Kornacki has another scoop tomorrow,

[elleng]

according to Rachel.

[femmocrat]

1. Can't wait!

Kornacki has been terrific on this sordid tale!

[elleng]

3. Yes, and the Rachel/Kornacki combo is unbeatable.

[Cha]

2. Saturday Scoop Part II!

Mahalo, ellen~

[elleng]

5. Mahalo, Cha!

When do you get to see the EARLY weekend morning shows???

[Cha]

8. Somewhere around Saturday night..

Hawai'i time tomorrow. When Eastcoasters are coming home from a Saturday night on the town or already snugly in their beds.

[elleng]

9. Will think of you, as I search for the moon at the cottage!

[Cha]

11. Awww..

It's going to be in Pisces. And, this one looks like it will be particularly nice, astrologically speaking.

[elleng]

12. GOOD!

[DURHAM D]

4. I predict -

Bridget Kelly has an immunity deal with the Feds.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. that would be cool...but do you think, if he knew that..he would hold

it til tomorrow?

I am starting to wonder if Wildstein is feeding Kornacke info (given their history)

[Auntie Bush]

13. Ah! That's a good possibility...never thought of that.

However, I don't think Kornacke would take credit for his investigative reporting if someone was just feeding him the information...but who knows.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

16. Well....no...he checks it out...but is given the idea from someone. I think he knew a hell of

a lot about Jersey politics, granted....but something tells me...just an inkling...that someone is saying
"look here" and he does.

Kornacke, to me, is diligent, nice guy, deep blue, bright, and a hard worker...but, don't get the feeling he is a schmoozy insider..nor that he is on the top tier of intelligence.

Just me, In no way am I saying I don't think he's great...just an observation.

[flamingdem]

26. Interesting, I think your hunch could be correct except for

Kornacki having a background with Wildstein and that area of NJ politics, so he must know where to look, but you never know -- a little birdie might be tweeting in his ear now and then.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

39. good point. I suppose you could ask if he had such deep understanding of NJ politics

why hasn't he broken stories of corruption prior to bridgegate? Or has he? I don't know for a fact. On the other hand, it does
seem like the floodgates are open to rat on each other and pile on.

[Cha]

14. Interesting thought.. I forgot about their

connection back in the day. Worked on Wildstein's blog.. he did.

PolitickerNJ.com and "Wally Edge" blog

In 2000, while still working at the family business, Wildstein secretly founded a New Jersey political news site called PoliticsNJ.com (since renamed PolitickerNJ.com),[10] which he ran with the financial support of his friend New Jersey real estate mogul Jared Kushner, who publishes the New York Observer.[11] Wildstein wrote a blog on New Jersey politics for the site using the pseudonym "Wally Edge", after the former New Jersey Republican governor and US senator Walter Edge. The site published news, political commentary, and rumors based on anonymous tips from government officials and political operatives.[5][2] Wildstein's true identity as the blog's author was only revealed in 2010 when he was appointed by the Christie administration to work at Port Authority.

Several journalists credit Wildstein with having helped launch their careers while they worked at PolitickerNJ.com, including Politico reporter Alex Isenstadt; James Pindell, the political director at WMUR in New Hampshire; and Steve Kornacki, who hosts a cable television political news commentary program on MSNBC.[11] Kornacki has said of Wildstein, "I've never met anybody ... with more thorough institutional knowledge of New Jersey politics."[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wildstein

[DURHAM D]

17. Ah. You could be right about Wildstein feeding info to Steve.

Clearly the redacted emails from Wildstein were designed to construct a narrative or should I say point a finger at particular people and perhaps protect others. Steve was on several MSNBC shows tonight and repeatedly said that Wildstein is not really in the Christie camp.

Wildstein's letter to the PA that his attorney released seems an odd maneuver if you really want them to pay your legal fees. To me it seemed aimed at David Samson, the puppet master of all things New Jersey, and releasing it to the press seems like am attempt by Wildstein to protect himself a little. Wildstein would not even be safe if he went into witness protection given that Chertoff is Samson's attorney and was previously head of Homeland Security.

Steve also hinted tonight that more info was coming soon about the misuse of Sandy funds.

btw - I can not believe the complete silence from the other side of the Hudson.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

18. I hope, for his sake, that Steve is getting real scoops based on superior

reporting....but I just can't help but think that he is someone's pawn. Wonder why Wildstein would think
he could play in the same league as Samson? He must have serious balls. Maybe he knows he is
marked to take the fall on this deal and has nothing to lose by trying.

I love it all...it is a true mystery and it appears to be infinitely bigger than any of us know.

From what I heard and read, Wildstein is not impressing prosecutors that could grant immunity - otherwise - he
wouldn't have gone public with remarks today. So, what does that tell us ?

Have you seen Broken City? Watched it last night - a corruption mess in NYC that reminded me of NJ.

Nothing from NYC? Giuliani back stepping - that's all I have seen

[VanillaRhapsody]

28. He is practically on his hands and knees begging the prosecution to pick him for immunity

over Bridget! He HAS to make sure that it looks like HE has the best information.....He is already in contempt of court...so he doesn't fear that....what he fears is being the fall guy!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

40. What would be his motive if he acted independently? Surely he wouldn't sanction

something like bridgegate on his own = something that would make the organization
he worked for look bad. Makes no sense.

