IS CHRIS CHRISTIE NEXT?
|| By FITSNEWS || United Airlines’ chairman and CEO Jeff Smisek – and two other top officials at the company – resigned this week amid an ongoing federal investigation into a scandal involving the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
That’s the agency which operates John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports …
We wrote about this scandal back in February because it had a South Carolina connection … literally.
United is accused of establishing a money-losing direct route to Columbia Metropolitan Airport at the behest of former port authority chairman (and former New Jersey attorney general) David Samson – who spent weekends in South Carolina with his wife.
The favor was done for Samson at a time when United was seeking taxpayer funds in connection with a $2 billion expansion of Newark Liberty airport – one of the carrier’s biggest hubs.
Samson resigned his position with the port authority during the 2014 “Bridge-gate” scandal – taking the fall for liberal New Jersey governor and 2016 presidential candidate Chris Christie, who is also reportedly part of the federal investigation.
The United route was suspended three days after his resignation …
Obviously this scandal would be a much bigger deal if Christie’s presidential aspirations were receiving a more enthusiastic response from the “Republican” electorate. As it stands, though, Christie’s campaign is such a non-factor the political group which formed to fight it has actually shut down its operations.
4 comments
Rule of thumb. When a government official resigns its to protect his or her boss. When corporate people resign, it’s because they are about to be charged.
I am not a fan of Chris Christie. But, here we have an individual responsible, so they say, for closing a couple of lanes of traffic on a busy bridge. He is under a Federal Investigation and drawing the ire of half the nation.
On the other hand, we have an individual that has broken at least several laws and her actions has put the security of this country at risk. Her status, nothing yet, she only maintained an illegal mail server, played loose with classified documents and lied her fat ass off. Her punishment, none, of course, she is a Democrat.
As a matter of record, “Old” Continental had a very successful “double loop” route between Columbia, Charleston and Newark (Liberty) airports for several years – and thru most of the ’90s – northbound in the early mornings (Newark by 11 AM, to my best memory), and southbound mid to late evenings (Columbia by 11 PM[?]), using the smaller planes (probably CRJ Bombardiers) and from time to time, an MD-80. Was a useful flight to many of us who had one-day or two-day business trips to NYC or upper NY cities like Albany. Nearly always on time (exceptions mainly because on NY winter weather) and nearly always “almost full” (occasionally oversold). At that time, one could also “gate check” a bag successfully, and it would be in the concourse by the time you were.
BUT: it was also at the time a successful competitor to both Delta and UScare’s morning/evening flights to NYC because you didn’t have to go to ATL (lose 2 hours) or CLT (lose at least one hour) and change planes. It also became a “window” to Boston and the “Up East” states, but you lost at least an hour connecting at Newark – I usually went Delta that way.
There is probably no doubt that the allegations against Mr Smisek are true. That’s the way a lot of business is done in the Garden State. I know. I still have 3 houses full of in-laws there, one of which exists on state building contracts which are overspecific about where certain building materials shall be purchased.
It doesn’t mean that it is a “Losing” route – only needs to be timed for ridership rather than for a VIP.
Are you referring to