The state investigative committee has officially slid into irrelevance.
Quote:
Watson Coleman steps down from bridgegate investigation committee after calling for Gov. Chris Christie to resign
Democratic Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman today withdrew from the panel investigating the lane diversions at the George Washington Bridge a day after she called on the governor to resign from his office.
Her comments, made during an appearance on MSNBC Thursday, drew fire from Republicans, who called on Watson Coleman to take back the statement. Committee Chairman John Wisniewski said he understood her frustration, but said he would not echo her call for Christie's resignation.
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Coleman screwed up royally, of course -- she effectively convicted Christie while his trial was still in progress. But let's take a closer look at exactly what Wisniewski said:
Quote:
Wisniewski understands Watson Coleman's frustration but won't echo call for Christie resignation
"I think Assemblywoman Watson Coleman is correct when she talks about the tone this administration has established...The tone that this administration has set as acceptable is a tone in which it is okay to ridicule teachers call veterans idiots and demean people who disagree with you. I'm certainly not at that point (of calling for the governor's resignation.) But I understand and sympathize with her frustration."
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The
(of calling for the governor's resignation) part ISN'T a direct quote. And it strikes me as bending the rules of journalistic impartiality to even imply that Wisniewski would (or should) torpedo his own investigation.
But there is a silver lining --
Coleman went THERE:
Quote:
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...(S)he said "Questioning my standing while keeping silent on the role one committee member - Sen. O'Toole – played in this situation, as it unfolded, is both inexcusable and dishonest..."
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Though it was at the cost of her position, getting that hypocrisy back out into the open was worth the price. Avoiding even the appearance of impropriety is as vital to being ethical as avoiding impropriety itself. As long as an implicated participant of Bridge(t)-Gate is on the state committee, it isn't any more relevant or credible than Christie's "internal" investigation of himself.