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Navigating the Nonsense

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 189: Navigating the Nonsense

Gingrich and Christie Top Trump’s VP Short List

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“Donald Trump’s campaign has begun formally vetting possible running mates, with former House speaker Newt Gingrich emerging as the leading candidate followed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie,” the Washington Post reports.

“Given Trump’s unpredictability, campaign associates caution that the presumptive Republican nominee could still shake up his shortlist. But with little more than two weeks before the start of the Republican National Convention, Gingrich and Christie have been asked to submit documents and are being cast as favorites for the post inside the campaign.”

Christie Being Vetted as Trump’s Running Mate

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Gov. Chris Christie (R) is being vetted as a possible running mate for the presumptive Republican nominee, a source confirmed to CNN.

Christie has received the official paperwork for the vetting process.

New York Times: “Already, Mr. Christie has begun the task of designing a government on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Tapped to lead Mr. Trump’s transition efforts, Mr. Christie has taken a role that some of his allies liken to that of a White House chief of staff, soliciting views on what a potential Trump administration should look like.”

Another Effort Made to Keep Bridgegate List Secret

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“New Jersey’s top prosecutor made a personal plea to a federal appeals court Monday, asking judges to block the release of a list of people suspected of — but not charged with — involvement in the politically motivated closure of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge,” the Bergen County Record reports.

“A group of media companies, including North Jersey Media Group, the publisher of The Record, is seeking the list of so-called unindicted co-conspirators after intervening in the forthcoming trial of two former allies of Governor Christie who are accused of conspiring to close the lanes and then of covering it up. The list is believed to include public employees and elected and appointed officials who could have acted to further the conspiracy.”

Rubio Second-Guesses Himself on Robotic Moment

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“Seeking to dispel the notion that his robotic utterances in the run-up to the New Hampshire primary alone doomed the trajectory of his campaign, Marco Rubio pointed to his decision to quarrel with Chris Christie over the point of his repeated lines on the debate stage rather than let it go,” Politico reports.

Said Rubio: “I think if we had made a strategic decision in New Hampshire different from the one I made — which was not to engage with Chris Christie, but to try to just ignore it and just stay on message — that would have been a nothing.”

Just a Coincidence?

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Donald Trump’s sister is judge whose court could rule on release of the Bridgegate “conspirator list” — the names of people who allegedly were involved, but not charged in the politically motivated George Washington Bridge lane closures of 2013 — in a possibly secret hearing the day before the New Jersey primary, according to reporter Matt Katz.

The Asbury Park Press reports “the disclosures, originally scheduled for Friday, were delayed after an unnamed person filed a last-ditch motion to prevent the release.”

Bridge Trial May Prevent Trump-Christie Ticket

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“One obvious theory behind Gov. Chris Christie’s surprise endorsement of Donald Trump in the Republican presidential race is that he wants to be Mr. Trump’s pick for vice president,” the New York Times reports.

“But whatever his wishes or their discussions, there is a complicating and possibly prohibitive factor: the trial in the closing of George Washington Bridge access lanes, the scandal that hobbled Mr. Christie’s own presidential hopes. Already postponed twice, the trial has now been pushed to September, putting it in prime time during the final months of the presidential campaign.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

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“I want everyone to know for those who were concerned: I wasn’t being held hostage, I wasn’t upset. I wasn’t angry. I wasn’t despondent. I was not sitting up there thinking, ‘oh my God, what have I done.'”

— Gov. Chris Christie, quoted by the Washington Post, insisting that he was happy for Donald Trump during his Super Tuesday victory press conference.

Christie Defends Trump Endorsement

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“Facing criticism for his out-of-state campaigning for presidential candidate Donald Trump, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday he wouldn’t resign and defended his endorsement of the Republican front-runner,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The governor’s remarks came during a lengthy, freewheeling news conference that sharply contrasted in tone and substance from an appearance he held earlier this week in which he declined to take off-topic questions from reporters.”

New Jersey Cringes at Christie Endorsement of Trump

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“What, you might ask, could be worse than a thoroughly failed presidential candidate returning home as a lame-duck governor to a $10 billion budget deficit and a recalcitrant legislature? Chris Christie is finding out,” the New York Times reports.

“In a remarkably swift descent, Mr. Christie’s endorsement of Donald J. Trump for president, his repeated side-by-side appearances with the real estate mogul and his adoring, 31-minute televised gaze at him on Tuesday night have turned the Republican governor into the subject of unusually biting and intense ridicule.”

Would Chris Christie Endorse Trump?

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Yahoo News: “Now, some in New Jersey are already speculating that Christie could endorse Trump in order to curry favor with the GOP frontrunner in the hope of being named attorney general.”

“Christie has known Trump for 13 years… A close Christie confidante, asked via text message Wednesday about the possibility of the governor endorsing Trump, did not rule it out.”

Christie Sells Email List to Rubio

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Gov. Chris Christie’s “now-suspended presidential campaign has sold its email list of supporters and donors to his former chief Republican rival Marco Rubio,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.

“That means those who supported the governor are now getting messages from Rubio, who was Christie’s prime target during the New Hampshire primary. The first e-mail message went out Sunday afternoon.”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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