From the moment I heard Karnacki say “look at the Ft. Lee development project,” my completely intuitive take was that the toll booth stunt was designed to shut it down in some way. A closer look indicated that the target could only be the Tucker/Kushner/Ares portion of the project. In BridgeTroll – In Plain Site, I touched on the Kushner component and concluded “Make of it what you will, but it doesn’t lead me anywhere.” But that conclusion was partially based on an error on my part. (One not caught by readers.)
The Kushner Real Estate Group partner of Tucker Development is Murray Kushner’s company and not his brother Charles’ company, Kushner Properties. To appreciate what that could mean requires stepping back in time.
Murray is the elder brother. “The smart brother” who went to Penn. Charles was the more socially adept and savvy businessman . It was Charles that their father chose to lead his real estate owner/developer company. Murray was a second banana in the family enterprise. Competition and conflict between the two brothers was a long-standing feature of their relationship. Their disagreements extended beyond the company investments. While both are Orthodox Jews, Charles criticized Murray for not being devout enough. Charles used his and/or the company wealth to fund Jewish non-profit organizations or institutions. He was also politically active and a significant campaign donor:
The lion’s share of these went to McGreevey, but he also contributed to Corzine, Torricelli, and Bill Bradley.
The relationship between the brothers became intolerable enough that by 1999 they split the company. Their relationship deteriorated much further after the split. Murray filed a civil suit against Charles claiming that he’d been essentially shortchanged in the split. To make his case Murray has to delve into and present evidence that Charles had misused company funds. The lawsuit was proceeding during the same period that Charles had achieved significant political clout.
Torricelli, Corzine, McGreevey. The latter appointed Charles Kushner to the Port Authority Board and there were efforts to name him Chairman (the position now held by Christee appointee David Samson). (There’s also a tangled thread among McGreevey, Kushner, and Golan Cipel.) Then they began to fall.
The official accepted story is that the US Attorney for the NJ district, Chris Christie, took an interest in Murray Kushner’s civil lawsuit against his brother. A suit that alleged Charles had funneled money from various real estate entities to the campaigns of various politicians. If true, that would be illegal. Charles then dug a deeper hole for himself in his attempt to find the mole that had supplied the information to Murray by setting up honey traps for his in-house accountant and his sister Esther’s husband who had remained with him after the split with his brother. Esther’s husband fell for the trap (the accountant didn’t). His sexual encounter was recorded and a copy was sent to Esther. Charles was indicated in 2004, convicted, and served time. All relations between Charles and his brother Murray and sister Esther ceased. Charles son Jared replaced his father in running Kushner Properties.
Coincidental that McGreevey resigned as governor at the same time Kushner was indicated?
Kushner Properties (and Charles) decamped to NYC while Kushner Real Estate Group remained in NJ. (Sort of like a hundred years earlier when one Astor son decamped to England and the other remained in NYC.) There are two connection points between the NYC Kushners and NJ Republican politicians. One:
Donald Trump said today Gov. Chris Christie is “one email away from a disaster,” referring to the unfolding scandals …
…
“He’s a friend of mine,” Trump said at an event
(Recall that Trump is Jared Kushner’s father-in-law.)
In 2000, while still working at the family business, Wildstein secretly founded a New Jersey political news site called PoliticsNJ.com (since renamed PolitickerNJ.com), which he ran with the financial support of his friend New Jersey real estate mogul Jared Kushner, who publishes the New York Observer
We could also connect the dots between Charles Kushner, the Ft Lee development, and Christie. Kushner>Torricelli>Amerea Development LLC>Panepinto>Trump>Christie.
No such nice-n-easy links when the starting point is Tucker Development or Kushner Real Estate Group.
It was Bridget Kelly’s e-mail to Wildstein — “time for traffic problems in Ft. Lee”– that makes Chritie’s claim of innocence not credible. If Christie wasn’t involved, Bridget wouldn’t have played a role in it.
We’ve got (too many) who, what, when, and where. It’s the “why” that remains elusive. Any ideas?
Update 1: A space to watch:
Introducing The Christie Countdown Clock
Chris Christie is a dead man at the microphone. Just follow the money.