[VanillaRhapsody]

42. No no no I didn't meant that in any way shape or form...

But he desperately wants to make a deal to lighten the load....he knows Christie wants to implicate HIM!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

43. I hear ya. Well he is definitely implicated with that "time for traffic problems" email. But surely

Christie knows he wouldn't have motive, wouldn't he? It happened either for
political gain or for money or both. Guess that's Christie's problem - no one
he can blame that makes sense, huh.

[TheMathieu]

25. Been wondering that since the beginning.

Whatever his secret, he will build a career on this.

He's a rising star.

[Sinnakka]

27. WOW

That is an awesome prediction. Is it "wrong" that I am enjoying this. Marijuana loving writers could not come up with the twists and turns in this. lol

[2pooped2pop]

32. marijuana loving writers?

what does that mean? You talking about those crazy pot hallucinations? lol

[complain jane]

30. oh now THAT would be FUN!

[Laxman]

6. Damn Straight!

[Cha]

15. I bet

you can't, Lax!

[Mike Nelson]

7. A different angle...

...I'm thinking it's a third rung of the scandal...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

19. or fourth ! nt

[Gothmog]

20. I will be watching

[certainot]

21. what time eastern- thanks

[elleng]

22. 8 am

[Madam Mossfern]

23. 8:00 AM n/t

n/t

[George II]

24. Let's see WHO his source is!

[George II]

34. The Bergen Record has a great compilation of their long-term coverage of the scandals...

...here:

http://www.northjersey.com/news/governor_christie_nj_gwb.html

And I found this interesting nugget about Wildstein, you know the guy that Christie "barely knows"!

Seems like they were really close way back at least since 2012, probably MUCH longer. Note the reporter, who has been on the Christie stories going on TWO years:

http://www.northjersey.com/news/ny_metro/030312_Ex-blogger_is_Governor_Christies_man_inside_the_Port_Authority.html

Ex-blogger is Governor Christie's eyes, ears inside the Port Authority

BY SHAWN BOBURG

STAFF WRITER

For a decade, he was a faceless force in New Jersey politics, an Internet blogger who delivered scoops while keeping his identity a closely guarded secret.

Now, David Wildstein, formerly known by the pen name Wally Edge, is playing a key behind-the-scenes role in Governor Christie’s effort to get more control over the Port Authority, the bi-state transportation agency that has come under increased scrutiny since raising bridge and tunnel tolls in September.

The Port Authority, criticized as wasteful and dysfunctional, is the largest and most complex agency yet to be singled out by Christie as being in need of reform. And in Wildstein, an experienced political strategist who went to high school with the governor, the Christie administration may have found the perfect instrument to help shake things up, some say.

Longtime employees, however, privately describe a man intent on carrying out a political agenda rather than one built on reform or improving the region’s transportation system. They believe the appointment of Wildstein and dozens of others recommended by the governor — for jobs ranging from toll collector to deputy executive director — are evidence that political loyalty trumps merit.

(more....)

[NJCher]

29. we had an impromptu pizza party

around Rachel's show! Yeah, was fun--3 politically minded friends and each of us excited over today's revelation. When we all saw each other for the first time since the news broke at 3:30 or so this afternoon, we high-fived it. Didn't have to say a word!

Re Kornacki's possible source, I can see the sense in that. Could possibly be Wildstein.

We will know more tomorrow, based on what type of news he's got.

On the other hand, though, I teach in a communications program at a university and while I don't teach the television journalists, they are often in my classes. Kornacki strikes me as a "type." This "type" will do anything for a scoop: stay up all night, phone anyone and everybody; in other words, go to the ends of the earth for that scoop.

We had a huge scandal at my university--huge!--and this one particular journalist in my class operated like that. This scandal, too, was national in scope and actually, is ongoing although it's muted for the moment.

These journalists are like that rare person who succeeds in sales. They have to sell because they get this thrill that they are hooked on.

Problem is the thrill wears off and they need another sale or scoop to feed that desire.

I sense that about Kornacki.


Cher

[George II]

33. What I meant, regarding this:

"Re Kornacki's possible source, I can see the sense in that. Could possibly be Wildstein."

....was that he's gotten very little "original" information, he's just been relating what other reporters have dug out in these scandals.

[malaise]

31. See you all at 8.00am

No butter please

[George II]

35. Where was the "scoop"?

[winstars]

36. In France working, what happened??? Thanks..... nt

[George II]

37. Not much new stuff.

[avebury]

38. The scoop related to the law that NJ

passed on monitoring Sandy money over $5 million. There are supposed to have monitors filing reports with the Leglislature. Christie vetoed online reporting of the expenditures. No reports have ever been filed. The fielded out the reporting to Ernst & Young accounting firm. One of their Directors is Christie's brother, Todd.

That is an extremely condensed version of what Kornacki reported. I would recommend going online when his show is posted online and watching it.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

41. Oh shoot....missed it. Is this new news?

[George II]

45. Most of what he "reported" on this morning was already revealed by the two New Jersey...

...local newspapers - the Bergen Record and, in this case, the Newark Star Ledger.

[Justice]

44. Wildstein always has a chair when the music ends

That is how Kornacki and his fellow former Wildstein employee agreed on at the end of the show.