Impossible for me to believe that Christie didn't know about it, and approve it, given that his deputy chief of staff ordered it. This'll blow over--unless she strikes back and tells the media that he ordered it or approved it. Then it'll get really ugly.
Exactly. It is undeniable that the traffic ruses were concocted by the people, who have for years worked closest to Christie, and that it was done vindictively for political revenge.
Kly and DT: a civil suit has already been filed. How far reaching can discovery be? One intent of the civil suit will be to determine if sovereign immunity applies. But only discovery can determine that, right?
True. Discovery could be a lengthy process, and will not be limited to communications, documents and testimony directly related to this incident. While discovery has to have some perimeters and can't be solely a fishing expedition, the plaintiffs will be entitled to obtain discovery to establish a systemic pattern of abuse within the office. There will be some responses to certain discovery that claim executive privilege, but I don't think that the state will attempt to bar a class action suit on soverign immunity. By doing so, my guess is that it will cause additional political problems for Christie. But like Romney refusing to release relevant tax returns, if the damage created by releasing discovery exceeds the potential credibility damage in not releasing them, the state may claim soverign immunity. It can't stop litigation against individual office holders in this situation though.
