David Wildstein, the Former Port Authority Director of Interstate Capital Projects and an ally of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie doesn't think he should be forced to testify on a burgeoning traffic scandal.
And he has an unusual excuse for trying to get out of testimony on Thursday.
Alan Zegas, an attorney for Wildstein, filed a motion on Wednesday to quash the subpoena compelling Wildstein to testify before the New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee.
Zegas said the subpoena was invalid for a number of reasons. His first reason: He doubts whether John Wisniewski, the chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, actually signed the subpoena.
"There is significant evidence to believe that Mr. Wisniewski did not actually sign the documents, creating doubt about their validity," Zegas wrote in the filing.
Zegas went on to analyze Wisniewski's signature in two other documents — the letter accompanying the subpoena and his financial disclosure form. He opined that all three were different.
Zegas also wrote that the subpoena should be "unenforceable," because it is "exceedingly unusual for a New Jersey Legislative Committee to issue investigative subpoenas." According to the motion, only four subpoenas have been issued over the past two decades.
And Zegas claimed that Wisniewski has a conflict of interest — his law firm has represented a construction and marine dredging firm that had a contract with the Port Authority.
The Transportation Committee hearing is scheduled for noon on Wednesday at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J. The motion on behalf of Wildstein comes on the same day new documents emerged showing correspondence between Wildstein and members of Christie's legislative and campaign staff as part of decisions to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge in September.
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Christie said he was "outraged" at the new information, and suggested he had been misled by a staffer about their role in the situation.