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Gov. Chris Christie, shown here at a town hall in Flemington, cooperated with an internal review by an attorney hired by the state, Christie's office said.

(Patti Sapone/The Star-Ledger)

By Jason Grant and Jenna Portnoy/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — When word leaked out Monday that a law firm Gov. Chris Christie retained and taxpayers will pay for to the tune of $1 million was about to clear him of wrongdoing in the George Washington Bridge scandal, the governor charged out to publicly back it and hail its findings.

But some Democratic state lawmakers denounced the firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher for what they saw as numerous shortcomings: the findings were leaked before the firm’s investigation was done, at least three key figures who might have had intimate knowledge of the bridge closings were not interviewed and what value, they asked, did the report have since it was Christie’s made to order.

"From the very beginning Governor Christie has made clear that the Gibson Dunn review team’s mandate is to get to the truth, no matter what it is," said Maria Comella, Christie’s deputy chief of staff for communications and planning. "And they have been given unfettered access to Governor’s office staff, documents and other forms of communication to ensure they are able to provide as exhaustive a report as possible and to make substantive recommendations for improvements, as warranted."

Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) didn’t see it that way. The co-chairman of the legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closings, said that without speaking to three sources — Bridget Anne Kelly, a former Christie deputy chief of staff; Bill Stepien, a two-time campaign manager for Christie; and David Wildstein, a high-ranking official of the Port of New York and New Jersey — the report was flawed and inconsequential.

"It does not include information from Ms. Kelly, it can’t be a complete investigation," he said. "If we don’t hear from the person who put the lane closures into motion, Bridget Kelly, who we know sent the email ‘Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee’ ... if we don’t know why she sent that email, if we don’t know who gave her the authority to send that email, if we don’t know what she thought she may be accomplishing by sending that email, then we can’t have a complete picture of what happened here."

Moreover, critics said, the report for the governor’s office can not be accepted as the full version of what happened because both the investigation by the lawmakers and a probe by federal prosecutors into the lane closing were still in progress.

An article first published online Sunday night by The New York Times described the forthcoming internal-review report in detail and indicated the report would be made public soon. The article, headlined "Inquiry Is Said to Clear Christie, but That's His Lawyers' Verdict," was based on unnamed sources who reportedly had "firsthand knowledge" of the law firm's investigation, and it noted that the law firm's fees for preparing the report would be paid by state taxpayers, reportedly costing at least $1 million.

Gibson Dunn had the full participation of Christie, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and more than 70 people from the governor’s office and the New Jersey side of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Christie’s office noted Monday in a statement to reporters. The office also said that lawyers from the firm gained access to government and private email accounts of key current and former administration officials, along with a large range of documents, including thousands of emails left on government servers by current and former employees like Kelly and Stepien.

But the Times’ article also made clear that the Gibson Dunn investigative team, headed by prominent litigation partner Randy Mastro, did not have access to any information or interviews provided by Kelly, Stepien and Wildstein themselves.

Reached Monday by phone, Stepien’s lawyer, said he had no comment at this point on the forthcoming Gibson Dunn report, and he indicated that he wanted to see it in full. Kelly’s lawyer also had no comment, and Wildstein’s attorney could not be reached.

In The Times’s article, Mastro said the investigation was a "comprehensive and exhaustive" review. The article also said Mastro’s legal team had looked into allegations made by Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken that high-ranking members of the Christie administration threatened to withhold Hurricane Sandy aid last spring if she did not approve a real estate development project at the city’s north end.

In a phone interview, Wisniewski also complained Monday that his special committee had apparently received very little, if any, of the information relied upon by Mastro’s team.

He noted that his bi-partisan committee had issued a broad subpoena to Christie’s office, but had largely received summaries of media reports possessed by the governor’s office.

"It certainly sounds like he (Mastro) has had more thorough access and complete access to the records than the records that he himself has turned over to the legislature," Wisniewski said, adding "A vast majority of the pages consists of press summaries."

He continued, "I hope that he (Mastro) has more information than he has provided us ... If he has more information, than why hasn’t he responded and shared the information per the subpoena issued to the office of the governor."

Mastro did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment about The Times’ article.

Star-Ledger staff writers Christopher Baxter, Ted Sherman, and Steve Strunsky contributed to this report.

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