A Republican member of the joint Bridgegate committee says it is time to cut to the chase and find out if Gov. Chris Christie did anything illegal, although he believes that to be unlikely.

George Washington Bridge
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Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll (R-Morris Plains), said, "If this is not about impeachment, then there doesn't seem to me to be a purpose for this committee to investigate the bridge scandal at all."

The governor has consistently denied any wrongdoing. However, if evidence shows otherwise, Carroll said Christie shouldn't expect any cover from Republicans.

"He (Christie) says he felt betrayed by the actions of some of his subordinates and fired them summarily because they lied to him; well, if he lied to us we're going to do the same thing to him," Carroll said. "If there exists evidence to show that, probable cause to show that, we're not going to defend him. I don't think that's going to happen, because I can tell you, I don't think Chris is that stupid."

There is no set timetable for the next hearing of the panel. Members are combing through documents that have been received in response to subpoenas, but more information is due and thousands of pages are expected to be received.

Carroll said,  "If the governor isn't involved in any wrongdoing, we already know what we need to know: There are problems at the Port Authority and we can fix them legislatively."

Democrats and some of Christie's fellow Republicans have been in attack mode for weeks, after emails surfaced showing members of the governor's inner circle appear to have orchestrated the Port Authority's Fort Lee lane closures in September. Those were apparently ordered in retaliation against Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, who refused to endorse Christie's re-election bid.

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