivered a message to her. if you want that sandy money, you need to get that rockefeller project moving, because it's very important to the governor >> zimmer says she documented the incident in her journal, writing that gaundano said to her, i don't know all the details, but i was with the governor friday night and all i know is that the impression is that you are against this project and you have to move it forward. >> the fact is that the lieutenant governor came to hoboken, she pulled me aside in the parking lot, and she said, i know it's not right, i know this thing should not be connected, but they are, and if you tell anyone, i'll deny it. >> and the lieutenant governor w

email to the board of commissioners, so i sat with staff and met for two hours yesterday with general sampson. and again, i'm confident that he had no knowledge of this, based on our conversations, and his review of his information. so i think, you know, as he said yesterday, he's angered about this and upset about it. and i know that he's going to cooperate with the oig investigation that's ongoing, and lead a discussion at the port authority of what could be done in the future to have stop such conduct. >> charlie? >> >> reporter: [ inaudible ] >> charlie, listen, i haven't because i know who i am. i'm not that person, and it's easy for people to be characterized in public life, based their personality. and i have a very direct, blunt personality. and i understand why some people would characterize you as that, especially people who don't like you, and i'm more focused on -- melissa? >> reporter: [ inaudible ]. >> i just did. i said i'm sorry for that, and i would have never made that joke in a knew the facts as they have come forward today. because i thought it was absurd and i thought tha

investigator says documents from wildstein refer to a meeting between governor christie and david sampson, the chairman of the port authority, the agency in charge of the bridge. the meeting took place just one week, just one week before christie's deputy chief of staff e-mailed, quote, time for some traffic problems in ft. lee. the investigator says, quote, by submitting these documents, mr. wildstein is telling us they are related to their -- to the lane closures in some way. the question that demands answering is how. that's a very provocative question. was the christie meeting somehow related to the lane closures? we're going to speak to the assemblyman, asking that question in a moment. >>> also in these documents, we catch a glimpse of a fevered effort behind the scenes to keep this story quiet. when the lanes of traffic were reopened, a top christie appointee, who has since resigned said, quote, there can be no public discourse. and on october 1st, two weeks after the lanes reopened, reporters started asking more questions. in this e-mail, david wildstein learned the reporter was,

we're seeing chairman sampson's name raised again. some narratives here about real estate, port authority, a grant they were given that continued to dog the administration. >> we've been drawing so far from this hour from your report that david wildstein's lawyer said on friday, his client will talk to federal and state investigators if he gets immunity from prosecution. is there any indication at this point what information wildstein has and would be willing to share? >> i mean, his lawyer has really been -- it's been interesting, his tone on this. he is really pushing for this, which says to me that his client might be willing to divulge information about this that could be potentially damaging. so he has said repeatedly now he's looking for immunity from both federal and state prosecutors, and yeah, told me last week he has a story to tell. i mean, again, the question is what exactly is that story, but they were very deliberative in the documents that they put out in response to that subpoena. there's information there that's redac

sampson, general sampson, for two hours.that he had no knowledge of the space on our conversation and his review of his information. as he said yesterday, he is angered by this and upset about it. and i know that he will cooperate with the oig investigation that is ongoing, and lead a discussion at the port authority about what can be done to stop such conduct in the future. charlie. -- whatentioned earlier did i do wrong to have these folks lie to me? but are you also asking the question, what did i say or how did i conduct myself an office in a way that would let these folks think it was ok to carry out such a thing like this? there is suspicion that you could have fostered a culture through your administration or campaign that allowed people to think it was ok to intimidate or retaliate. >> c, listen, i haven't, because i know who i am. i'm not that person. entities easy for people to be characterized in public life based on their personality. and i have a very direct, blunt personality. and i understand why some people w

sampson is a christie appointee.n asked about the traffic jams in september, sampson sent an e-mail blasting the executive director from the new york side of the port thought. sampson accused him of leaking information to the media and stirring up trouble. he's playing in traffic, sampson said, made a big mistake. last week christie said he spoke to sampson at length and believes sampson was not involved in the lane closures at the george washington bridge. the governor has also denied any involvement involvement. this week he said he remains focused on governing the state. >> i want to assure the people of new jersey of one thing. i was born here i was raised here, i'm raising my family here, and this is where i intend to spend of rest of my life and whatver test they put in front of me i will meet those tests because i'm doing it on your behalf. >> reporter: other subpoenas were delivered to former christie aide who was fired and bill stepien and bill baroni who resigned. the governor's campaign organization was al

