'Bridgegate' Documents To Be Released Friday

Thousands of documents subpoenaed by a state Assembly committee investigating the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal - known now as "Bridgegate" - are expected to be released Friday morning.

The documents, which include emails and other communications from former officials at the Port authority of New York and New Jersey, are now part of the public record after a committee hearing Thursday. They will be posted online, Assembly officials said.

Some of the emails, previously released Wednesday, showed exchanges between a top Port Authority executive with ties to Gov. Chris Christie and the governor’s now-fired deputy chief of staff, who joked about causing hours-long traffic jams in Fort Lee after several lanes of the George Washington Bridge were suddenly closed.

Christie, in a marathon press conference Thursday, apologized for the incident and said the emails showed a “callous indifference’’ that shocked him. Christie said he knew nothing about the lane closures until reports surfaced.

Christie fired the aide, Bridget Anne Kelley, calling her actions “stupid.’’

Later Thursday, David Wildstein, the former Port Authority executive who quit under mounting pressure over the Fort Lee incident, appeared before the state Assembly’s Transportation Public Works and Independent Authorities committee, which is investigating the lane closures, but refused to answer questions. Wildstein was held in contempt by a unanimous vote of the committee and cited with a misdemeanor charge.

Also, the State Attorney General’s Office announced Thursday that an investigation will open to determine if any federal laws were broken.