Christie:, If called, will testify in Bridgegate trial
TOMS RIVER, N.J. - Gov. Christie said Friday that he would testify if he is subpoenaed in the coming trial of two former allies in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.
TOMS RIVER, N.J. - Gov. Christie said Friday that he would testify if he is subpoenaed in the coming trial of two former allies in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.
Christie has not received a subpoena ahead of the trial, scheduled to start Sept. 19, he said at a news conference announcing federal aid for communities affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Asked whether he would testify willingly if subpoenaed, Christie said: "Of course."
"If I'm served with a proper and appropriate subpoena, I'll comply with the subpoena. Just like the way I've cooperated from minute one, voluntarily, in every aspect of the three different investigations that people had into this," the governor said in a firehouse in Toms River.
Defense attorneys for a former Christie aide and a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official, facing trial on charges they conspired to jam traffic at the bridge in September 2013, have raised the possibility that they would call the governor, who has not been charged.
At a hearing in federal court last month in Newark, a lawyer for Bill Baroni, the former Port Authority official facing conspiracy, fraud, and related charges, suggested Christie might testify as he argued that the law firm the governor had hired to investigate the scandal had ignored relevant information.
Referring to an email Christie sent former Port Authority chairman David Samson in December 2013 with a link to an article about the lane closures, attorney Michael Baldassare said the email may be important "if and when the governor gets in that box and testifies."
Reiterating that he had no involvement in the lane closures, Christie told reporters Friday: "I know you guys all hope for this story to continue forever. But unfortunately for you, I suspect by the time we get to October or so, it will finally be over."
Christie also said Friday that the former aide who alleged that he lied during a December 2013 news conference would have had "no basis to even know that."
"During the entire time she worked for me, if I spoke to her one or two times, that's a lot," Christie said of Christina Renna. "You guys throw around the phrase 'aide to the governor' as if every one of those people is, like, hanging out in my office every day."
Renna texted a former Christie campaign staffer while the governor held a news conference in December 2013, saying Christie was "flat out lying" about his senior staff and campaign manager's involvement in the bridge scandal. The text message was revealed this month in a court filing by Baroni's attorneys.
Christie previously denied Renna's allegation, calling it "ridiculous."
The governor, who has become a top backer of Donald Trump, refrained Friday from weighing in on his role advising the GOP presidential nominee, including on the candidate's comments this week on immigration.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told NJ Advance Media that Christie was responsible for Trump's softening his hard-line talk on immigration, according to the news outlet. Earlier this week, Trump suggested he would "work with" people in the country illegally.
But Christie - who during his own presidential campaign dismissed Trump's call to build a border wall with Mexico - would not say Friday whether he gave Trump advice on the topic, or whether he agreed with the candidate's comments.
"I don't talk about what advice I give or don't give to Donald Trump," Christie said. "I'm his adviser. Not yours."
"I have no interest in showing off in this regard," he said later, adding that he "was on the phone with [Trump] today. He got plenty of advice today, too. But I'm not telling you what I told him."
Asked whether he thought Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was a "bigot" - as Trump said this week - Christie said: "Next question."
Christie is scheduled to appear Sunday on ABC News' This Week, according to the network's website.
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