TRENTON — The attorney representing David Wildstein, a former official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said today that Gov. Chris Christie knew of the closure of lanes from Fort Lee on to the George Washington Bridge when they occurred in September.

"Evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference" last month, the attorney, Alan Zegas, said.

Zegas also said Wildstein "contests the accuracy of various statements that the governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some."

The statements were made in a letter sent by Zegas to the Port Authority asking it to reconsider its decision earlier this month not to pay Wildstein's legal bills. The Port Authority declined comment, and Zegas declined to elaborate on the letter or evidence.

(See the full text of the letter below.)

The governor's office said in a statement that Christie stands by his position that he "first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press."

"Mr. Wildstein's lawyer confirms what the governor has said all along — he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with," the statement said.

It went on, "As the governor said in a Dec. 13 press conference, he only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press and as he said in his Jan. 9 press conference, had no indication that this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of Jan. 8. The governor denies Mr. Wildstein's lawyer's other assertions."

In December and last month, Christie insisted on several occasions that he learned about the lane closures, which took place from Sept. 9-13, from media accounts published after the closures occurred.

"I knew nothing about this," Christie said at a news conference Jan. 9, the two-hour press conference referenced by Zegas in the letter. "And until it started to be reported in the papers about the closure, but even then I was told this was a traffic study."

Christie later added, "I had no knowledge of this — of the planning, the execution or anything about it — and that I first found out about it after it was over."

She added, “I don’t see it as a smoking gun in any sort of fashion.”

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said, "I am not so sure what this letter means at all."



"Look, from my perspective and Fort Lee's perspective, we have credibility issues with Mr. Wildstein," Sokolich told CNN. "He is certainly bucking for immunity."



He added, "I don't want the state's highest office to be implicated in this. I don't. I take the governor at his word. However, this letter seems to imply perhaps there was knowledge he knew during" the lane closures.



A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee pounced on the disclosure, saying in a statement, "I know it's Super Bowl weekend and Chris Christie doesn't want to talk about anything but the game, but it looks like he's going to need to change his plans."

"Chris Christie said he barely knew David Wildstein. That was untrue," the spokesman, Mo Elleithee, said. "He said he hadn't seen Mr. Wildstein in a long time. That was untrue. He's repeatedly said that he had no knowledge of the lane closures. Today's revelations raise serious questions about whether that is true."



In the letter to the Port Authority, Zegas said the agency "not offer one single reason" why his client was not entitled to representation and coverage under its bylaws.

Zegas said he was informed Jan. 24 by e-mail that Wildstein's request had been denied. The authority stated, "[B]ased on the current facts and circumstances, it is apparent that the Port Authority's provision of legal representation ... would not be warranted under the Port Authority's By-Laws."

"What about Mr. Wildstein's circumstances is so 'apparent?'" Zegas wrote, noting that Wildstein refused to answer any questions or provide any testimony when he appeared before the Assembly transportation committee last month.

Zegas said Wildstein's request was made after a similar request by Bill Baroni, the authority's former deputy executive director, but Baroni's request is still pending.

Zegas said the Port Authority could not make a sound decision about representation because of "palpable conflicts at every level" of its hierarchy.

Wildstein, who attended Livingston High School with Christie and later became the town’s mayor, called for the unannounced closure of local access lanes at the nation’s busiest bridge in Fort Lee last September — a move that led to days of heavy traffic for thousands of motorists.

Democrats have accused the Christie administration of orchestrating the closures as political payback because Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor declined to endorse the governor for re-election. When questioned by a state Assembly committee earlier this month, Wildstein took the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer.

Star-Ledger staff writers Matt Friedman, Susan K. Livio, and Salvador Rizzo contributed to this report.

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