Organizations like this that, you know, can cause such havoc in peoples day to day lives. Hes right. This is a global problem. An estimated 4. 5 Million People are victims of Sexual Exploitation worldwide. Its time to bring our girls home. All of them. Thank for watching. Im al sharpton. Hardball starts right now. Star witness in trenton. Lets play hardball. Good evening, im Chris Matthews in washington. Let me start tonight with this breakthrough in the christie case. Today, right on television, a christie aide said on the record that she had been told to destroy evidence, to cover up the efforts by trenton officials to punish mayors who didnt play ball. The person she said gave that
order was bridgel kelly. The christie aide who sent that eyepopping email, time for some traffic problems in ft. Lee. More damning than this evidence of coverup was the insiders culture of the christie operation that was exposed today, this time on the public record. The star witness who testified Christine Renna said the fact that the office might be punishing a mayor for political reasons was business as usual. Certainly nothing to blow the whistle over. With this, the new jersey investigating committee got its first on the record testimony of the inside culture of a Governors Office where punishment and reward were apparent lly meted out in the runup to his reelection. And the big question, from how high up did the orders come. Christina said she didnt think started with bridgel kelly. She described her as someone who took her guidance from above. All of this is out there for the
legislators, the media and the National Republican king makers to see. The notion that this tight skrooutny on governor christie represents a partisan attack today lost out to the fact that we are now hearing real officials talking real official business in the nvj nj Governors Office. The prospect is now the reality, people are now testifying. John wisniewski is the cochair of the Committee Investigating the bridge scandal. And brian murphy is a political analyst and former managing editor of politicsnj. Com. As i mentioned for the first time on television, we saw a christie employee under oath today describing how her boss told her to destroy evidence. This is Christina Renna recounting a dramatic conversation back in december when reporters were getting the first real indications that something had gone terribly wrong with those lane closures. Heres renna. She led by saying i didnt know anything about this. The lane closures. I countered with, well, yes, you did because mayor sokolich called evan and i emailed you about it. And thats when the tune started to change. Thats when her demeanor changed and she knew exactly what email was talking about. And she sounded very nervous and then she said, you know, just do me a favor and get rid of it. I said you want me to delete the email . I said that to her. And she said yes, listen, im getting a lot of questions and im just really nervous. And, you know, i cant take getting grilled about this over and over again. Assemblyman, what does this mean . Well, what this means is that the investigation that weve led so far by getting documents has taken a new direction with the testimony of Christine Renna. Whats troubling more, even than
the fact that Christine Renna was asked to deliver the email was she felt uncomfortableable going to anyone in the Governors Office to say hey, this sounds wrong, this seems wrong, what do i do about it. Her testimony was she was afraid that reporting the request to destroy the email would have cost her her job. Well, chris are enna also revealed this piece of dra mat eck and damning revelation, how she apparently didnt think Bridget Kelly had done anything wrong by requesting that she destroy that potential piece of evidence. Renna said she didnt tell anyone about kellys request until january 9, the day after the bergen record blew this story wide open by revealing that Bridget Kelly had been directly involved. Heres renna today. I didnt think it rose to a level of having to go to an ethics officer for it. I didnt. Not at the time. You were aware at the time there were legislative hearings on this issue. I was, yes. And knot withstanding that there were legislative hearings on this issue, Bridget Kelly asks you to delete an email from your own personal email account. You delete it, preserve it somewhere else, but you dont think it rises to the level to talk to somebody . I didnt, no. When i heard that, i hear a culture which its considered business as usual to punish a mayor and also to cover up the fact that you did it by deleting evidence. I dont know any other way to wash that but her assumption was thats the world in which she worked. Right. And in that context, it is a stunning thing. There are legislative hearings going on at the time shes asked to delete this. There are press stories that have been going on and on for weeks now. And according to christies own testimony, shes already asked people in this administration to begin digging into this. Its one thing for Bridget Kelly to ask her to do this, but the one thing that really gives us a
sense of what the culture is that Christina Renna went ahead and deleted the email. She forwarded it to her personal account, but she did, in fact, delete it from the one she had kept it in previously. So i think the idea that we had talked a lot about the culture and what the culture would permit and what kind of office this was and this would tell us what kind of administration christie has. We got a glimpse of it today. Something like this, where youre being asked to delete an email about an issue thats on the front pages of newspapers, that doesnt meet the bar of what you would go to an ethics officer for. She said Bridget Kelly wasnt the architect she thought of the lane closures. Heres her exchange with luis greenwald. Do you believe that Bridget Kelly broke from what was her
persona, her responsibility, and for whatever reason in the exchange of emails to you broke from her normal course of action and that Bridget Kelly orchestrated and was the architect of the theory around a study and to take it from three lanes to one. Do you believe that . I wouldnt say she was the architect. But she was instrumental in the process. I believe that, yes. Well, shes not the architect. Assemblyman, what does that tell you. Do you believe that Christina Renna was keeping a secret here because shes afraid to go public with it . Or is that the norm in the office . What is it . I think thats part of the troubling pattern thats emerging here. If you remember back in december, we heard testimony from employees of the port authority, and they said closing the lanes was wrong, it was unprecedented, they knew it would add badly. But they feared for their jobs. They dare not anger david wildstein. And now this woman is saying i didnt raise the awareness about this email because i feared for my job. I heard her say, the way i watched it a couple of lines, it sounds like shes saying i dont think it rose to the level to report it. Well, she said that, but under further questioning, with easked her, why wouldnt you go to the governors chief council, she said if i went there, i might get in trouble and i might lose my job essentially. Thats a troubling set of circumstances for any Governmental Administration to operate under. The people have to act under fear of their job before they could do the right thing. Lets talk about how high up this goes. What about this issue she raised saying Bridget Kelly the governor has pointed to as the
