Did Bridgegate Affect NY Governor's Election? Accusation from Astorino

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino has called on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York to resign following testimony Tuesday from an ex-Christie ally that the two conspired to end scrutiny of the controversial lane closings at the George Washington Bridge in 2013, otherwise known as "Bridgegate."

Christie and Cuomo agreed to falsely explain Bridgegate as a traffic study to try to “put an end to” the growing scandal, according to news reports of testimony from David Wildstein, a former Christie administration official at the Port Authority.

A spokesman for Cuomo denied that the two governors had colluded on Bridgegate and called Wildstein's testimony delusional.

But Astorino alleges a broader tit-for-tat: Cuomo tamped down investigation into Bridgegate in 2013 and Christie, who was head of the Republican Governors Association, then refused to help Astorino in his gubernatorial bid in 2014.

"The 2014 New York governor’s race is ancient history," Astorino said in a statement. "But the political deals and possible conspiracy that went on during that race between Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie — then the head of the Republican Governors Association — is only now coming into the clear light of day for everyone to see.

"If true, the mutual re-election assistance pact between Govs. Christie and Cuomo — one Democrat and one Republican — was grossly unethical and possibly illegal. Both men have lost their moral authority to lead. They should resign their offices for the parts they played here."

Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty to masterminding the scandal, testified in the weeks-long Bridgegate trial of two ex-Christie aides that Cuomo helped in the cover-up of the scandal as it was unfolding, according to reports.

Cuomo, responding to a request from Christie, told the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge, to “stand down” in trying to publicly blame the lane closings on New Jersey officials until Christie had won re-election in November 2013, according to a The New York Times report.

Similar reports have come up in the past few years that Christie and Cuomo had discussions about handling the Bridgegate fallout, but they've both denied that such a conversation ever took place and that they had any role in the lane-closing scandal.

The Port Authority's executive director, Patrick J. Foye, was supposed to sign off on the plan. Instead, he ordered the lanes reopened when he learned about the shutdown four days after it began.

Christie apparently vented his frustration to Cuomo about Foye, the governor's top appointee to the bi-state authority. "New Jersey side (would have) accepted responsibility and ... Mr. Foye would sign off on that," he was quoted by NJ.com as saying. "My understanding, at the time, was that that would put an end to this issue," Wildstein said, according to the report.

Christie was furious Foye was "meddling" in New Jersey affairs, according to Michael Critchley, former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly's defense attorney, who pressed Wildstein during his third day of cross examination, according to NJ.com.

So a deal was apparently done, Astorino said. Cuomo and his New York appointees reportedly remained silent about what they knew and refrained from any public questioning until after Election Day 2013. Cuomo then got Christie to withdraw the support of the Republican Governors Association from Astorino's candidacy:

On November 20 2013, three weeks after Governor Christie was re-elected and soon after he was announced as the next Chairman of the RGA, I was invited to attend an RGA Conference in Phoenix. At that conference, my wife and I met with Governor Christie and his wife and Governor Christie encouraged me to run for Governor of New York the next year, and he offered his support as RGA Chairman if I did.

A full report of that meeting, of which I was not the source, appeared the next Monday, November 25, 2013 in a column in The New York Post in which sources confirmed, on-the-record, both the meeting and Governor Christie’s clear enthusiasm for my candidacy.

That very same day, in a conference call with reporters, Governor Cuomo boasted that he had picked up the phone that morning and called Governor Christie who assured him that he would not be backing my candidacy. Again, Christie was the incoming Chairman of the Republican Governors Association.

After Governor Cuomo’s phone call to Governor Christie -- a single telephone call -- everything changed. Governor Christie and his staff refused to take our phone calls. In fact, other than some brief heated words to me at the July, 2014 RGA meeting in Aspen -- I won’t repeat them in public -- Governor Christie and I never spoke again.

Then it got really interesting: In July of 2014, Governor Christie said on television that my candidacy against Governor Cuomo was “a lost cause.” Then we got reports that Governor Christie and his team were instructing Republican donors to give their money elsewhere. Coming from the Chairman of the RGA, this had a dramatic effect on our fundraising.

The trial involving two alleged Bridgegate conspirators who were indicted in connection with the scandal began two weeks ago, and it's supposed to last as long as a month.

The two indicted were Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the top Christie executive appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Wildstein has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy.

Long-time Christie confidant David Samson, who some believed had a role in the Bridgegate scheme but was never charged for it, pleaded guilty in July to demanding a bribe while he was chairman of the Port Authority.
Christie, who has repeatedly denied being involved in the scheme, recently told NBC that he believes the scandal impacted his chances of becoming Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate. Christie also made a failed attempt at running for president earlier this year.

Astorino said the collusion exemplified the worst of American politics. He concluded his statement:

In the end, I won 46 out of 62 counties, beating Governor Cuomo 49-46 outside of New York City. Whether extra money could have made a difference is immaterial at this point. But what is important is that the truth come out. The public needs to know about this mutual re-election arrangement between two governors -- of different parties no less.

Governor Cuomo is of course denying all this. But what he is asking New Yorkers and New Jerseyans to believe is beyond all credulity. The deal between these men is so patently obvious that Mr. Cuomo insults the intelligence of anyone with basic common sense looking at the events as they played out.

The bottom line is that Governor Cuomo agreed to look the other way on Bridgegate in the fall of 2013 to help Governor Christie get re-elected. And beginning just three weeks after that re-election, RGA Chairman Christie began repaying the favor to Governor Cuomo by cutting off potential money to our campaign and by appearing with Cuomo multiple times during the homestretch of the campaign. Several sources have told me that Governors Christie and Cuomo talked on the phone constantly throughout the 2014 race to talk tactics -- a Democratic governor and the Chairman of the RGA.

Now, in a New Jersey courtroom, some of this is coming to light. Those lights need to be kept on because the American public needs to see how the system can be rigged by those trying to cling to power.

Patch file photo

By Tom Davis (Patch Staff); Patch Editor Lanning Taliaferro contributed to this report.