Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that he only hires the very best people. Apparently he considers Chris Christie’s disgraced former campaign manager and deputy chief of staff one of those people. The Trump campaign has hired Bill Stepien as a National Field Director. Christie claimed to be disturbed by Stepien’s “callous indifference” in hatching the “Bridgegate” scandal, concerns apparently not shared by the Trump campaign.
Background:
Bill Stepien’s Role In Bridgegate
Stepien Was Central Christie Aide In Government And Campaigns
Bill Stepien Was Christie’s Campaign Manager In 2009. According to the Star-Ledger, “And Christie campaign manager Bill Stepien issued a statement late yesterday saying ‘Former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie wants to bring real change to Trenton and that comes with ending politics as usual, which this trip has become a symbol of.’” [Star-Ledger, 1/29/09]
Stepien Was Christie’s Campaign Manager In 2013. According to the Record, “‘He took charge and produced a record of accomplishment, bipartisan reforms and steady leadership through crises that has redefined New Jersey – just as the governor promised,’ said Bill Stepien, Christie’s campaign manager. ‘Voters know what the governor has delivered for New Jersey and that we need another four years of his proven leadership and results.’” [Record, 9/13/13]
Bill Stepien Was Named Deputy Chief Of Staff For Chris Christie. According to the Asbury Park Press, “The fourth appointment is that of Bill Stepien, 31, of Long Valley, as deputy chief of staff. Stepien managed Christie’s campaign for governor.” [Asbury Park Press, 12/3/09]
Stepien Was Part Of Christie’s Inner Circle. According to the New York Times, “He keeps a tight circle around him. Those he regularly consults on major decisions include his wife, Mary Pat; William J. Palatucci, his former law partner, who first helped Mr. Christie into Republican politics; his chief of staff, Kevin O’Dowd; Mike DuHaime and Bill Stepien, who have been longtime campaign advisers; and his communications director, Maria Comella.” [New York Times, 6/6/13]
Christie Severed Ties To Stepien After Bridgegate
Christie Cut Ties With Stepien After Bridgegate Emails Were Leaked. According to the New York Times, “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.” [New York Times, 1/10/14]
Christie Said He Was Disturbed By Stepien’s “Callous Indifference.” According to the Record, “Christie was disturbed, he said, by Stepien’s tone of ‘callous indifference’ in a series of emails that detail the scheme.” [Record, 1/10/14]
Emails Between Wildstein and Kelly Said It Was “Time For Some Traffic Problems In Fort Lee”
Christie’s Deputy Chief Of Staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, Told Port Authority Officials It Was “Time For Some Traffic Problems In Fort Lee.” According to the Record, “Governor Christie’s deputy chief of staff told one of his top Port Authority executives that it was ‘time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee’ several weeks before controversial lane closures took place at the George Washington Bridge, according to sources. Bridget Anne Kelly, one of three deputies on Christie’s senior staff, wrote in an email to David Wildstein, a top Christie executive at the Port Authority, on Aug. 13, about three weeks before the closures, according to the sources.” [Record, 1/8/14]
- Kelly Served As Deputy Chief Of Staff Since April 2013.According to the Record, “Kelly, a Ramsey resident and one of Christie’s three deputy chiefs of staff, is in charge of legislative and intergovernmental affairs, a role she was named to by Christie in April 2013. Prior to that, she was in charge of outreach efforts to elected officials at all levels of government.” [Record, 1/8/14]
Bridget Anne Kelly Emailed Wildstein “Time For Some Traffic Problems In Fort Lee.” According to email on August 13, 2013 from Bridget Anne Kelly to David Wildstein, she wrote: “Time for Some Traffic Problems in Fort Lee.” [Email – Bridget Anne Kelly to David Wildstein, 8/13/13]
David Wildstein And Bill Stepien Discussed Fort Lee Mayor At Length
Bill Stepien Emailed David Wildstein That The Fort Lee Mayor Was An Idiot. According to an email on September 18, 2013 Bill Stepien emailed David Wildstein and said, “It’s fine. The mayor is an idiot, though. When some, lose some.” [Email – Bill Stepien to David Wildstein, 9/18/13]
- David Wildstein Emailed Bill Stepien That He Brought Empty Boxes To Work.According to an email from September 18, 2013 David Wildstein told Bill Stepien, “I had empty boxes ready to take to work today, just in case. It will be a tough November for this little Serbian.” [Email –David Wildstein to Bill Stepien, 9/18/13]
- David Wildstein Referred To The Mayor Of Fort Lee As “This Little Serbian.” According to an email from September 18, 2013 David Wildstein told Bill Stepien, “I had empty boxes ready to take to work today, just in case. It will be a tough November for this little Serbian.” [Email –David Wildstein to Bill Stepien, 9/18/13]
Bill Stepien Emailed David Wildstein That Fort Lee Press Coverage Was Not Awful. According to an email from October 2, 2013, Bill Stepien emailed David Wildstein in response to press story with, “I saw. Ultimately, not an awful story. Whatever.” [Email – Bill Stepien to David Wildstein, 10/2/13]
