NJ Gov. Christie says he was misled about aides’ role in lane closures

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, frequently flagged as a potential presidential candidate for the Republican party, says that a top aide misled him about her role in apparent political retribution against a town mayor and that he knew nothing about the situation.

Emails and text messages released Wednesday link Christie aides and political appointees to traffic jams in September that appear to have been engineered as political payback.

Christie said in a statement several hours later that the behaviour is inappropriate and that staffers will be held responsible.

The messages are the clearest sign yet that Christie aides were involved in closing access lanes in the town of Fort Lee to a heavily trafficked bridge. They contradict Christie’s earlier denials that the closings were punitive and said his staff was not involved.