N.

ALEJANDRO GOMEZ

Irate Friends See Sexism in

Report on Former Christie Aide
By KATE ZERNIKE and DAVID W. CHENMARCH 27, 2014
She seemed emotional. She was habitually concerned about how
she was perceived by the governor. A boyfriend had ended a
relationship.
Bridget Anne Kelly has been the center of blame in the George
Washington Bridge lane closing scandal since early January, when it
was revealed that she sent an email calling for some traffic
problems in Fort Lee.
Gov. Chris Christie, seeking to stanch the damage the scandal had
caused to his political fortunes, fired her as his deputy chief of staff
after that, calling her stupid. But the report commissioned by Mr.
Christie and released Thursday doubles down on a strategy of
portraying Ms. Kelly as duplicitous, weeping frequently and
dependent on men for approval and stability.
Though the lawyers who wrote the report did not interview her, they
explain her conduct in unusually personal terms she is out of the
office attending to a family member who had been hospitalized; a
brief relationship had cooled at the behest of the man, Mr.
Christies campaign manager, Bill Stepien.
The report raises these details but does not explain how or why they
would have prompted her to send the damning email. It simply
concludes that events in her personal life may have had some
bearing on her subjective motivations and state of mind.
The portrayal conflicts with ones offered by others: legislators who
worked with Ms. Kelly in her role on Mr. Christies staff, who
describe her as devoted to her job and assiduous to detail; friends
who describe her as tough-minded through the challenges of a
divorce and family health problems; her lawyer, who describes her as
a 42-year-old single mother trying to make do even with cameras
camped outside.
It is, notably, in stark contrast to the reports portrayal of the
governor, as firm and seeking only the truth. Even when Ms. Kelly
was promoted, the report notes it was though she lacked Stepiens
expertise and background. It narrates her bosss story with more
heroic details: Having canceled a planned trip to Florida with his
wife for her birthday, Governor Christie returned to Seaside Park,
New Jersey, to meet with business owners affected by the boardwalk
fire.
The governor heard rumors about the lane-closing plot, the report
says, and personally moved swiftly to investigate them. Ms. Kelly,
it asserts, lied and continued to cover up her role. When Mr.

Christie is emotional at a news conference, it corroborates the

reports conclusion that he is blameless.
Ms. Kellys lawyer did not respond to requests for comment
Thursday. But the reports depiction of Ms. Kelly outraged her
friends, as well as Mr. Christies critics.
This report was meant to whitewash Governor Christies reputation
as a bully, but it actually confirms that he does embrace a culture of
intimidation and retaliation, said Lis Smith, a Democratic
consultant who worked for the man Mr. Christie defeated in 2009,
Gov. Jon S. Corzine. Hes throwing every sexist slur at Kelly while
needlessly and aggressively injecting details about her personal life.
Its a cynical attempt to distract from the real story.
Friends called it insulting.
Anybody that knows Bridget knows that shes always been a by-thebook mom with four kids, said one, who, like others, spoke on
condition of anonymity so as not to get entangled in any
investigations.
Another friend scoffed at the suggestion that Ms. Kelly may have
been distracted by a turbulent personal life.
Id want her to commandeer the ship through a storm thats just
how steady she is, the friend said.
One friend questioned why Ms. Kelly had been singled out for such
harsh criticism in the report: If youre going to throw her under the
bus, she shouldnt be alone under the bus.
Some friends including those who voted for Mr. Christie
reserved some of their harshest comments for him.
Ms. Kellys friends also said that they were struck by what they felt
was a gender bias in the report, noting that the personal language
describing Ms. Kelly is not used to describe David Wildstein, even
though he is pegged as her co-conspirator.
The report moves aggressively to consolidate blame on Ms. Kelly. In
one passing example, the report asserts that she canceled meetings
with Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City, who had declined to endorse
Mr. Christies re-election. In fact, documents have established that
those meetings were canceled not by Ms. Kelly but individually by
the officials who had been scheduled to meet with the mayor.
Yet asked to justify the reports conclusions about Ms. Kelly when
she declined to speak with the lawyers writing it, Randy M. Mastro,
the lead lawyer, said that they had been able to rely on documents
for their conclusions.

