Wasserman Schultz called the lane closures the 'epitome of Chris Christie’s gridlock.' | AP Photos DNC chief rips Christie on Bridgegate

Escalating the attack on a potential GOP presidential candidate, Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) on Monday slammed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, calling him a “sham” — exactly one year since the “Bridgegate” scandal began to unfold.

“One year ago, Chris Christie was running for reelection on his so-called New Jersey Comeback and on promises that he was a consensus-builder — someone who worked across the aisle, who championed compromise and who could get things done,” Wasserman Schultz said at the start of her speech at the DNC’s Bridgegate Anniversary Press Conference, according to a transcript of her speech.


“One year later, we know that those promises were false. They were a sham,” she continued.

Wasserman Schultz, who traveled to New Jersey to launch the broadside, called the lane closures the “epitome of Chris Christie’s gridlock.”

( PHOTOS: Who's who in the Bridgegate scandal)

On Sept. 9, 2013, the New Jersey Port Authority shut down lanes leading to the GWB, causing major traffic jams in Fort Lee. Investigators are examining whether Christie’s aides and appointees were responsible for the lane closures as a form of political retaliation. Some reports have suggested the closures were aimed at causing problems for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who did not endorse Christie during his 2013 race for governor. Several of the governor’s staffers and appointees resigned in the wake of the scandal.

“What Bridgegate did was raise the curtain on his culture of intimidation, bullying and incompetence that pervades the Christie administration,” Wasserman Schultz said.

Christie has denied any knowledge of the lane closures.

The DNC chair also labeled Christie’s leadership as one that “will cause pain and suffering for average citizens” in order to make a “petty political point.”

“On issue after issue, the political points Christie and his administration make are focused on one man — Chris Christie — and not on doing what’s best for New Jersey and the constituents who elected him,” Wasserman Schultz said. “This is going to be the legacy that Chris Christie carries with him into a possible presidential campaign: a state stuck in reverse, a culture of intimidation and incompetence and pure gridlock.”

The DNC plans to release a series of television and radio advertisements Monday that address the situation.

Christie’s office did not immediately respond for comment.