Five months ago, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's definition of good news was trouncing a little-known Democratic rival as he romped to victory in a blue state, fueling a wave of national stories anointing him as the GOP's next presidential nominee, if not the next president of the United States.

And now, this is "good" news:



With his office suddenly engulfed in scandal over lane closings at the George Washington Bridge, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey two months ago summoned a pair of top defense lawyers from an elite law firm to the State House and asked them to undertake an extensive review of what had gone wrong. Now, after 70 interviews and at least $1 million in legal fees to be paid by state taxpayers, that review is set to be released, and according to people with firsthand knowledge of the inquiry, it has uncovered no evidence that the governor was involved in the plotting or directing of the lane closings.

Okay, I'll grant that this definitely could have been worse. For example, if the inquiry had revealed Christie personally moved the traffic cones—as he once famously joked—then that would have been pretty devastating.

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