An expected American presidential candidate may have just had his political potential significantly reduced.  New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been forced to admit his staff ordered the creation of a major traffic jam as political payback to a mayor who didn’t do him a favor. 

An “outraged and deeply saddened” Christie responded with a statement claiming he “was misled” by his aide; the closure was “unsanctioned”; and he denied involvement in the blatant act of political payback to the mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse Christie’s reelection bid.  Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich is a Democrat, Christie is a Republican.

The New York Times Wednesday morning revealed emails and text messages that showed how a Christie staffer ordered local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge be closed.  It’s the world's busiest bridge that leads to New York City, and it caused a major traffic mess in Fort Lee on the first day of school.  No warnings were given to Fort Lee officials, police, or firefighters.

“Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly wrote in August in a message to David Wildstein, a top Christie appointee on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

“Got it,” Wildstein replied.  Wildstein later closed two of three lanes connecting Fort Lee to the heavily traveled George Washington Bridge.

The messages do not directly implicate Christie in the shutdown.  But for weeks, Christie had denied the bridge closure was intentional.  The messages completely refute his earlier denials.

A month ago, he was joking about it.  On Wednesday, Christie canceled his schedule and gave no interviews.

Christie is widely believed to have been preparing to run for President in 2016, something that may be off the menu.  Democrats pounced.

The messages, said Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, “indicate what we've come to expect from Governor Christie – when people oppose him, he exacts retribution.  When people question him, he belittles and snidely jokes.  And when anyone dares to look into his administration, he bullies and attacks.”