New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addresses a gathering of home owners Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, in Manahawkin, N.J., who were affected by last year’s Superstorm Sandy.TRENTON, N.J. – A special legislative panel investigating an apparent political payback scheme involving Gov. Chris Christie’s aides issued 20 new subpoenas Thursday, and he made his first trip since the scandal broke to pledge he won’t be distracted from the job of rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy.
Christie, meanwhile, announced the hiring of a legal team to help his administration deal with multiple investigations into a scandal that won’t be put to rest quickly.
The governor’s legal team, to be led by former federal prosecutor Randy Mastro, will “review best practices for office operations and information flow, and assist with document retention and production,” the administration said in a brief written statement. A spokesman would not say how much the lawyers would cost taxpayers.
Two New Jersey legislative committees, including one also using a former federal prosecutor; the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey, which Christie headed before running for governor; and the chairman of a U.S. Senate committee are conducting inquiries into what happened in September when lanes to the George Washington Bridge from the town of Fort Lee were shut down for four days, causing massive gridlock.
The plot apparently was hatched by Christie’s aides as a political vendetta, possibly because Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor wouldn’t endorse the Republican governor’s re-election.