Former N.J. Gov. Chris Christie criticized Donald Trump on TV. Trump responded by threatening to investigate him.
After Christie was critical of Trump on ABC News, the president suggested opening an investigation into the 2013 political scandal known as Bridgegate.
Days after the FBI raided the home of one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent critics, Trump threatened to investigate another former ally-turned-rival: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Sunday night, Trump said Christie — who spoke out against Trump during an appearance on ABC News earlier in the day — had “refused to take responsibility” for the political revenge plot known as Bridgegate, a 2013 scandal in New Jersey that led some of Christie’s aides to face criminal charges and derailed his then-rising political career.
“For the sake of JUSTICE, perhaps we should start looking at that very serious situation again?” Trump wrote. “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW!”
Christie did not immediately respond to Trump’s post, in which the president also referred to Christie as “Sloppy Chris.”
On Monday morning, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he “always felt [Christie] was guilty.” He then said a decision on whether to open an investigation was not his to make — saying it would be up to officials such as Attorney General Pam Bondi — but continued to say he believed Christie had avoided prosecution at the expense of his aides.
“I think we have other things to do, but I always thought he got away with murder,” Trump said.
The threat of an investigation is notable as Trump during his second stint in office has increasingly used the power of the federal government to seek retribution against people or institutions perceived as critics.
It also was another demonstration of how Trump has effectively done away with the long-standing notion that federal law enforcement should maintain a degree of independence from the political forces driving the White House.
That principle is one Christie addressed during his appearance Sunday on This Week. Speaking to the journalist Jonathan Karl, Christie — a former federal prosecutor and Republican governor — said Trump wants the Justice Department to act “as his personal legal representation,” a stance Trump made clear while seeking reelection in 2024.
“Donald Trump sees himself as the person who gets to decide everything, and he doesn’t care about any separation,” Christie said. “In fact, he absolutely rejects the idea that there should be separation between criminal investigations and the politically elected leader of the United States. This is much different than it’s ever been run before.”
Christie’s remarks came just days after the FBI raided the Maryland home and Washington office of John Bolton, who served as a national security adviser during Trump’s first term. Bolton — who has since become an outspoken Trump critic — has been under investigation for years over questions of whether he illegally possessed or leaked classified information.
Trump responded late Sunday after Christie’s TV appearance. “Can anyone believe anything that Sloppy Chris says?” he posted on Truth Social. He went on to say that Christie “lied” about the Bridgegate scandal “in order to stay out of prison.”
Christie was never charged for his actions in the episode, which unfolded near the end of his term as governor of New Jersey. Federal prosecutors said his aides caused rush hour traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge in order to exact retribution against a North Jersey mayor who had refused to endorse Christie’s reelection campaign.
Two of Christie’s top aides were convicted, although the U.S. Supreme Court in 2020 tossed the convictions out by unanimously ruling that the case did not amount to a violation of federal fraud laws.
Trump, at that time, was far kinder to Christie — whom he had known for decades — about the episode.
“Congratulations to former Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, and all others involved, on a complete and total exoneration (with a 9-0 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court) on the Obama DOJ Scam referred to as ‘Bridgegate,’” he wrote on social media after the convictions were thrown out.
Staff writer Rob Tornoe contributed to this article.