‘Very Sad’ Chris Christie Extends Apology in Bridge Scandal

Sounding somber and appearing contrite, the normally garrulous Mr. Christie said he had no advance knowledge of the lane closings and had been “humiliated” by the entire episode.

“I am a very sad person today,” he said. “I am heartbroken that someone I permitted to be in that circle of trust for the past five years betrayed that trust.”

His emotional news conference unfolded as the United States attorney in New Jersey began a preliminary inquiry and as — just down the hall at the State House here — a former associate who was involved in the lane closings refused to answer questions posed by Democratic legislators investigating the matter, saying he would tell his story only under immunity from possible prosecution.

The Democrats promised to release more documents on Friday and issue more subpoenas of Christie aides. And the national news media that has so far bathed Mr. Christie in a distant, generally positive light descended on his doorstep here with a phalanx of television cameras and harsh speculation about whether the scandal would hurt his aspirations to be the 2016 Republican nominee for president.

In the afternoon, Mr. Christie went to Fort Lee, N.J. — the borough affected by the lane closings, which tied up traffic for days — and apologized to the mayor.

At least some residents cheered him as he arrived, even after his motorcade briefly created yet another traffic jam.

During his news conference, Mr. Christie said he had been “blindsided” by emails made public on Wednesday that showed that staff members — also his close friends — had punished the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee in September by closing entrance lanes to the bridge because he did not endorse the governor for re-election.

He said he had not realized the gravity of the situation even after officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge, testified a month ago that the closings had delayed emergency responders and had been done abruptly, secretively and against the authority’s protocols. His apologies were directed at the people of New Jersey and Fort Lee, and to reporters and Democratic legislators whom he had earlier dismissed as “obsessed” with finding out who closed the lanes and why.

Mr. Christie fired Bridget Anne Kelly, the deputy chief of staff who sent an email approving the lane closings, whom he called “stupid” and “deceitful.” Her deception, he said, led him to mislead the public, but he did so unwittingly.

He also asked his two-time campaign manager, Bill Stepien, to step down as a consultant to the Republican Governors Association and to withdraw his name from consideration to lead the state’s Republican Party. Mr. Christie is the chairman of the association.

Four weeks ago, Mr. Christie told reporters, he gathered his top staff members and asked them if anyone had anything to do with the lane closings. He said he gave them one hour before he publicly denied his staff’s involvement.

“They all reported that there was no information other than what we already knew,” Mr. Christie said.

He said he was “led to believe by folks around me that there was no basis to this.” But, he added, “I was wrong.”

The governor at times took overall responsibility for those who work for him, but argued that he had 65,000 employees and could not monitor them all. Still, he displayed only occasional flashes of his usual pugnacity with reporters, whispering as he said he felt “sad” and “humiliated” by the crass, mocking tone of his employees’ emails.