- David Wildstein Emailed Bill Stepien That Patrick Foye Was “Messing” With Them Before The Election.According to Wildstein’s email to Bill Stepien on October 2, 2013, “Yeah, but we need to address leaks from Foye and his messing with us 5 weeks before election. Baroni and I are at the statehouse this afternoon – need to be sure all understand that a trash train bringing NYC garbage by rail through Westfield, east Brunswick, etc is a very bad idea – and we will talk to Drewniak and Bridget while there. I feel terrible that I’m causing you so much stress this close to November.” [Email –David Wildstein to Bill Stepien, 10/2/13]
- David Wildstein Emailed Bill Stepien That He Would Be Discussing Things With Bridget Anne Kelly, Bill Baroni And Michael Drewniak At A Meeting In-Person.According to Wildstein’s email to Bill Stepien on October 2, 2013, “Yeah, but we need to address leaks from Foye and his messing with us 5 weeks before election. Baroni and I are at the statehouse this afternoon – need to be sure all understand that a trash train bringing NYC garbage by rail through Westfield, east Brunswick, etc is a very bad idea – and we will talk to Drewniak and Bridget while there. I feel terrible that I’m causing you so much stress this close to November.” [Email –David Wildstein to Bill Stepien,10/2/13]
- Bill Stepien Told David Wildstein He Liked Wildstein More In 2013 Than In 2009.According to Bill Stepien’s email to David Wildstein On October 2, 2013, “For what it’s worth, I like you more on October 2, 2013 than I did on October 2, 2009.” [Email – Bill Stepien to David Wildstein, 10/2/13]
Bill Stepien Invoked Fifth Amendment Rights In Investigation
Invoked Fifth Amendment
Stepien Declined To Speak To The Legislative Investigation. According to the Washington Post, “Also Friday, Bill Stepien, a longtime political adviser to Christie, said he would refuse to testify before the state legislative committee investigating the episode – raising the possibility that more damaging information could emerge.” [Washington Post, 2/1/14]
Stepien Exercised His Fifth Amendment Right Against Self-Incrimination To Avoid Testifying Before Committee. According to the Asbury Park Press, “Bill Stepien, a key figure in the shutdown scandal and Gov. Chris Christie’s former campaign manager, is refusing to budge in the face of a subpoena from New Jersey Legislative Select Committee on Investigation. Stepien’s attorney, Kevin Marino, sent a letter Tuesday to Reid Schar, the Chicago attorney hired by the committee, maintaining Stepien’s earlier position. Stepien and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, have cited constitutional protections against self-incrimination and unreasonable search and seizure in refusing to turn over records.” [Asbury Park Press, 2/18/14]
Judge Ruled Stepien Did Not Have To Cooperate
In April 2014, Judge Ruled That Stepien And Kelly Did Not Have To Turn Over Documents To Legislative Investigation. According to News 4 New York, “A New Jersey judge has ruled that two key figures in a political payback scandal ensnaring Gov. Chris Christie’s administration do not have to turn over documents to a legislative investigative panel. Former Christie loyalists Bridget Kelly and Bill Stepien had been fighting subpoenas calling for them to turn over documents regarding the plot to create traffic jams in Fort Lee to retaliate against the town’s Democratic mayor. The legislative panel asked for the court’s help in getting the two to comply.” [News 4 New York, 4/9/14]
Judge Questioned The Committee On What Evidence Existed Of Stepien’s Involvement. According to New York Times, “But Judge Jacobson pushed the committee’s lawyer to explain why the subpoena was not a fishing expedition when it came to Mr. Stepien, whose role in carrying out the lane closings, if any, is less clear from the emails the committee has already shared publicly.” [New York Times, 3/11/14]
Stepien’s Lawyer Accused The Legislative Committee Of Being On “A Fishing Expedition.” According to New York Times, “Kevin Marino, Mr. Stepien’s lead lawyer, argued that the committee was on a fishing expedition, trying to pull in as many documents as possible just to figure out the basic ‘who, what, where, why, when’ of the scandal.” [New York Times, 3/11/14]
Investigated By US Attorney
Stepien Was Investigated By The US Attorney. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “An attorney for Gov. Christie’s former campaign manager disclosed in a court filing Monday that federal authorities are investigating his client as part of a probe into September lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. Bill Stepien ‘is undeniably a subject, if not a target’ of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s investigation into the traffic jams, attorney Kevin Marino wrote in a brief filed with Superior Court in Trenton. The brief says a subpoena issued by a special legislative committee investigating the traffic jams – which were carried out by Christie allies, allegedly for political payback – violates Stepien’s Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The committee had asked a judge to force Stepien to comply with the subpoena.” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 3/4/14]
Published: Aug 26, 2016