New Jersey Democrats spent the day before Christmas reviewing newly-released documents over the George Washington Bridge controversy.
Democrats are trying to find out if Gov. Christie’s two appointees at the Port Authority lied when they said a traffic study forced the four-day closure of local lanes to the bridge. Subpoenas to the appointees, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni, were turned over by their attorneys to Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Democrat leading the inquiry.
Christie stands by his appointees, who have since resigned. He's said he believes there was a traffic study that caused the massive traffic back-up. But Christie was asked Monday night on his monthly radio show on 101.5 FM if he has seen this study.
“No, what do I care?" he said. He reiterated his previous point that Democrats are trying to make political hay out of something he had nothing to do with.
Yet whether the study exists has become a central question in this controversy. Democrats believe it was a ruse to cover up how political retribution may have been at play. Patrick Foye, Gov. Cuomo's top appointee to the Port Authority, testified that he knew nothing about the study before it was supposedly implemented, and he hasn't seen it since.
Democrats are now flexing subpoena power to get more documents and more sworn testimony, possibly from Wildstein and Baroni. The issue is likely to spill over well into the new year.