A confidant of Hillary Clinton’s is calling for her Republican presidential rival to fire New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) over new allegations about his role in the “Bridgegate” scandal.
“If Donald Trump had a decent, ethical bone in his body, he would fire Governor Christie as chair of his presidential transition team for knowing about the George Washington Bridge lane closures as they occurred and for repeatedly lying about his role in the ‘Bridgegate’ scandal ever since,” David Brock said in a statement Monday.
{mosads}“The last person we need leading a possible transition of government power is someone who would so brazenly and irresponsibly violate the public trust,” Brock added.
Prosecutors alleged earlier Monday that Christie knew about the 2013 plan to close lanes of the George Washington Bridge in an apparent act of political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., for not endorsing Christie’s reelection.
Brock on Monday said the incident and its aftermath disqualifies Christie from serving on Trump’s presidential campaign.
“These lane closures harmed the economy, frustrated commuters and inconvenienced first responders,” said Brock, who founded Correct the Record and American Bridge 21st Century, a pair of super PACs backing Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee.
“Governor Christie has repeatedly lied about ‘Bridgegate’ in order to cover up his knowledge of the use of taxpayer resources to enact political revenge on a New Jersey mayor,” he added of the former GOP White House hopeful.
Prosecutors made their claims against Christie during opening statements in the trial of two former officials in his administration who are charged in connection with the scandal.
David Wildstein, a former director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority; and Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority, reportedly bragged to Christie about the traffic-snarling closures.