why did he include the references to a meeting between christie and sampson in this response to a subpoena? that's the question i've been talking to a lot of people in the state house today. that's the question they're asking that nobody is really focused on. >> thank you, michael isikoff. great reporting from trenton. steve, you've been so smart on this stuff. answer my open question at the beginning, steve. my theory here is this guy the governor of new jersey is very lawyered, lawyered up in his own head, it's in his dna how to protect himself. all these months since september when the traffic patterns were ordered from his staff he made a point of not talking to them. the other day in his press conference he said i only have two reports. my counsel and head lawyer counsel relationship like client relationship and his chief of staff. in other words, i never talked to bridgett kelly. i never talked to anybody. i only have to -- he's cauterized himself and separated himself completely from any possible criminality by the nature of the way he described the situation. my question is the dog

sampson, general sampson. and again, i'm confident that he had no knowledge of this based upon our conversations and his review of his information. so i think, you know, as he said yesterday, he's angered by this and upset about it and i know that he's going to lead, cooperate with the oig investigation that's ongoing and lead a discussion at the port authority about what could be done in the future to stop such conduct. charlie. charlie. >> you mentioned earlier that, question you were asking, the question is, what did i do to have those folks lie to me but what are you asking the question, what did i say or how did i conduct myself to cause them to behave in a way that would have led these folks to think it was okay to hatch up such a scheme as this? [inaudible] suspicion has been that you fostered a culture through your administration or the campaign that allowed people to think it was okay to intimidate or retaliate against people. >> no, charlie, i haven't because i know who i am. i'm not that person. lis

>> well, i think david sampson owes us an explanation.he next decision, but certainly i appeared before three full port authority commission meetings. they sat back, all of these men, sat -- they happened to be all male commissioners, pardon me for a moment of chauvinism. they sat back, looked at me like they were interested. i actually never heard their voices, except to say the meeting is open and the meeting is now closed. >> they never thought you could penetrate the christie wall. >> well, they didn't know me very well. >> senator greenwald, will you be issuing subpoenas to bridget anne kelly and any others this week? >> we will be issues further subpoenas. the timing and the dates of those and the order by which they will go out will be directed by our council reid schar. bridget kelly is clearly, as is mr. stepien people of interest that we will pursue and was would be happy to have them come before the committee and share their insight. >> do you expect the subpoenas will work their way up the pyramid, starting with the lower rank

i sat and met with general sampson yesterday. i'm confident that he had no knowledge of this based upon our conversations. his review of his information. as he said yesterday he's angered by this and upset about it. i know he's going to cooperate with the oig investigation ongoing and lead port authority about what could be done in the future to stop such conduct. >> you said earlier, the question you were questioned about what you did wrong and you were given the question what did i say or conduct myself in a way that would lead these folks to think it was okay to do this. have suspicions been through in the campaign to allow people to think it was okay to intimidate or retaliate against people? >> charlie, i haven't. i know who i am. i'm not that person. listen, it's easy for people to be characterized in public life based upon their personality. i have a very direct, blunt personality. i understand why some people then characterize that especially people that don't like you as bullying. it's not that. i'm more focused on why t

and to me another key player here that has been not discussed enough is david sampson who is a very close friend of the governor's and a lawyer in new jersey of considerable note who is very much involved in the port authority and who hired one of the premiere lawyers who knows about new jersey who is a federal judge who advised about the port authority. as richard knows there will be a lot of lawyers involved here and the great defense attorney here in washington would say you don't just represent your client, you represent the situation. there is a heck of a situation developing here where a lot of lawyers are going to be involved. it is like a whole split screen story. >> let's take a look at other matters in hoboken. look at this huffington post. the easiest criminal issue is a conspiracy. not in accordance in whatever rules govern shutting down roadways. i throw in the hoboken case where you have the fellow you mentioned david sampson, lawyer for the rockefeller group. they have all of that information right now. they have the woman's, the mayor of hoboken's diary entry saying i am b

i asked general sampson about that yesterday. he said he has absolutely no idea what they are referring to. the only communication that he had at that time was his concern that he expressed to fellow commissioners about internal port authority documents being leaked. and that's just not appropriate for folks to be leaking internal documents. but he has no recollection from what he told me yesterday of any conversation like that with wild's team or baroni at all that references the gist of what you said in the email. >> no internal pay bach -- payback operation going on -- >> certainly not that i'm aware of or not out of the normal. let's remember something, too. this is a bistate agency with significant tension. all the time. now, there's no tension between governor cuomo and i. we get along quite well. when issues rise to our level we have always been able to resolve them. but there is tension. always has been between new york and new jersey on the allocation of resources at the port authority. so let me be clear, there's some b

