Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie denied his involvement in the 2013 "Bridgegate" scandal, which involved political appointees under his watch as New Jersey governor.
Asked by Republican voter Jason Ortiz about Christie's direct and indirect involvement in the scandal, Christie responded, "I had absolutely nothing to do with it, no knowledge of it. I was appalled by it. And I had nothing to do with it."
Christie went on to say that despite his lack of involvement, he does regret that it happened under his governorship.
"I regret what happened, and I feel — I am accountable for it because it happened on my watch. But it'll never happen with me I can guarantee that," he said.
More background: Christie was first elected New Jersey governor in 2009, unseating Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine. He easily won reelection in the blue state in 2013. He served as US attorney for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008, a period in which he successfully prosecuted the father of Trump’s son-in-law and former aide Jared Kushner on criminal tax evasion and witness tampering charges.
Christie was engulfed in the “Bridgegate” scandal during his second term as governor. Emails and texts from top aides showed that the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September 2013, which caused massive traffic jams, stemmed from a political vendetta after the town’s Democratic mayor declined to endorse Christie’s gubernatorial reelection. A federal investigation determined that Christie had no knowledge of the decision to close the lanes, but the scandal continued to follow the former governor.
CNN's Gregory Krieg and Shania Shelton contributed reporting to this post.
