Talk about turning some damning news into a ray of sunshine.
Several of them, if you count the number of frenetic Tweets.
First the crux of the "bad news" for Chris Christie announced today ... Hint: Bill Baroni WAS one of Christie's most trusted Lieutenants.
2 Indicted in George Washington Bridge Case; Ally of Christie Pleads Guilty
by Kate Zernike and Marc Santora, nytimes.com -- May 1, 2015
[...]
Breaking his long silence over the inquiry, the United States attorney for New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman, announced the indictments at a news conference on Friday afternoon. He said that the conspirators “callously victimized” the citizens of Fort Lee, purposely scheduling the lane-closing plan to coincide with the first day of school. Then, he said, they sought to cover up the scheme with a “sham” story of a traffic study.
Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, were charged with nine counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud by “knowingly converting and intentionally misapplying property of an organization receiving federal benefits.”
David Wildstein, another former Port Authority official and a high school friend of Mr. Christie, pleaded guilty at the United States District Court in Newark to conspiracy to commit fraud and conspiracy against civil rights.
[...]
But Mr. Fishman added that “there may come a time” when other, unindicted co-conspirators are identified.
Meanwhile, Chris Christie took advantage of today's
retro-active indictments of his former trusted staffers, to
Tweet his hapless claims of innocence.
Chris Christie: the man dost seem to protest his innocence, a bit too loudly ... and often.
Christie detractors pounce on latest bridge accusation
by Jake Miller, CBS News, cbsnews.com -- Feb 1, 2014
[...]
In a press conference shortly after the scandal erupted, Christie insisted he “first found out about the [bridge traffic] after it was over.”
But Wildstein’s attorney, in a letter, said that “evidence exists … tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly.”
[...]
“If Wildstein's statement is sustained, I would hope the governor would do the right thing and not put the state through a trial, and he would resign," state Sen. Ray Lesniak said, according to the Star-Ledger.
If Christie's Tweets of clueless-innocence are any indication, the Governor will do no such thing.
Afterall his criminal defense team, has already declared {for a fee} the Governor: Guilt-free -- as Free as a Bird.
What do you think the fee was, for Mastro's Tweet, today?