Chris Christie faced the music on Thursday morning, holding a press conference to apologize for his staff’s involvement in the controversial bridge closings, while simultaneously denying any direct involvement in the sophomoric payback.

Chris Christie Apologizes

Christie, New Jersey’s second-term governor and a presidential hopeful, was forced to confront emails that implicated top aides of orchestrating a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge in an act of retaliation against Fort Lee, N.J. mayor Mark Sokolich. Sokolich’s offense was not endorsing Christie for re-election in November.

In the televised conference, the first words out of the New Jersey governor’s mouth were in the form of an apology. Yet, the apology was quickly followed up by a statement that distanced Christie from his staff’s plot. "We fell short of expectations," Christie said, referring to his team and accepting some responsibility. He went on to say, "I had no knowledge or involvement in this issue, in its planning or execution."

"I am who I am," Christie added later, "but I'm not a bully."

Christie Fires Aide Bridget Anne Kelly

Now armed with evidence against those he’s kept in his inner circle, Christie has fired and taken action against those involved, including his deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly. She had written Port Authority executive David Wildstein an email last fall that read, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Wildstein had replied, “Got it” and told another individual in the email chain he wasn’t wrong for smiling at the gridlock.

Initially, the lane closures and delays had been blamed on an impromptu traffic study. But a subpoena forced Wildstein to turn over his emails, exposing both him and Kelly.

Christie To Pay Visit To Mark Sokolich

In his apology, Christie said that he would be making a personal visit to Sokolich to apologize for the actions of his office that brought an unforeseen burden to Fort Lee and the town’s people. Hopefully for Christie, Sokolich has changed his mind from yesterday, when the mayor said he had no desire to speak with his state’s governor.

“Don’t call me, but call the families who were waiting three, four times longer for emergency service agencies when their loved ones were having heart palpitations or extreme chest pains and were waiting for our ambulance corps to arrive,” Sokolich told CNN. “Who would plausibly reduce themselves to closing lanes to the busiest bridge in the world?”

– Chelsea Regan

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