Chris Christie on Clinton servers: What if I’d deleted Bridgegate emails?
By Tom LoBianco, CNN
Updated
11:04 AM EDT, Mon August 17, 2015
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gives a speech on foreign policy at Prescott Park May 18, 2015 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Christie, a possible Republican presidential candidate, called for more warships and planes and laid out his vision for dealing with foreign enemies.
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie uses the beach with his family and friends at the governor's summer house at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey on July 2. Christie is defending his use of the beach, closed to the public during New Jersey's government shutdown, saying he had previously announced his vacation plans and the media had simply "caught a politician keeping his word."
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(CNN) —
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday he would have been blasted in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal if he had done the same as Hillary Clinton, and wiped a private email server clean.
“Can you imagine, if after the bridge investigation began, I came out and said ‘Oh, I’ve done all my business as governor on a private email server. And, I’ve deleted now 30,000 of those emails. But trust me none of it had to do with the bridge.’ Give me a break,” Christie said on CNN’s “New Day.”
Clinton has repeatedly sparked criticism over the use of her private email server – and the decision to delete tens of thousands of emails from it while under investigation by a Congressional panel – most recently when she joked this past weekend about Snapchat’s ability to make messages instantly disappear.
Christie, who was weighing in on Clinton’s dipping poll numbers, said a key part of the problem is voters dislike her lack of transparency. He also said the attacks on Clinton, which have largely come from Republican candidates but also a few Democratic opponents, are not about politics.
“Why not just answer that question instead of talking all the time like she does on television now about ‘Oh, the politics and the Republicans?’ It’s not about the politics,” he said.
Christie also hit Clinton earlier Monday morning in an interview with Fox News, saying the former secretary of state is “capable of anything.”
“Her arrogance is breathtaking. Breathtaking,” Christie said.
“Has Chris Christie checked his own inbox recently or does he let his staff do that for him? In the federal criminal investigation into Bridgegate, Christie’s staff was caught red-handed for using personal emails and text messages to conduct state business,” said Adrienne Watson, communications director for Correct the Record, a pro-Clinton group that fires back against Republicans.
On Monday, Christie also evaluated Donald Trump’s immigration proposal Monday, saying he found constructing a wall along the entire southern border unworkable and also did not think Mexico would pay for it.
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was not indicted as part of the Bridgegate scandal. But one of his appointees pled guilty and 2 former staffers face criminal charges.
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Mel Evans/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
David Wildstein, a former top Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud on federally funded property and one civil rights violation.
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northjersey.com
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
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Bridget Anne Kelly, Gov. Chris Christie deputy chief of staff, was fired when her e-mail about it being time for "traffic in Fort Lee" became the center of the scandal. She has been charged with nine criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud.
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Phil Stilton/Getty Images
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
Bill Baroni was executive deputy director of the Port Authority until he resigned amid the scandal in December 2014. He has been charged them with nine criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud.
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Henny Ray Abrams/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer claims New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno approached her in a parking lot last May and told her that Sandy recovery aid for her town depended on her support of a redevelopment project backed by the governor.
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Peter Foley/Bloomberg/Getty
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in the Christie controversies —
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno denies telling Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer that her town's Superstorm Sandy relief money depended on her support for a redevelopment project proposed by a company with ties to Gov. Chris Christie that he had backed.
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Tanya Breen/The Asbury Park Press/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in the Christie controversies —
Maria Comella, a deputy chief of staff in Christie's office, had been monitoring the media reaction weeks after the George Washington Bridge traffic fiasco. She has been subpoenaed as part of the state legislative investigation.
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N.J. Governor's Office
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie controversies —
Randy Mastro, a former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former deputy mayor of New York, will head the legal team representing the Christie administration in various investigations relating to the George Washington Bridge political scandal. He once a the federal racketeering lawsuit that forced the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to hold democratic elections and undergo court supervision.
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Marc A. Hermann/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
Reid Schar, a key figure in the federal prosecution of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will assist the special state Assembly committee investigating the bridge scandal that has engulfed current and former aides of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
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M. Spencer Green/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
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U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, a Democrat, said he was concerned about the bidding process for using $25 million in Superstorm Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore.
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Mel Evans/Getty
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
E-mails suggest that Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich was the apparent target of an alleged political payback scheme involving traffic jams around the George Washington Bridge. He met with Chris Christie in early January to discuss the matter, and said the governor was "gracious and apologetic."
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Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
New Jersey Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski is chairman of the special state Assembly committee investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal. The panel has subpoenaed current and former top Christie aides as well members of his political organization, seeking documents and other materials. Chris Christie has not been subpoenaed but his office has.
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Mel Evans/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
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Michael Drewniak, Christie's chief spokesman, has been subpoenaed by a special state Assembly committee investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal. It is seeking documents and other materials. Although there is nothing to suggest Drewniak was involved in the scandal, e-mails released by investigators show he met with a key figure, David Wildstein, two days before Wildstein resigned from his job as a top Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
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Mike Derer/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
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David Samson, Port Authority chairman, said its board had no knowledge of the George Washington Bridge traffic jam mess until five days after the fact. He has been subpoenaed by the state assembly committee and is also a partner and founding member of Wolff & Samson, the law firm that represented the Rockefeller Group in the Hoboken redevelopment plan.
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Julio Cortez/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
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Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority, said access lane closures that resulted in the George Washington Bridge traffic mess didn't follow proper agency protocols. He ordered the lanes reopened and has been subpoenaed by the state Assembly committee as part of its investigation into the bridge scandal.
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Mark Lennihan/AP
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Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat who also didn't endorse Christie, has raised his own suspicions about his cooled relationship with the administration.
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Julio Cortez/AP
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New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat, has been pressing for information about the scandal.
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Mel Evans/AP
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Democrat Barbara Buono is a New Jersey state senator who challenged Chris Christie this past November and lost in a landslide. She derided Christie during the campaign as representing "the worst combination of bully and bossism," and she brought up the George Washington Bridge traffic mess as an example.
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Julio Cortez/AP
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
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Bill Stepien managed Chris Christie's two successful campaigns for govenor. E-mails suggest he was aware of the bridge lane closures, and Christie has asked him to give up his political role. He, too, has been subpoenaed by the state committee investigating the matter.
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From Facebook
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
Scott Rechler, vice chairman of the Port Authority's board of commissioners, e-mailed other representatives of the agency saying he was disturbed that traffic was snarled "without regard to this being the Jewish high holiday weekend" last September. Rechler was appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
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Peter Foley/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal
Who's who in Christie bridge scandal —
E-mails suggest Regina Egea, then a senior staffer and the governor's point person to the Port Authority and other agencies, was aware of concerns the George Washington Bridge lane closures were not part of an ongoing traffic study as the Christie administration initially claimed. She's now Christie's incoming chief of staff and has also been subpoenaed by the state Assembly committee.
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Governor's Office/Tim Larsen
“This makes no sense,” Christie said. “I’ve met (Mexican) President (Enrique) Pena Nieto a number of times. I don’t think if we present him with a bill he’s gong to pay for it and this is not a negotiation of a real estate deal, ok?”
Instead, Christie said, he would build walls in selective spots along the border – like dense urban areas – and pay for it. He also wants to use drones to conduct border surveillance, have the FBI, DEA and ATF work with border patrol agents and use the e-verify system to check worker status.
“The fact is these people are coming over here to work, they’re not coming here to vote,” Christie told CNN. “And if, in fact, they know they can’t get jobs then they’re not going to come, and so that’s the most important element of a ll four.”
