Comparison of two reports on bridge lane closures

The legislative committee investigating the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge has compiled a report of its findings. It comes nine months after Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, a law firm retained by Gov. Christie's office, released its own report.

Here is a comparison of some of the reports' key findings, including about Christie's role.

Gibson Dunn report: "Our investigation found that David Wildstein (then of the Port Authority) and Bridget Kelly (then one of the deputy chiefs of staff in the governor's office) knowingly participated in this plan to realign toll lanes leading onto the George Washington Bridge at Fort Lee, at least in part, for some ulterior motive to target [Fort Lee] Mayor Sokolich. ..."

"What motivated this act is not yet clear. The common speculation that this was an act of political retaliation because Mayor Sokolich failed to endorse the governor for reelection is not established by the evidence that we have seen."

Jenner & Block, counsel to the legislative committee: "The committee's work reveals that the lane closures were directly implemented by Bridget Anne Kelly, at the time a deputy chief of staff to Gov. Christie and the author of the 'Traffic Problems' e-mail, and that Kelly worked in close concert with Wildstein, then the Port Authority's director of interstate capital projects.

"Many critical questions, however, remain unanswered."

Gibson Dunn: "Our investigation found that Gov. Christie did not know of the lane realignment beforehand and had no involvement in the decision to realign the lanes. He does not recall becoming aware of the lane realignment during the period the lanes were closed, but would not have considered a traffic issue memorable in any event. ...

"Gov. Christie's account of these events rings true. It is corroborated by many witnesses, and he has conducted himself at every turn as someone who has nothing to hide.

"Moreover, in all the documents we reviewed (including the personal texts and e-mails of the governor and his senior staff) and from all the witnesses we interviewed, we uncovered nothing contradicting the governor's account."

Jenner & Block: "At present, there is no conclusive evidence as to whether Gov. Chris Christie was or was not aware of the lane closures either in advance of their implementation or contemporaneously as they were occurring. Nor is there conclusive evidence as to whether Gov. Christie did or did not have involvement in implementing or directing the lane closures."

But the committee's report says lack of information from several key players "leaves open the question of when the governor first learned of the closures and what he was told. ..."

"Even, however, if Kelly and Wildstein acted alone, they did so with perceived impunity and in an environment, both in OOG [Office of the Governor] and the Port Authority, in which they felt empowered to act as they did, with little regard for public safety risks or the steadily mounting public frustration."