Christie: Port Authority not a stain on my administration

Gov. Christie on Sunday continued to fight back against suggestions that indictments of his former allies and another federal investigation into the former chair of the Port Authority reflected poorly on his judgment.

Asked on NBC's "Meet the Press" if the Port Authority was a stain on his administration, Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, responded, "No.  It is not. Nothing has been proven yet."

Christie also argued he had properly responded to the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal -- in contrast, he said, to Hillary Rodham Clinton's handling of the controversy over her use of a private server while she was secretary of state.

"What people want from their leaders is honesty and candor, not perfection," Christie told NBC's Chuck Todd. "And I can't ensure perfection from everybody, but I will hold everyone to those high standards today and when I'm president of the United States."

Christie's remarks came after the CEO of United Airlines and two other top executives were ousted last week amid a federal investigation into the airline and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Prosecutors have issued subpoenas to the agency seeking records related to its former chairman, David Samson, who came under scrutiny after reportedly pushing United to initiate a route from Newark Liberty International Airport to an airport close to his vacation home in South Carolina.

The Port Authority operates the New York region's airports, tunnels, and bridges.

United had been negotiating its lease at the Port Authority and pursuing other projects.

Asked by Todd about Samson, Christie said, "You have no idea, as you sit here today, that he did anything wrong. Nor does anybody else. And so let's stop just reading the newspapers."

"Let's stop reading the newspapers and just blathering back what that is, okay?"

Samson's spokeswoman this week said only that "this is a United matter."

In May, prosecutors charged Christie's former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and an appointee at the Port Authority, Bill Baroni, in the bridge case, alleging they conspired to close lanes in September 2013 to punish a local mayor who didn't endorse Christie's reelection.

Kelly and Baroni have pleaded not guilty. Another former Port official, David Wildstein, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government.

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