while sampson was gone he traveled far and wide as these photographs reveal. >> wow, i don't know what is more impressive? he can surf or time traveled. and i would like to thank the nirvana tribute band for providing us with that. it truly was co-painful. all right of the. >> please come to me first. >> sandra. do you think he was planning these us scape? >> i don't think so. i happen to speak turtle. you talked about how i was a joke, but i was also very much a tom boy as a kid and my first pet was a turtle. i was obsessed. his name was turd. i adore turtles. it is like looking at a dinosaur, but living today. i truly believe there was a bond with this family. i don't believe the turtle ran away. i think he loves the family. i am glad they were reunited. >> you named your pet turd? >> yes, turd. >> quickly, remi, he is 18 and wanted to see the world. maybe it was time for him to go. >> maybe. i am just looking -- i didn't know you could own tortoises. i always wanted to ride the for to us. >> how do you lose something that moves .2 miles an hour. that's the obvious question. how happ

i asked general sampson about that yesterday. he said he has absolutely no idea what wildstein is referring to. the only communication that he had at that time was his concern that he expressed to fellow commissioners about internal port authority documents being leaked. and that's just not appropriate for folks to be leaking internal documents. but he has no recollection from what he told me yesterday of any conversation like that with wildstein or baroni at all that references the gist of what you said in the email. >> no payback operation going on -- >> certainly not that i'm aware of or not out of the normal. let's remember something, too. this is a bistate agency with significant tension. all the time. now, there's no tension between governor cuomo and i. we get along quite well. when issues rise to our level we have always been able to resolve them. but there is tension. always has been between new york and new jersey on the allocation of resources at the port authority. so let me be clear, there's some battles over there t

on thursday governor chris christie expressed confidence that sampson was not involved. >> i'm convinced he had no knowledge and it was executed at the operational level and never brought to the attention of the board of commissioners >> in a september email david wildstein at the time a chris christie appointee wrote to a government staffer: >> several emails show an effort to keep the controversy under wraps. another port authority official appointed by chris christie wrote: >> taken together the documents released friday paint a picture of bridge and agency officials besieged by public anger. emails and phone calls poured in with complaints about the lane closures, and in fort lee where four access lanes were reduced to one. >> lawmakers released the latest batch of documents and plan to issue subpoenas to force chris christie's staff members to testify under oath. the emails raise questions for the aides and appointees at the port authority, all of whom for now are staying silent. >> according to a poll out of new jersey a full 56% of likely voters think the governor should resign if

david sampson another christie appointee to the authority. after being forwarded an e-mail, one of his deputy chiefs of staff, it will be a tough november. it's fine. the mayor's an idiot. fort lee's mayor is croatian not serbian. when chris christie was asked about the lane closures in december, he scoffed at the allegations. >> i worked the cones, actually, mack. unbeknownst to everybody, i was the guy out there, i was in overalls and a hat, but i actually was the guy working the cones out there, you really are not serious with that question? >> but then he went on to express his displeasure, not about the lanes being closed but that fort lee has three lanes. >> i didn't know fort lee got three dedicated lanes until all this stuff happened. i sat in that traffic before i was governor, the fact that one town has three lanes dedicated to it? that kind of gets me sauced. >> on december 13th, bill beroni resigns. that day christie said, he's merely bothered by the resignations. >> i'm bothered, probably would be the better words. i was bothered

sampson? >> no, pat foye, the operational day to day guy at the port authority ordered them opened immediately and said federal and state laws have been broken and all of the agency protocols and rules have been violated. now, that was copied to, among other people, regina, one of the people slated to be the governor's new chief of staff and charlie mckenna. >> that's who sth. >> the governor's chief counsel. the current chief of staff is set to become the attorney general. >> i'm sorry. >> the current chief counsel is set to go to the school's development -- >> there's a lot of chairs. >> a lot of people moving around. the fact is, these are people very close to the governor. they see him every day. it's a campaign year. anything that's going wrong in the state, they are likely to talk to him just so that he's not caught unaware, that a reporter doesn't say, what about the lanes in ft. lee, somebody's accused your staff of illegality. he's going to know about that so he knows to respond. so f

and wolf and sampson and i know it's complicated for the public to understand. but really the bottom line is, that week, that week of may 8th, that day, there was some important things that happened and right after that time frame, when i sent this letter saying i can't believe this is really true we're not going to get hazard communication funding whean the planning board voted down the zoning that the rockefeller group wanted, the lieutenant governor's office calls on monday, they -- you know, they come and she delivers a very clear message because i think they felt that i wasn't getting the message clearly enough and now they wanted to make it very clear to me. >> i want to talk more specifically about what she said to you and your immediate reaction to it. we're going to have more with the mayor of hoboken. tweet me @ac360. ♪ [ male announcer ] to truck guys, the truck is everything. and when you put them in charge of making an unbeatable truck, good things happen. this is the ram 1500. the 2014 motor trend truck of the year. ♪ and first ever back-to-back ch

