Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey issued repeated apologies Thursday for the abuse of office that now threatens to undermine his political future. Though he sounded remorseful — and clearly sorry that this scandal might sink his ambitions for national office — he blamed his staff for making him a victim. Unbeknown to him, he said, they shut down lanes to the George Washington Bridge to create a four-day traffic jam to punish a local mayor who failed to endorse him in last year’s election.

He said he fired his “stupid” and “deceitful” deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, “because she lied to me” about the gridlock scheme. Mr. Christie has also asked a Republican operative and former campaign adviser, Bill Stepien, to withdraw as a candidate to take over the state Republican Party. He, too, was on the email chain. Two of Mr. Christie’s appointees to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni, resigned in December as news of the traffic vendetta became public.

Through his 108-minute news conference, Mr. Christie insisted over and over that he knew absolutely nothing about this illegal scheme. He was “blindsided” with the news on Wednesday morning, he said. That was the first time he said he saw emails showing how his aides gleefully plotted to shut down traffic lanes to punish Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee, N.J. For that reason, he said he is “embarrassed and humiliated.” This version of reality simply does not add up.

It’s good news that the United States attorney for New Jersey, Paul Fishman, has opened an inquiry into the matter and can make certain that all parties testify under oath. While the State Assembly has done a good job of investigating the Fort Lee scandal, it is important that the case be examined by a prosecutor’s office.