By ANGELA DELLI SANTI and STEVE PEOPLES
FILE – In this Dec. 19, 2013 file photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks in Trenton, N.J. A day after revelations that Christie’s administration may have closed highway lanes to exact political retribution, the prospective Republican presidential candidate is faced with what may be the biggest test in his political career. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
Chris Christie
FILE – In this Dec. 13, 2013 file photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie answers a question in Trenton, N.J. A day after revelations that Christie’s administration may have closed highway lanes to exact political retribution, the prospective Republican presidential candidate is faced with what may be the biggest test in his political career. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File)
Chris Christie
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie looks out at the crowd at a gathering in Union City, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014. A top aide to Christie is linked through emails and text messages to a seemingly deliberate plan to create traffic gridlock in Fort Lee, N.J., at the base of the George Washington Bridge after its mayor refused to endorse Christie for re-election. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Chris Christie
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie addresses a gathering in Union City, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014. A top aide to Christie is linked through emails and text messages to a seemingly deliberate plan to create traffic gridlock in a town at the base of the George Washington Bridge after its mayor refused to endorse Christie for re-election. Christie, who has denied any knowledge of the plan, released a statement late Wednesday. “What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.” (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Chris Christie
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie applauds during a gathering in Union City, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014. A top aide to Christie is linked through emails and text messages to a seemingly deliberate plan to create traffic gridlock in a town at the base of a major bridge after its mayor refused to endorse Christie for re-election. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly wrote in an Aug. 13 email to David Wildstein, a top political appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey and New York City, one of the world’s busiest spans. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Chris Christie
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie looks out over a crowd during a gathering in Union City, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014. A top aide to Christie is linked through emails and text messages to a seemingly deliberate plan to create traffic gridlock in Fort Lee, N.J., at the base of the George Washington bridge after its mayor refused to endorse Christie for re-election. . (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Traffic Mystery
In a Monday, Sept. 2, 2013 photo, traffic moves across the George Washington Bridge, in Fort Lee, N.J. A top aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is linked through emails and text messages to a seemingly deliberate plan to create traffic gridlock in a town at the base of the bridge after its mayor refused to endorse Christie for re-election. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly wrote in an Aug. 13 email to David Wildstein, a top political appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey and New York City. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
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TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has scheduled a news conference after emails and text messages revealed his administration may have closed highway lanes to exact political retribution.
The governor will answer questions at the Statehouse at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Christie issued a statement Wednesday saying he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by the revelations. He said he was misled by a key aide and he denied involvement.
The revelations thrust a regional transportation issue into the national political spotlight. They raise new questions about the prospective Republican presidential candidate’s leadership on the eve of his a second term designed to jumpstart his road to the White House.