the rockefeller group was represented by david sampson, one of christie's closest confidants -- this has nothing to do with the bridge other than it looks like another strong arm tactic. >> to put this in perspective, how badly was the city hit? >> 80% of the city was underwater. they are right on the hudson river across from manhattan. 50,000 people in that one mile. very densely populated. it was really badly flooded. she claimed yesterday on television that she asked for $100 million and got $342,000. the christie office is disputing everything she says and says that they are in line to get $70 million. some reporting i have seen says that's money from insurance companies to homeowners, not the federal money that chris christie fought so hard to get a year ago. >> he is such a national figure. he has been on the short list for a possible presidential candidacy. he is even in florida this weekend raising money for fellow republicans. how does this play? how do his supporters think about another alleged scandal after another? >> they're worried. his brother was on facebook this morn

david sampson must be fired from the port authority. bill baroni already gone, wildstein already gone. kevin o'dowd must be let go for imcompetence if nothing else. he's the chief of staff of the operation that did this. he was assigned, according to christie's story to investigate this. he failed completely to find the wrong doers, charlie mckenna, the same thing. the chief council assigned to christie to investigate it. and according to christie got fooled and couldn't find what he was supposed to look for. bridget kelly, already gone. there's going to be just a wipeout of this whole staff before this is over. >> and think about it, the one completely implausible scenario is the deputy chief of staff telling no one superior to her cooked up an entire scheme to shut down part of this bridge going over to the new york side. the idea that she is the top person in this operation is so absurd that it just invites more questions. and those what are superior to her, it brings o'dowd. it brings it so close to chris christie that i wouldn't be

keet is, the next line he used, after he gets sauced,cy have asked david sampson to look into whetherwhile steen has told us through the records that have come out, he strongly suggested there was a meeting between governor christie and port authority -- >> related that question. >> directly related to the closure of the lanes one week before the e-mail was sent out. so you have chris christie giving a bogus reason why they don't need the access lanes. and david strongly hinting that chris christie and sampson met a week before that e-mail went out. >> tomorrow chris christie will give the state of the state. at 3:00. what will he do? can't do the two hour drop before the press conference, right? >> we imagine he today rewrite the speech. i think his biggest challenge right now in tomorrow's state of state address is that he has to probably, you know, appeal to his national audience, right? if he is going to be taking on his role in the rga, going across the country, i think he has to show republican donors that he, you know, look folks, i took a hit here. but i'm ready to get back on

sampson, general sampson, and, again, i'm confident that he had no knowledge of this based upon our conversations said yesterday, he's angered by this and upset about it. and i know that he's going to lead -- cooperate with the oig investigation that's on going and lead a discussion about the port authority about what can be done at the future to stop such conduct. charlie? charlie. >> you mentioned earlier that the question you were asking in reflection is what did i do wrong to have these folks looi to me. are you also asking the question, what did i say or how did i conduct myself in office to lead them in a way that would let these folks think it was okay to carry out such a scheme like this? the criticism, suspicions has been that you fostered a culture through your administration or your campaign that allowed people to think it was okay to intimidate or retaliate against people. >> no, charlie, listen, i haven't because i know who i am. i'm not that person. and listen, it's easy for people to be characterized in public life based upon their personality. i have a very direct, blunt personali

get very close with your campaign manager and two highest appoint ees on the port authority, david sampson, chairman of the port authority that christie appointed, all of these people knew and orchestrated and took part in the cover-up of bridge gate. and yeah, unbeknownst to the governor this was not going on and i find that strains kred you'llty to say the least. it leaves no skin till la of doubt in anyone's minds. >> you're saying you do not believe what chris christie has spent two hours telling the american people? >> i haven't heard what he said. i didn't listen to it. what i will tell you is that i don't see chris christie as a victim and that all of these -- the people around him, his people in -- first he said that let's look at the lies told already. initially they said this traffic stop which was due to a traffic study, we know that's a phantom traffic study and that was a lie. two of mr. christie's appointees held that up as the reason. then the governor was asked and said none -- he had asked his closest appointees whether whether or not they had knowledge or involved in the

i sat and met for two hours with general sampson, and again i'm confident that he had no knowledge of this based upon our conversations, and his review of his information. so i think, as he said yesterday, he's angered by this and upset about it. i know he's going to cooped with the oig koorps that's ongoing and lead a discussion at the port authority about what could be done at the future to stop such conduct. charlie? >> reporter: you mentioned earlier that the question you were asking is what did i -- what did i do wrong to have these folks lie? are you also asking what did i say or conduct myself or behave in a way that would let these folks think it was okay to do something like this? the suspicion has been that you fostered through your administration or through the campaign that allowed people to think it was okay to intimidate or retaliate against people? >> no, i haven't, because i know who i am. i'm not that person. listen, it's easy for people to be characterized in public life based on their personality. i have a very direct, blunt personality. i understand why some people