The administration of Gov. Chris Christie released a statement late Friday evening responding to claims by former Port Authority official and Christie ally David Wildstein.
A lawyer for Wildstein said Friday that there was evidence the Governor knew about the closure of lanes onto the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee, N.J., as they were happening in September.
Here is the Christie administration's response, in full:
"Mr. Wildstein's lawyer confirms what the Governor has said all along — he had absolutely no prior knowledge of the lane closures before they happened and whatever Mr. Wildstein's motivations were for closing them to begin with. As the Governor said in a December 13th press conference, he only first learned lanes were closed when it was reported by the press and as he said in his January 9th press conference, had no indication that this was anything other than a traffic study until he read otherwise the morning of January 8th. The Governor denies Mr. Wildstein's lawyer's other assertions."
Wildstein's lawyer, Alan Zegas, released a letter on Friday in which he said: "Evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what the governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference."
"Mr. Wildstein contests the accuracy of various statements that the Governor made about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some," Zegas wrote.
Wildstein was one of the officials who participated in the order to close the lanes. Messages from Wildstein were among those included in newly released documents earlier this month as part of state lawmakers' investigation into the closure of lanes onto the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee last September.
Christie's opponents have accused his administration of closing the lanes out of political retribution for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (D) refusing to endorse him for re-election.
Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, sent an Aug. 13 email to Wildstein that read: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."
"Got it," he replied.
SEE ALSO: FORMER ALLY: Christie Knew About The Bridge Lane Closures As They Were Happening