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"Newly revealed emails from a top aide of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie link his administration to an apparent traffic revenge plot. The revelations could turn out to be a road block for Christie, who is widely expected to run for president in 2016.\nBoth the Wall Street Journal and North Bergen Record published conversations between Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff, and David Wildstein, a long-time friend of the governor, discussing a plan to create traffic in Fort Lee, N.J., by closing inbound lanes on the George Washington Bridge. \nSee also: Zuckerberg Likes Chris Christie Enough to Throw Him a Fundraiser\nWildstein, who recently announced he would resign from his position as director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey at the end of the year, turned over the conversations in response to a subpoena issued by a panel of New Jersey lawmakers who are investigating the traffic controversy. \nIn an Aug. 13 email exchange, Kelly wrote to Wildstein, \"Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.\" Wildstein responded a minute later with, \"Got it.\"\nOn Sept. 9, two of the three local access lanes to Fort Lee from the George Washington Bridge were suddenly closed under the guise of a traffic study by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The lane closures caused a week of gridlock in the town.\nThe political undertones behind the traffic move were apparent in a text message exchange between Wildstein and an unidentified recipient on Sept. 10, after Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich complained that the traffic was making it hard to get children to school.\n\"Is it wrong that I'm smiling?\" the recipient wrote to Wildstein. \"I feel badly about the kids. I guess.\"\nWildstein replied, \"They are the children of Buono voters,\" referring to Democratic candidate Barbara Buono, who Christie beat in a landslide in the November gubernatorial election.  \nThough it's not spelled out explicitly in the message exchanges, The Record speculates that the lane closures were political retaliation aimed at Sokolich for failing to endorse Christie in the gubernatorial election. \nIn addition to Wildstein, Bill Baroni, the deputy executive director of the Port Authority, whom Christie appointed, has also resigned. \nThe Democratic National Committee, meanwhile, has been fast to jump on the controversy with the YouTube video embedded below. It seizes upon the emails as ammunition against Christie, who is atop the list of frontrunners for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. \n\nIt's unclear how much this revelation will affect Christie's presidential aspirations. Though the messages do not link Christie directly to the bridge controversy, they will not help him quell his reputation as a political bully. \nChristie has also publicly denied that his administration holds ill will toward Sokolich, which could prove problematic if the scandal intensifies.\n\"I don\u2019t ever remember even meeting the mayor of Fort Lee and I certainly don\u2019t remember getting any briefings at any time from the campaign staff that this was someone who was on our radar screen as a potential endorsement so that\u2019s why none of this makes any sense to me,\" Christie said at a Dec. 19 news conference.\nWildstein is scheduled to appear before state lawmakers Thursday to testify about the documents \u2014 his email and text message exchanges are embedded below.\nUPDATE: Jan. 8, 4:35 p.m. ET: Christie released the following statement Wednesday afternoon.\nWhat I've seen today for the first time is unacceptable. I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better. This behavior is not representative of me or my Administration in any way, and people will be held responsible for their actions.\nEmails From Top Gov. Chris Christie Aid on George Washington Bridge Scandal\n\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\nImage: Kena Betancur/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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