The lawyer for Bridget Anne Kelly fired back today against allegations that largely blamed her for the George Washington Bridge lane closings, blasting a $1 million report commissioned by Gov. Chris Christie's office as trying to wrongly undermine her with "venomous, gratuitous, and inappropriate sexist remarks."

Michael Critchley, Kelly’s lawyer, said in a statement, “The report’s venomous, gratuitous, and inappropriate sexist remarks concerning Ms. Kelly have no place in what is alleged to be a professional and independent report.”

He also argued that the document amounted to a “a preemptive strike” against Kelly that sought to “impugn her credibility.”

The 360-page report, drafted by a New York lawyer hired by Christie’s office and paid for by taxpayers, alleged that Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, was one of two people responsible for orchestrating the lane closings, which caused days of traffic jams across Fort Lee.

It also said Christie had no involvement in the plotting or carrying out of the “lane realignment.”

The report depicted Kelly, 42, in personal and unflattering terms, describing her as nervous and weepy in exchanges with other Christie staff and suggesting that personal issues may have affected her judgment.

The report also revealed that last summer Kelly had a failed romance with Bill Stepien, a former two-time campaign manager for Christie. And it suggested that the relationship took a heavy emotional toll on Kelly, possibly affecting her actions tied to the bridge, which the report said could not be fully explained.

Calling the document “a preemptive strike” meant to impugn and “isolate Ms. Kelly,” Critchley said, “Ms. Kelly is not a liar. She is a single mother of four children who was deeply devoted and committed to her job at the Office of the Governor. She worked tirelessly to pursue the goals of the Office during her tenure.”

Randy Mastro, the lawyer retained by Christie’s office to write the report — after first performing a review of the office’s actions related to both the bridge scandal and Sandy aid for Hoboken scandal — could not be reached for comment.

On January 9, Kelly was fired by Christie after emails emerged linking her to the now infamous September lane closings. Her email, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," is considered smoking-gun evidence that allegedly showed the closures were orchestrated by Kelly and others as an act of political retribution directed at Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat who decided not to endorse Christie, a Republican, for re-election.

In his three-paragraph statement, Critchley also said Mastro’s report was based on incomplete evidence.

“Having reviewed the report of (Mastro’s law firm) Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP, as well as listened to the comments of Randy Mastro, Esq., we note that by Mr. Mastro’s own admission, he did not have access to all information,” Critchley said. “Of course, without reviewing all pertinent evidence, any conclusions that are to be drawn are by definition incomplete.”

While the governor’s office has touted the report as comprehensive and exhaustive, many observers have pointed out that Mastro’s internal-review team did not have access to information from Kelly, Stepien and David Wildstein, a former high-ranking official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who the report says was the originator of the idea to close the lanes in an effort to harm Sokolich.

In addition, David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority, who was shown in emails to be upset with the Port Authority’s executive director, after the director complained last year about the lane closings, did not cooperate with Mastro’s review.

Earlier today, Samson resigned from the Port Authority, explaining little about why. In a statement, he said, “Over the past months, I have shared with the Governor my desire to conclude my service to the PANYNJ,” adding “The timing is now right.”

Critchley also said that information possessed by Kelly could be crucial to unraveling the full story of what happened in the bridge scandal – and therefore, he argued, it might be in the governor’s office’s interest to discredit her in the report prepared by its lawyers.

He said the report’s version of events differs from allegations made by Wildstein, who has indicated, through his attorney, that Christie had knowledge of the lane closings when they occurred.

Kelly may be the person who holds the keys to knowing who is right, Critchley said.

“Ms. Kelly’s evidence could be critical to verifying either of the two competing versions of events,” he said, adding, “A preemptive strike to isolate Ms. Kelly and impugn her credibility is not surprising,”

In the last lines of his statement, Critchley appeared to make an overture to the U.S. Attorney's Office, indicating — as he has done before — that if Kelly were to be granted immunity from prosecution, she would give information to investigating authorities. To date, Kelly has invoked her Fifth Amendment constitutional rights, not providing documents to state legislative investigators. Based on what is publicly known, it also appears she has not spoken with federal investigators.

“The only credible investigation into the lane closings is being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office,” Critchley said. “If Ms. Kelly were provided with the appropriate procedural safeguards, she will be fully cooperative and provide truthful and complete answers to any questions asked of her by the appropriate law enforcement authorities.”

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