Christie Aide Denies Role in Bridgegate Closure

[Update 1:30 pm] The Inquirer reports:

Gov. Christie’s chief of staff testified today before the legislative panel probing the George Washington Bridge lane closures that he had nothing to do with the controversy.

Kevin O’Dowd said he wanted to start the hearing “by making very clear to the committee that I had no prior knowledge of, or played no role in, the decision to close the lanes at the bridge last September.”

[Original] The Wall Street Journal reports that today could be a make-or-break day for the investigations into the Bridgegate scandal in New Jersey. Kevin O’Dowd, chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie, has been subpoenaed to testify. His words may well decide where or how the investigations proceed from here.

If Mr. O’Dowd doesn’t perform well while taking questions under oath, he could breathe new life into a legislative probe that is slowly losing support after hearings that turned up little new insight into why George Washington Bridge lanes were closed last year, causing crippling traffic in Fort Lee, N.J.

If Mr. O’Dowd does well, it would give Mr. Christie’s legislative allies more ammunition in their push to force the committee to wrap up its investigation quickly.

Also at stake: O’Dowd is Christie’s favored nominee to be state attorney general. Today’s testomony may influence whether that’s politically possible or not.