Timing of Wildstein's Christie allegation letter sends 'clear message,' experts say

Timing of Wildstein's Christie allegation letter sends 'clear message,' experts say

Last updated: Saturday February 1, 2014, 12:24 PM BY STEPHANIE AKIN STAFF WRITER Associated Press

Friday afternoons are considered the time in the news cycle that its easiest to bury something.

But yesterday afternoon, the time that ex-Port Authority official David Wildstein chose to release a bombshell of an allegation against governor Christie, was not a normal Friday.

The letter from Wildstein’s lawyer, saying “evidence exists,” contradicting Christie’s adamant assertion that he didn’t know about the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge until much later, dropped with a bang as the national media was descending on North Jersey for the Super Bowl in East Rutherford.

The timing of the release, and the oblique wording of the allegation, after several paragraphs outlining Wildstein’s argument that the Port Authority should pay for his legal bills and indemnify him, had legal experts buzzing.

“You have to wonder if this is some kind of act of revenge by Wildstein against Christie, while all the national media has descended on his home state,” said David Lat, founder of the Above The Law legal blog and a former Federal Prosecutor in Newark, where he worked under Christie. “This is not an ordinary Friday afternoon news dump. This is the Friday before the Super Bowl. You do wonder whether this is timed to get extensive media exposure.”

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