Chris Christie Says He's Thinking About 2016 Presidential Run, Not Concerned About GWB Scandal
WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie admitted Wednesday he's thinking about running for president and said that by the time 2016 arrives the controversy over last year's George Washington Bridge lane closures "will be a footnote."
Christie told a conference in Washington that after months of investigation "there hasn't been one suggestion that I knew anything about" orders from staff aides to close access lanes that caused traffic snarls in Fort Lee.
When asked by CBS News' Bob Schieffer if he's thinking of running for president and when he'll make a decision, Christie said, "Yes, and later."
"As far as the impact on my political future, I think it will have none because I didn't do anything," the Republican governor said. "So I understand the circus that this becomes. You get 61 percent of the vote in a blue state in November, and then all of a sudden, a couple of staff people doing something that they shouldn't have done, I fire them, and all of a sudden this becomes the biggest story in the country for a couple of months because I guess you guys weren't doing anything else down here.
"In the end, what the people of New Jersey know about me is I tell them the truth."
Christie also said that if Republicans retake the Senate it could lead to a more productive Washington during President Barack Obama's final two years in office. Obama could make progress on trade negotiating authority, for example.
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