E-mails show Stepien was told of mayor's frustration

TRENTON - The legislative committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane closures released new documents Monday that show more communications involving Gov. Christie's former campaign manager than previously disclosed.

The e-mails and text messages, filed with Superior Court, indicate that the campaign manager, Bill Stepien, was notified of the Fort Lee mayor's frustration with the lane closures while they were underway in September.

They do not show exactly what Stepien knew about the lane closures, or include new revelations about the incident.

The e-mails were released as part of a battle the committee is waging to force Stepien and former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly to turn over their records of their communications about the lane closures. The committee has issued dozens of subpoenas, including to members of Christie's administration and the governor's reelection campaign.

Lawyers for the committee asked the judge to order Stepien and Kelly to produce the documents it has subpoenaed from them, saying it did not appear to have the power to compel their cooperation.

Stepien and Kelly argue that complying with the subpoenas issued by the committee would violate their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

At a court hearing last week, Stepien's lawyer, Kevin Marino, argued that the committee did not have enough evidence to justify its demand for documents, saying the subpoena was based on just five e-mails from or to Stepien.

The lawyer for the committee, Reid Schar, told the court the committee had obtained "a number of additional e-mails" involving Stepien and Kelly.

Marino demanded that the panel turn over the e-mails, prompting Monday's release.

On Monday evening, Marino said the documents "thoroughly discredit the committee's desperate attempt to paint Mr. Stepien as a central figure in the lane closure controversy. Stated simply, those documents do not contain a shard of support for the committee's position, which we are confident will be roundly rejected."

Christie fired Kelly and cut ties with Stepien in January, after documents were released that showed Kelly had evidently sent an e-mail Aug. 13 that read, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

The documents, obtained by the committee from officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, showed that Stepien had referred to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich as "an idiot" in an October e-mail exchange.

Some have speculated the lane closures were retribution for the Democratic mayor's failure to endorse the Republican governor's reelection.

The new documents show that Stepien communicated with other Christie allies about the lane closures as early as Sept. 12, the fourth day of traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge.

That day, Bill Baroni, a former Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, forwarded Stepien correspondence from Sokolich, who had demanded answers about the lane closures.

"Following up," Baroni wrote.

"Thanks," Stepien responded.

The documents also show that the Christie campaign's press operation notified Stepien about questions it had received from the news media regarding the lane closures.

In one instance, Stepien was notified that the Wall Street Journal was planning on writing an article. "Who is writing the follow-up story on Fort Lee?" he asked a press officer in an Oct. 1 e-mail.

In late November, Stepien sent Baroni a text message, the day after Baroni testified before lawmakers that the lane closures were part of a traffic study.

"Hey, great job yesterday. I know it's not a fun topic, and not nearly as fun as beating up on Frank Lautenberg, but you did great, and I wanted to thank you," Stepien said. Baroni had argued strenuously with the late U.S. senator during a 2012 hearing on toll hikes.

"Thanks William," Baroni wrote back. "Loretta and wis" - an apparent reference to Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D., Bergen) and Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D., Middlesex), the leaders of the legislative probe - "will keep their nonsense but at least we have explained the counter narrative."

Baroni resigned in December.

In a brief accompanying the e-mails, the legislative committee said the documents indicated Stepien was "regularly included in communications" with Kelly and Port Authority officials.

The exchange with Baroni, the committee said, proves Stepien must have been involved in additional communications. Baroni, the committee said, "was 'following up' on something."

The e-mails released Monday include the first mention of one of Christie's chief political strategists, Mike DuHaime.

A former Christie campaign staffer, Matt Mowers, sent DuHaime and Stepien an e-mail in December asking whether he should respond to a Wall Street Journal reporter asking about the lane closures. No response from DuHaime or Stepien was included in the released e-mails.

In a statement, an attorney for DuHaime said: "We are not going to comment on specific documents while an investigation is going on. That being said, Mike had no knowledge of, or involvement in, the decision to close the bridge in September 2013. Nonetheless, he stands ready, willing and able to cooperate with anybody and everybody."

The committee also filed an additional legal brief with the court Monday, outlining its position that state law does not appear to give the panel power to hold a witness in contempt for not responding to a subpoena seeking documents.

The committee said that it was "unsettled" as to whether it could grant a witness immunity in exchange for producing documents, but that the issue was irrelevant until the court decided whether Stepien and Kelly had a right to refuse the subpoenas.

Kelly's lawyer, Michael Critchley, said during last week's hearing that "to get around these issues, [the committee] could just give us immunity."

Judge Mary C. Jacobson asked the committee last week to submit additional information on its powers, after raising questions about the court's jurisdiction.

In its brief, the committee argued that the court should decide the matter.

"In this highly charged matter in which allegations have been made about partisan motivations for the committee's investigation, it is in the public interest for this court - a neutral arbiter - to decide" the dispute, the committee said.