NEWARK, N.J. _ New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie "lied" in a news conference when he said his senior staff and campaign manager weren't involved in the George Washington Bridge scandal, an aide texted to a colleague at the time, according to court documents.
The aide, Christina Renna, texted as Christie spoke on Dec. 13, 2013, and denied his top staffers and former campaign manager Bill Stepien closed lanes near the bridge in September 2013 as an act of political retribution, according to a filing by an ex-ally under indictment.
"Are you listening?" Renna texted, according to the filing. "He just flat out lied about senior staff and Stepien not being involved."
After another aide responded, Renna texted: "Yes. But he lied. And if e-mails are found with the subpoena or ccfg e-mails are uncovered in discovery if it comes to that it could be bad."
It wasn't clear what "ccfg" meant. A spokesman for Christie and a lawyer for Stepien didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
