CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: New Jersey Port Authority Scandal

Interview

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REP. RUSH HOLT (D), NEW JERSEY: Good to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Do you have a theory of why those lanes were closed in the first place?

HOLT: You know, whatever the theory, and you heard several of them. There are actually a couple others floating around. Whatever was the motivation behind this, it's pretty clear. It's an abuse of power. In other words, it was the use of political power, not for the public good. You know, the reason citizens give elected officials power is so that they can act on behalf of the citizens to improve the public good. This clearly was petty partisanship of one sort or another, or perhaps, as you say following the money, something corrupt. But whatever it was, it was not acting in the public interest. And what we have to really guard against is that people will say, look, that's just politics. That's just the way it's done. It always happens. We can't stand for this always happening. But under this administration, this does appear to have been the rule.

So, you know, I have to commend -- you mentioned Senator Loretta Weinberg. I would also add assemblyman chair John Wisniewski. They have kept after this for several months, even as the press and everybody else was saying, oh, get off it. You know, this is a small matter. In fact, now with the e-mails coming out and probably more coming to light, it appears that this was a serious abuse of power.

BLITZER: But there's no evidence, and correct me if I am wrong, I haven't seen any direct evidence linking Christie directly to that decision to shut down those traffic lanes. Have you?

HOLT: You know, I am not saying it was or wasn't the governor. No, I don't think there's anything that's been made public that ties him directly to it, but certainly the governor's office. They have been given power by the voters to act on the public behalf. This was not acting on the public behalf.

And I might add, you know, there is a sad story about the port authority. The port authority of New York, New Jersey goes back many decades. It was a nonpartisan public institution. And starting back under Governor Pataki and Governor Whitman, it began to be filled with political -- well, politicians who were only interested in partisan interests or cash flow into the states. And the port authority has lost its public mission, lost its nonpartisanship, and it is just sitting ready to be abused in this partisan political way.

BLITZER: You've suggested that governor Christie has a streak of bullying. The governor denies he's a bully. He said that at his news conference last Thursday. Why do you think he's a bully?

HOLT: Yes, I mean, you and I remember Richard Nixon. I am not a crook. You know? Any time a politician gets up and says "I am not a bully," or "it's not about the money," it is. And so you know, there are so many instances. We have seen it. We have seen it in town hall meetings where the governor goes after a citizen. We have seen it where he takes on teachers in the most disrespectful, bullying way. And I've seen it with mayors and public officials who have said to me, look, I've got to play along here or I'm just not going to get anything for my town. And I call that bullying. And I don't want any citizens to say, oh, that's the way it's always done. I guess we'll just have to accept it. We must not accept that.

BLITZER: Is there one thing you want to hear in his state of the state address that's coming up at 3:00 p.m. eastern?

HOLT: Well, I -- obviously, he's not going to talk about this. And, you know, obviously, I think we hear he's going to talk about extending the school day, and more attention to education. More attentions to education is most welcome. Thank you. I'm glad he's doing that. I hope he will not bully the teachers in the process. BLITZER: Well, we do hear he is going to make a brief reference to the traffic scandal. I don't think he's going to say much. But he'll say something. And is there -- if he does spend 30 seconds or a minute talking about it, is there anything you would like to hear?

HOLT: I mean, he talked for an hour and a half or two hours the other day. I think he has said it. Now, we wait for the evidence to come out. I'm pleased that the investigation and the subpoenas are continuing. This is not a petty matter. They may have regarded this as a -- you know, as a play thing to play some partisan politics. I think it should be viewed as an abuse of power and we should get all the facts. And I'm glad that the legislature is after it. I understand that law enforcement officials prosecutors are looking into whether there were any laws broken, whether there's any culpability there. So I think that should go on. I'm not going to speculate on what comes next.

BLITZER: Congressman Holt, thanks very much for joining us.

HOLT: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Rush Holt is the Democratic congressman from New Jersey.

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