Ella "pareca emocional." Ella era "habitualmente preocupado por

cmo era percibido por el gobernador." Un novio haba terminado
una relacin.
Bridget Kelly Anne ha sido el centro de la culpa en el escndalo de
cierre de carril George Washington Bridge desde principios de enero,
cuando se revel que ella envi un correo electrnico pidiendo
"algunos problemas de trfico en Fort Lee."
El gobernador Chris Christie , tratando de restaar el dao que el
escndalo haba causado a su suerte poltica, la despidi como su jefe
de estado mayor despus de eso, llamndola "estpido." Sin
embargo, el informe encargado por el Sr. Christie y difundido el
jueves se dobla hacia abajo una estrategia de retratar la Sra. Kelly
como hipcrita, que llora con frecuencia y dependen de los hombres
para la aprobacin y la estabilidad.
Aunque los abogados que redactaron el informe no entrevistaron a
ella, explican su conducta en trminos inusualmente personales ella est fuera de la oficina de atencin a un miembro de la familia
que haba sido hospitalizado; una breve relacin "se haba enfriado"
a "instancias" del el hombre, el jefe de campaa del Sr. Christie, Bill
Stepien.
El informe plantea estos detalles, pero no explica cmo ni por qu se
han llevado a ella para enviar el correo electrnico
condenatoria.Simplemente concluye que "los acontecimientos en su
vida personal pueden haber tenido algo que ver con sus motivaciones
subjetivas y estado de nimo."
Los conflictos de representacin con los ofrecidos por otros: los
legisladores que trabajaron con la Sra. Kelly en su papel en el
personal del seor Christie, quien la describe como dedicado a su
trabajo y asidua a los detalles; amigos que la describen como duramente a travs de los desafos de la un divorcio y problemas de salud
de la familia, su abogado, quien la describe como una madre soltera
de 42 aos de edad, tratando de hacer lo hacen incluso con cmaras
acamparon afuera.
Es, sobre todo, en marcado contraste con el retrato que el informe
del gobernador, tan firme y buscando slo la verdad. Incluso cuando
la Sra. Kelly fue promovido, el informe seala que era Narra la
historia de su jefe con detalles ms heroicas ", aunque careca de la
experiencia y los antecedentes de Stepien.": "Despus de haber
cancelado un viaje previsto a Florida con su esposa por su
cumpleaos, el gobernador Christie vuelto a Seaside Park, Nueva
Jersey, para reunirse con los dueos de negocios afectados por el
incendio paseo martimo ".
El gobernador escuch rumores acerca de la trama de carril de
cierre, segn el informe, y "personalmente" actu con rapidez para
investigarlos. La Sra. Kelly, afirma, "minti y sigui para encubrir su

papel." Cuando el Sr. Christie es emocional en rueda de prensa, que

"corrobora" la conclusin del informe de que est libre de culpa.
El abogado de la Sra. Kelly no respondi a solicitudes de comentarios
el jueves. Pero la descripcin que hace el informe de la Sra. Kelly
indign a sus amigos, as como a los crticos del seor Christie.
"Este informe estaba destinado a encubrir la reputacin del
gobernador Christie como un matn, pero en realidad confirma que
lo hace abrazar una cultura de la intimidacin y las represalias", dijo
Lis Smith, un consultor demcrata que trabaj para el hombre el Sr.
Christie derrot en 2009, el gobernador . Jon S. Corzine. "Est
lanzando cada insulto sexista a Kelly mientras se inyecta sin
necesidad y agresivamente detalles sobre su vida personal. Es un
cnico intento de distraer la atencin de la verdadera historia ".
Amigos llamaron insultante.
"Cualquier persona que sabe Bridget sabe que ella siempre ha sido
una madre by-the-book con cuatro hijos", dijo uno de ellos, que,
como otros, habl a condicin de guardar el anonimato para no
enredarse en cualquier investigacin.
Otro amigo se burl de la sugerencia de que la Sra. Kelly puede haber
sido distrado por una vida personal turbulenta.
"Yo quiero que ella comandar la nave a travs de una tormenta - as
es como ella es constante", dijo el amigo.
Un amigo pregunt por qu la Sra. Kelly haba sido sealado para tal
duras crticas en el informe: "Si vas a echarla en el autobs, que no
est solo en el autobs."
Algunos amigos - incluyendo los que votaron por el Sr. Christie Reservados algunas de sus ms duros comentarios para l.
Amigos de la Sra. Kelly tambin dijeron que estaban impresionados
por lo que consideraban un sesgo de gnero en el informe, sealando
que el lenguaje personal que describe la Sra. Kelly no se utiliza para
describir a David Wildstein, a pesar de que est vinculado como su
co-conspirador.
El informe se mueve agresivamente para consolidar la culpa a la Sra.
Kelly. En un ejemplo que pasa, el informe afirma que ella cancel
reuniones con el alcalde Steven Fulop de Jersey City, que se haban
negado a respaldar la reeleccin del seor Christie. De hecho, los
documentos han establecido que esas reuniones fueron canceladas
no por la Sra. Kelly pero individualmente por los funcionarios que
haban sido programados para reunirse con el alcalde.
Sin embargo, les pide que justifiquen las conclusiones del informe
sobre la Sra. Kelly cuando ella se neg a hablar con los abogados de
escribirlo, Randy M. Mastro, el principal abogado, dijo que haban
sido capaces de confiar en los documentos para sus conclusiones.