Another Christie Buddy Had Knowledge Of Bridgegate Traffic Jam

The Chris Christie “Bridgegate” scandal just keeps getting bigger.  The latest revelation, first reported by MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki, is that another Christie friend is linked to the scandal over the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge that caused a massive traffic jam in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

MSNBC reported that documents have emerged showing that a Port Authority police officer, who grew up with Governor Christie, drove with David Wildstein, another friend and former official linked to the scandal, to the access lanes near the bridge to survey the traffic jam.  In addition, the Port Authority officer, named Thomas Michaels, sent text messages to Wildstein updating him on the impact of the lane closures on Fort Lee, New Jersey.  He told Wildstein, then a Christie appointee at the Port Authority, that he had ideas to “make this better.”

The revelation “is an important new detail because it places another person with long-time ties to the governor, this time in the Port Authority Police Department, at the scene witnessing the traffic surge that has since come to engulf Christie’s administration in legal inquires,” MSNBC reports.

In response to the new revelations, the executive director of the Port Authority has ordered the inspector general to investigate the police officers who were at the bridge during the lane closures.

The officer, Michaels, grew up in the same town as Christie and coached Christie’s son in hockey.  His brother, Jeffrey Michaels, is a high-profile New Jersey Republican lobbyist who has donated to Christie-linked political groups.

Christie has adamantly denied having knowledge of the traffic lane closures, which may have been a punishment directed at the Fort Lee mayor for not endorsing Christie’s re-election campaign.  But Wildstein has said he had evidence linking Christie to the scandal.