Christie appointee must testify before state committee: Judge
Source: US News on NBC News.com
An appointee of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at the center of an apparent plan to strangle a town with traffic as an act of political payback lost a bid in court Thursday to avoid testifying before state lawmakers.
The appointee, David Wildstein, who went to high school with the governor, is scheduled to appear before a committee investigating why lanes that funnel traffic from Fort Lee, N.J., to the George Washington Bridge were closed in September.
Judge Mary C. Jacobson in Trenton made the ruling late Thursday morning. Lawyers for Wildstein had argued that the committee was exceeding its authority.
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Wildstein was director of interstate capital projects for the Port Authority, the agency that runs the bridge. He resigned in December, saying that growing questions about the traffic jam had become a distraction.
Read more: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/09/22243241-christie-appointee-must-testify-before-state-committee-judge
Additional Reporting: Judge rejects Christie appointee's subpoena fight
TRENTON, N.J. — A judge shot down a motion to keep a former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey staffer from being forced to appear before an Assembly panel probing a growing scandal over access lane closures to the George Washington Bridge.
Wildstein "is not going to get a fair hearing" in the Assembly, said Alan Zegas, Wildstein's lawyer. In addition, Zegas called the subpoena "an abuse of power."
But Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary Jacobson disagreed. She said the New Jersey State Assembly's subpoena power is very broad, and the bridge controversy falls within it.
She sees "no reason for the court to assume any bad faith," she ruled. She also refused to stay the ruling, saying Wildstein's lawyers could go to the appelate division if they want to.
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This is going to get interesting!
