Gov. Chris Christie's office went on offense Saturday, with a blistering attack on former aide David Wildstein which attacked his behavior and character -- all the way back to high school.
The email, sent by Christie's office to friends and supporters and first obtained by Politico, charges that "Bottom line — David Wildstein will do and say anything to save David Wildstein."
The email was in response to Friday's report in the New York Times which quoted a letter from Wildstein's attorney as saying "evidence exists" which could prove that Christie lied in his December press conference about when he learned about the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. Wildstein was Christie's longtime ally and the Port Authority official who directed workers to close several lanes on the bridge last September, leading to a scandal which has derailed the New Jersey governor's national political ambitions.
The subject line of Christie's email, Politico reported, took direct aim at Friday's New York Times story. It was titled: "Five things you should know about the bombshell that's not a bombshell."
Those things included:
* As a 16-year-old, Wildstein had filed a suit over a school board election.
* Wildstein, Christie's office said, has been “publicly accused by his high school social studies teacher of deceptive behavior”
* Also: Wildstein “had a strange habit of registering web addresses for other people’s names without telling them.”
It also suggested this motivation for Friday's letter from Wildstein's counsel: “David Wildstein has been publicly asking for immunity since the beginning, been held in contempt by the New Jersey legislature for refusing to testify, failed to provide this so-called ‘evidence’ when he was first subpoenaed by the NJ Legislature and is looking for the Port Authority to pay his legal bills.”
The governor was booed at a Super Bowl event in Times Square on Saturday, where he sat on stage with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona, and Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York.
While the other three beamed and waved, Mr. Christie looked down. Mr. de Blasio sat next to Mr. Cuomo and punched him playfully throughout the ceremony, and the two giggled.
Ms. Brewer seemed to try to cheer up Mr. Christie. At ceremony’s end, reporters pushed toward the stage and Mr. Christie stepped to the back. When coaxed to the front by Ms. Brewer to pose for a photo,reporters asked Mr. Christie a barrage of questions.
“Governor,” one shouted, “any truth to the allegations?”
Mr. Christie said nothing and walked off the stage behind a giant speaker blaring Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”
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