Watch live: Chris Christie to answer questions on bridge scandal
Chris Christie is set to hold an “Ask the Governor” segment with Trenton, N.J., radio station WKXW-FM Monday at 7 p.m. ET where he will likely have to answer to recent charges that he was aware that his aides ordered the shutdown of several lanes of the George Washington Bridge last year.
CBSNews.com will livestream the program here.
The political team for the embattled New Jersey governor, who has seen the start of his term overshadowed by the scandal, has answered the charges with personal attacks against David Wildstein, the former Port Authority official who resigned over the scandal.
Last week, Wildstein’s attorney released a letter alleging that "evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference.” In return, Christie’s political team said that Wildstein, “will do and say anything to save David Wildstein,” and bashed the former official’s character in incidents dating back to grade school.
Christie’s administration is facing investigations on several fronts, including the U.S. Attorney’s office and the New Jersey state legislature. About 20 subpoenas were expected to be returned to the legislature Monday, although assemblyman John Wisniewski, the co-chairman of the joint panel leading the investigation, told the Associated Press that some extensions had been granted.
There was one bright spot on the horizon for Christie, though: he has been invited to speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference next month. Last year, the American Conservative Union declined to extend an invitation because many Republicans viewed Christie as having been insufficiently conservative, especially when he collaborated and appeared with President Obama to coordinate Superstorm Sandy relief just days before the 2012 election.
Several prominent Republicans also came to Christie’s defense on the Sunday talk shows, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The latter two said he should not have to step down from his position as the head of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and Giuliani echoed Christie’s aides’ attempts to cast aspersions on Wildstein’s accusations.