The scandalous revelation of a political payback scheme known as Bridgegate has cost New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie quite a lot. Before it became big news, Christie was arguably the most popular politician in the country, widely expected to run for president and generally considered the favorite to win the GOP nomination. Now, Christie has seen his approval rating drop, his favorability rating drop, and his rising star within the Republican Party shine a little less brightly and fall a little bit closer to Earth. And we haven't even mentioned the legal fees yet.
On that note, here's the latest news in the world of Chris Christie:
- A new report from the Wall Street Journal finds that, to this date, Christie's reelection campaign has been billed for no less than $314,000 in Bridgegate-related legal fees. The Journal reports that this figure exceeds the campaign's total amount of cash on hand. For a campaign that understandably only raised $3,800 in 2014 thus far (the election is over, after all) this might be a tall order. Or maybe Christie will just call up Sheldon Adelson for a favor.
- In other Bridgegate news, Christie isn't answering one way or another as to whether he'll testify in front of the New Jersey Legislature if called upon to do so. Speaking during his monthly radio show, Christie was asked if he'd come before the Legislature. "I'm not going to talk about that," he said in response. The Legislature has not yet said whether it plans to call on Christie to testify, though members have said they haven't ruled it out.
- An organization known as the Father's Day/Mother's Day Council has decided to name Christie as its Father of the Year. Along with Christie, shoe designer Vince Camuto was named as a FOTY, so it's perhaps more accurate to say Christie was named one of the fathers of the year. In any event, the governor said he appreciated the recognition and joked that when he told his kids about it, "They had a good laugh."
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