New documents released Friday show the planning of a meeting between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Port Authority Chairman David Samson a week before one of his key aides sent out an email ordering "traffic problems in Fort Lee."
This is perhaps the key question on which New Jersey Democrats will press Christie during the ongoing investigation into the September closure of George Washington Bridge lanes.
David Wildstein, the Former Port Authority Director of Interstate Capital Projects and an ally of Christie, was subpoenaed to provide documents deemed specifically related to the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge.
Included in the documents is a reference to "what appears to be a meeting" between Christie and Samson, said John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), the chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.
"By submitting these documents, Mr. Wildstein is telling us they are related to the lane closures in some way," Wisniewski said.
"The question that demands answering is, how?"
On Aug. 13, 2013, Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff, whom he fired Thursday, sent an email to Wildstein: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." State and national Democrats have alleged that members of the Christie administration were involved in the decision to close the lanes as political revenge against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D), who refused to endorse Christie for re-election.
Samson and Wildstein were both Christie political appointees to the Port Authority.
This post has been updated.