This is the first post of a series by Scott Raab, an Esquire writer at large and New Jersey resident who has covered the Port Authority for years.
In this first article, Raab introduces another big name player in Christie’s rise to power: Bill Palatucci. Takes a lot of guys to push a big rock up that steep hill to the White House.
Update #2
Another “good friend” of Christie begins seeking shelter: Giuliani Says ‘Fifty-Fifty’ Chance Christie Knew About Bridge Lane Closures. Ten days ago:
A statement from the Republican Governor’s office said the newly appointed team is also responsible for making sure Christie’s office fully cooperates with the US Attorney’s Office investigating the situation.
Leading the team is Randy Mastro, a former US Attorney, according to the statement. Mastro served as chief of staff and deputy mayor to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Giuliani has been one of Chris Christie’s staunchest supporters ever since “Bridgegate” became public knowledge, while other Republicans have either been mum or have piled on the New Jersey Governor’s misfortune.
Update #3 – NJ Republicans want to use leftover campaign funds for GWB defense
Update #4 – NYTimes article Christie Knew About Lane Closings, Ex-Port Authority Official Says
…
In a letter released by his lawyer, the official, David Wildstein, a high school friend of Mr. Christie’s who was appointed with the governor’s blessing at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the bridge, described the order to close the lanes as “the Christie administration’s order” and said “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference” three weeks ago.
…
And Bill Stepian (the guy Christie fired along with Bridget Kelly) announced a decision: Christie Campaign Manager To Plead the Fifth Lawyer Says.
Update #5 – Christie issues a response to allegation in Wildstein’s letter: Letter ‘Confirms What The Governor Has Said All Along’.
“Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer confirms what the Governor has said all along – he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein’s motivations were for closing them to begin with. As the Governor said in a December 13th press conference, he only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press and as he said in his January 9th press conference, had no indication that this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of January 8th. The Governor denies Mr. Wildstein’s lawyer’s other assertions.”
This attempt to blame it all on Wildstein not gonna work. Will have to wait and see if Wildstein has more and used the “he knew during the closing” as bait.
Update #6 – Scott Raab weighs in on Wildstein and Christie letters. A good, sober analysis. He hits the important points and supplies relevant context.
Friday afternoon, Wildstein’s lawyer, Alan Zegas, cocked Wildstein’s pistol by releasing a letter to the Port Authority’s General Counsel. It’s a subtle piece of work, ostensibly a request for the PA to change its mind and pay for Wildstein’s legal expenses. It makes no claim that Chris Christie ordered the bridge hit, and Zegas’s claim that ‘evidence exists’ showing the governor knew about the chaos in Ft. Lee while it was ongoing on is asserted without further support. …
…Zegas’s between-the-lines suggestion that the Port’s own lawyer essentially advised Wildstein to give false testimony, is stunning, and speaks to a corruption far more fundamental — and far more dangerous — than any discrete incident of conflict and criminality.
The Zegas letter also speaks, indirectly, to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, whose office is conducting its own investigation — and has no comment on the letter. Will Fishman offer Wildstein immunity from criminal prosecution in exchange for cooperation? Will Fishman, an Obama appointee, play hardball?
Clearly, Wildstein will — he truly has no other choice, unless he wants to be the fall guy.
Update #7 – Christie goes on offense 2/1/14; issues a text message:
Five Things You Should Know About The Bombshell That’s Not A Bombshell
Short version — NYTimes report was sloppy, Wildstein has been a really bad and terrible person since he was fourteen years old, and “David Wildstein will do and say anything to save David Wildstein.” (As if Christie would never do and say anything to save his own ass.)
Update #8: WSJ: Christie ally prepped official before bridge testimony
A lawyer tied to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie prepped an official who lied George Washington Bridge lane closures were for a traffic study, an official said.
Philip Kwon, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s deputy general counsel, spent parts of four to five days helping Bill Baroni prepare for testimony before a New Jersey legislative committee Nov. 25, the official told the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Kwon was introduced in BridgeTroll – In Plain Site?
