August 31, 2009 / by emptywheel

 

Confirmed: 7 People, One Kid’s Seat, 4-Door Car

Or at least that’s the story that Chris Christie has settled on to explain away his 2005 traffic stop.

Christie said that he had not identified himself as the U.S. attorney, but that a tow truck driver had recognized him. He was allowed to drive home to Mendham, about 44 miles away, because his four children were in the car, not because of his position, he said. [my emphasis]

But aside from apparently defying the laws of physics (not to mention laws pertaining to child restraints and seat belts), Christie’s story keeps getting muddier. There are the questions about whether Michele Brown was the one big-footing the US Attorney’s office with the traffic cops.

Christie also denied a report that Brown had gotten out of the car during the stop and flashed her badge.  

Add to that the fact that the police director who so helpfully explained, last week, that Christie was let go because his four kids were present has gotten all quiet.

For example, when I spoke to the prosecutor who handled the case for Lambertville he said he did not ever see the words “no deal” printed on the ticket. Well, it is clearly written there since the ticket was posted on politickernj. And normally cops write that when they have had an unpleasant encounter with a motorist.

I have also reached out the Lambertville Police Director. I was told he “wasn’t in” on Friday. And today I was told “he is no longer returning media calls.”

Maybe everyone else is beginning to recognize the rules of physics?

Well, the traffic stop is, in the grand scheme of things, pretty minor. But the Delayed Prosecution Agreements, whereby Christie funneled multi-million dollar contracts to one of the people the Bush Administration would like to keep wealthy and content, are not.

And on Christie’s DPAs too, his answers are not holding up. You’ll recall that Christie attended a rather contentious hearing on these issues in June, where he ultimately got up and walked out on Congress?  Well, now he’s trying to Cheney his way through Questions for the Record. As Congressman Steve Cohen writes in a letter asking for Christie to be more forthcoming regarding issues relating to the DPAs, 

So the manner in which you responded is particularly unsatisfactory. For all but two of the questions, you responded with a general assertion that the questions were answered in your oral and written testimony. At times you cited page numbers in the unofficial hearing transcript, which on further inspection appear not to contain anything responsive, and which in any event will be confusing to those who will have only the official published hearing record, of which your letter will be a part. Finally, even for the two questions for which you provided answers, the answers are incomplete.

Maybe what Christie should do is just cite everything back to his traffic tickets, which read "no deal" on them. That’s about what he’s saying, anyway.

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Originally Posted @ https://www.emptywheel.net/2009/08/31/confirmed-7-people-one-kids-seat-4-door-car/