TRENTON — The law firm hired by Gov. Chris Christie's office to conduct an internal investigation into the George Washington Bridge and Hoboken Hurricane Sandy scandals released its findings today.

Here are excerpts from the 360-page report:

BRIDGE SCANDAL

WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE?

"Our investigation found that David Wildstein (then of the Port Authority) and Bridget Kelly (then one of the Deputy Chiefs of Staff in the Governor’s Office) knowingly participated in this plan to realign toll lanes leading onto the George Washington Bridge at Fort Lee, at least in part, for some ulterior motive to target Mayor Sokolich. Our investigation also found that Bill Stepien (then the Governor’s campaign manager) and Bill Baroni (then the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority) knew of this idea in advance, but we found no evidence that they knew of the ulterior motive here, besides the claimed purpose of conducting a traffic study."

MORE BLAME ON WILDSTEIN AND KELLY

"As the controversy grew, Wildstein and Kelly attempted to cover it up. Others in the Governor’s Office were being told by Wildstein and Baroni that this was a legitimate traffic study and an operational issue best left to the Port Authority to handle. With Assembly Committee hearings looming in late November 2013, Wildstein helped prepare Baroni for his testimony. Baroni told the Committee this was a legitimate traffic study long under consideration and long overdue because Fort Lee had received favored treatment in the past. He even described the study’s limited but inconclusive results, showing there was improvement in I-95 traffic flow as a result of this toll lane realignment. Baroni also publicly identified Wildstein as the Port Authority employee responsible for orchestrating the lane realignment."

NO CONCLUSION ON MOTIVATION

"What motivated this act is not yet clear."

KELLY AND STEPIEN'S RELATIONSHIP

"Because Stepien was her 'benefactor,' Kelly relied heavily on him during this transition. And at some point after Stepien’s departure to run the campaign, Kelly and Stepien became personally involved, although, by early August 2013, their personal relationship had cooled, apparently at Stepien’s choice, and they largely stopped speaking."

BLAME ON WILDSTEIN

"For some reason yet to be determined, Wildstein seemed to be driving this issue again in 2013. It was Wildstein’s 'idea,' like so many other 'crazy' ones he’d had before that never got off the ground. Among his political friends, Wildstein first approached Stepien about this idea to realign the Fort Lee toll lanes. Stepien, who was no longer a State employee at the time, sidestepped the question, telling Wildstein he would have to go to 'Trenton.' Wildstein then began communicating with Kelly about that subject using their personal email accounts. On August 4 12, 2013, Kelly reconfirmed that Mayor Sokolich would not be endorsing the Governor for reelection. Then, on August 13, 2013, she sent Wildstein her now-infamous email: 'Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.' To which Wildstein knowingly responded: 'Got it.'"

WILDSTEIN CLAIMS HE TOLD CHRISTIE

"By early December 2013, Wildstein was feeling vulnerable, knew he would have to resign, and then did. While he continued to insist to the Governor’s Office that this was a legitimate traffic study, even if flawed in its execution, and admitted that this was his 'idea,' he tried to deflect blame, telling Drewniak that he had not acted alone, identifying Kelly and Stepien as others who knew, and claiming he had emails to prove it. Wildstein even suggested he mentioned the traffic issue in Fort Lee to the Governor at a public event during the lane realignment — a reference that the Governor does not recall and, even if actually made, would not have registered with the Governor in any event because he knew nothing about this decision in advance and would not have considered another traffic issue at one of the bridges or tunnels to be memorable. Drewniak passed on Wildstein’s claims to others in the Governor’s Office. Others also heard the Kelly email rumors and reported them back to the Governor’s Office around that time."

KELLY COVERING HER TRACKS

"The Governor became concerned about what he was hearing and demanded straight answers from his senior staff. On December 12, 2013, he had further inquiries made of Kelly and Stepien. Both denied any involvement in the decision to close these lanes. Kelly even claimed to have searched her emails, showing a couple to the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Kevin O’Dowd, a former federal prosecutor, but none of the damning private ones proving her advance knowledge and participation. But Kelly was nevertheless panicked by what she considered to be O’Dowd’s 'grilling.' She called her staffer, Christina Renna, that same night to make a desperate request: delete the email that Kelly sent to Renna on September 12, 2013, where Kelly, upon learning Mayor Sokolich was 'extremely upset,' responded: 'Good.' Despite Kelly’s attempt to cover her tracks, Renna preserved a copy of that email."

THE DAY THE KELLY EMAIL SURFACED

"That afternoon, on January 8, 2014, the Governor called together his top aides and advisors at Drumthwacket. It was an emotional session, in which the Governor, welling up with tears, expressed shock at the revelations, directed Kelly’s immediate firing for lying to him, and also decided to sever ties with Stepien."

CHRISTIE DIDN'T KNOW

"Our investigation found that Governor Christie did not know of the lane realignment beforehand and had no involvement in the decision to realign the lanes. He does not recall becoming aware of the lane realignment during the period the lanes were closed, but would not have considered a traffic issue memorable in any event."

"Governor Christie’s account of these events rings true. It is corroborated by many witnesses, and he has conducted himself at every turn as someone who has nothing to hide. Moreover, in all the documents we reviewed (including the personal texts and emails of the Governor and his senior staff) and from all the witnesses we interviewed, we uncovered nothing contradicting the Governor’s account."

NO ONE BUT KELLY INVOLVED

"We have not found any evidence of any other member of the Governor’s staff, besides Bridget Kelly, being involved in the decision to realign these George Washington Bridge toll lanes at Fort Lee. And we have not found any evidence of any other member of the Governor’s staff, besides Bridget Kelly, doing anything to cover up what happened here after the fact."

CONCLUSIONS

"Importantly, the evidence exposing this operation was not to be found in government files; rather, it was hidden in the personal email accounts and personal texts of those participating in order to conceal their act. As other investigations progress, they may uncover, through their subpoena powers, more about the questions that remain unanswered, including what really motivated this plan. And consistent with our mandate, we will continue to facilitate the Governor’s Office’s cooperation."

HOBOKEN HURRICANE SANDY SCANDAL

CONCLUSIONS ON ZIMMER CLAIMS

"Our investigation found that Mayor (Dawn) Zimmer’s allegations are, in material respects, demonstrably false. They are contradicted by contemporaneous documents, other witnesses’ accounts, and her own prior statements. In sum, the subjective perceptions she may have do not match objective reality, as reflected in the hard evidence uncovered during our investigation."

Star-Ledger staff writers Ryan Hutchins, Brent Johnson, and Jenna Portnoy contributed to this report.

Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher LLP

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