Chris Christie compares Mueller investigation to ‘Bridgegate’ probe

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) likened special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to the “Bridgegate” scandal that plagued his time as governor.

In a clip posted Friday from an interview with Showtime’s “The Circus,” Christie agreed with journalist John Heilemann that the Bridgegate scandal, which resulted in two of his aides being convicted on criminal charges, was “analogous” to Mueller’s probe.

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“I’ve told him that many times, that I think there’s…it’s very analogous,” Christie said.

“I can only speak for me, [but] it was completely overwhelming,” Christie said of his investigation. Christie, who was not charged, was investigated in 2013 for his alleged collusion to close the main bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey, creating traffic jams to punish the city’s Democratic mayor for not endorsing him in the 2013 gubernatorial election.

“You’re being followed everywhere, and screamed at and yelled at with questions,” he continued. “And then the issue of continuing to run the government, and keeping yourself focused and everybody else focused on the mission, which is not dealing with your crisis.”

Christie added that investigations such as the Bridgegate probe or the Mueller investigation, which has so far ensnared several former Trump aides in felony charges, creates “blood” in the water that attracts reporters to other negative coverage.

“If you look at the coverage back then, there must have been a dozen other allegations made against me or my administration during that period of time, all of which amounted to nothing,” Christie said. “But every day they’re like, banner headlines because people smell blood and they want to go in for the kill.”

Christie, who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination in 2016, became a top supporter of the president after conceding. He was later considered to lead the Justice Department in the early days of the Trump administration, though ultimately that role went to Jeff Sessions.