New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s fall from GOP stardom took another blow this past week, as New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), who was a leader of the New Jersey legislature’s 2014 investigation of the “Bridgegate” scandal, said this past Thursday that evidence from the ongoing criminal trial of two alleged Bridgegate conspirators ““will determine how we should proceed” in any further action, including the possible impeachment of Governor Christie.
Ranking Democratic state lawmakers have stated that they are not ruling out impeachment proceedings against the Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who federal prosecutors say knew about the 2013 scheme to close George Washington Bridge lanes as it took place.
Wisniewski has long maintained that Christie, who has denied any wrongdoing, could face sanction if he is found to have lied about his role in the lane closings.
When the trial of Christie associates Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly began this past Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys said the governor was aware of the intentional effort to cause traffic jams in Fort Lee as it was being carried out, despite Christie’s repeated denials. Prosecutors have said the lane-closures were political retribution against the Fort Lee mayor for refusing to endorse Christie’s 2013 reelection.
Ultimately, the decision to hold a vote on starting impeachment proceedings lies with Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson). Prieto spokesman Tom Hester said, “The speaker will not be commenting on the trial or any potential legislative action until the trial is complete and all evidence has been presented.’’
In regards to a potential impeachment proceedings, the New Jersey state constitution reads: “The governor and all other state officers, while in office and for two years thereafter, shall be liable to impeachment for misdemeanor committed during their respective continuance in office.”
Any initiation of impeachment proceedings falls to the Assembly. A majority vote in that house would authorize a trial in the state Senate, presided over by the chief justice of the state Supreme Court. Any conviction would require a two-thirds vote by senators and could lead to removal from office and a disqualification of holding any other public office in the state.
The talks of potential impeachment proceedings against Christie started gaining steam after court documents filed before the trial that include a text sent by former Christie aide Christina Renna during a December 2013 news conference, when Christie said his senior staff had no involvement in scandal, to which Renna texted that Christie “flat-out lied’’ to reporters.
2016 has not been a good year for Christie, as he has faced criticism and controversy frequently. Christie’s approval rating has dropped to a record low, with sixty-four percent of Garden State voters disapproving of Christie’s performance, while just 29 percent approve, making this his lowest approval rating ever.
Christie also faced major backlash after his immediate endorsement of Donald Trump upon his dropping out of the 2016 Republican primary. Christie, who famously attacked then-candidate Marco Rubio for his “robotic answers” on the debate stage, was soundly defeated in the primary, yet seemingly did more damage to other candidates in an attempt to prop up Trump. Upon dropping out, Christie immediately endorsed Trump, in what many considered an attempt to be on Trump’s vice-presidential short list.
However, this was all for not, as Trump ultimately decided on selecting Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate, a move that many insiders say left Christie irate. Since not being selected as Trump’s running mate, Christie has been much more subdued in his vocal support of Trump, and has even gone as far to critique the campaign in various instances, such as Trump’s attack on the Khan family.
If one thing is for certain, it’s that Christie is likely counting down the days until January 1, 2017 to put a devastating and disappointing 2016 behind him.
Full Sources:
http://www.app.com/story/news/politics/new-jersey/chris-christie/2016/09/22/bridgegate-trial-chris-christie-impeachment-risk/90837244/
http://freebeacon.com/politics/chris-christie-may-face-impeachment-bridgegate-involvement/
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Key-NJ-Legislators-Looking-at-Christie-Impeachment-Sources-394560041.html
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/09/23/nj-assembly-reportedly-researching-articles-of-impeachment-against-christie.html
1 comment