New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, still reeling from a scandal involving the George Washington Bridge, is the subject of a second bridge investigation. This inquiry concerns possible securities law violations from a $1.8 billion road repair agreement in 2011 on the Pulaski Skyway, an elevated roadway connecting Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey, and was first reported by The New York Times.
The probe again looks at the Christie administration's ties with the Port Authority, the agency that oversees bridges and tunnels between New York and New Jersey. The investigation centers on whether the Republican governor asked the Port Authority to divert money slated to be used on a new Hudson River rail tunnel (that Christie canceled in October 2010) to pay for repairs to the Skyway and related road projects. Lawyers for the Port Authority had discouraged such a move, the Times said, citing memos and emails it obtained, since the Skyway is owned and operated by the state — not the agency. Sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to NBC News that both the Manhattan District Attorney's Public Corruption Unit and the Securities and Exchange Commission are each probing the use of the money.
Christie has said the funding was justified and says his aides, state officials, and the Port Authority made the decision together to use it.
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