perpetrator here, the punishment of all the mayors, the governors put all the onus on the woman were looking at on the tape here. And now were looking at Christina Renna saying whoa, shes not the architect. She takes guidance from other people. How do you read that . Thats a significant development, because obviously the mastro report wants us to believe this is something bridget kielty orchestrated. The testimony today said she may have been involved, but shes not the architect. That means we have to continue to dig to find out who exactly the architect was. Was it your reading of what she said today under oath, the architect was her boss. Im sorry, the architect was above her boss. The architect the testimony leads you to the conclusion that there was somebody above Bridget Kelly that was directing her efforts. I mean, that was the clear
sentiment given by Christine Renna when she talked about how kelly would operate. She would take orders from above. A what we dont know who above is and how far above it goes. Lets go to the logical conclusion its bill stepien. But then hes now the Campaign Manager whos in charge of getting those mayors to endorse the governor. Hes the guy, hes the kingpin. He reports to the governor. What do we make of all this . I think that map is really important. In understanding how the new jersey state house functions. Its clear that they share information in that building on needtoknow basis. Bridget kelly hadnt been in that job long enough to become someone whos truly a member of that trusted inner circle in the waybill stepien was. You could tell the way Christina Renna discussed this today,
theres a sense that just on the day to day interactions people have, that people above her, too, are being told information on a need to know basis. And that comment that kelly made to her, trust no one, something out of the the x files. Dont trust anyone here. Boy does that speak ill of how that office is run. Here we have a ceremonial office, the only thing separating it. The governor is on the left side. And theres Bridget Kelly. Theyre all connected politically. Theyre working in the same place. Right. Chris, what i said all along
is you have these people communicating op a daily basis. The question that comes to mind is how is all this going on and were asked to believe theres not anybody sharing information. That everybody is operating in silos, nobody knows whats going on and that Bridget Kelly felt very comfortable in asking her assistant to delete an email. It really raises some serious credibility issues. Any one of those three people had a pizza for lunch, the other two would know. People with common sense, how was your day, whats the buzz. Ive been in political offices. Its constant chatter. Your thoughts finally here, brian. What does this add to the story . Now we have a public record, public testimony under oath from Christine Renna that she was, in fact, asked to kill evidence. You certainly have now tbeginnig of a picture. When the governor comes out for those pressers, hes coming out of his private office. The first office thats behind all the cameras there and to the right, thats where bridget kielke kel kellys office was. You cant go through that hall way without passing them. So i always thought that the idea that Bridget Kelly can run an operation out of an office like that without anyone else knowing about it is completely preposterous. Unless there was some massively effective coverup on her part. It just isnt plausible you could get away with doing Something Like that because the quarters are too tight will the argument the governor made on day one go ahead. When you have the issue of credibility, i wasnt talking about Christina Rennas
testimony today, but people on the first floor who all say they knew nothing about this, and its hard to imagine with everyone in such close proximity that there wasnt a better level of communication between people on that first floor. Thank you so much. Coming. Uh, the right strikes back as they try to take control of the u. S. Senate. If they succeed, this november could mean an historic, nasty assault on president obama and yes, of course, hillary clinton. The benghazi hearings will only b be part of it. Plus, playing the race card. A candidate for governor in pennsylvania is trying to bring down his partys frontrunner with a racially charged attack ad Top Democrats say is slanderous and below the belt. Ed rendell calls it one of the worst hes ever seen. And the Obama Administration is trying to help the Nigerian Government find hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by islamist rebels, threatening to sell them into slavery. Finally, robin wright named me her favorite washington correspondent. Thats in the side show. Are you ready grandma . Just a second, sweetie. [ female announcer ] we eased your back pain, you turned up the fun. Tylenol® provides strong pain relief while being gentle on your stomach. But for everything we do, we know you do so much more. Tylenol®. We know you do so much more. At your ford dealer think . They think about tires. And what theyve been through lately. Polar vortexes, road construction, and gaping potholes. So with all that behind you, you might want to make sure youre safe and in control. Ford technicians are ready to find the right tires for your vehicle. Get up to 120 in mailin rebates on four select tires when you use the Ford Service Credit card
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control of the senate. A series of primaries today. Heres what the republicans will do if they succeed. Theyre saying they will gang up on the president with the republican dominated house and the Senate Passing bill designed to hurt president obama and the likely democratic nominee for next time, hillary clinton. Heres some of the ways its going to happen. Theyll force obama to veto or buckle to the conservative legislation they put up. Leave obama and democrats with no chance to initiate bills of his own. Republicans can stifle any Obama Supreme Court nominees. Thats a big one. The daily beast article says it wouldnt be surprising to see the gop give a nominee a hearing but sit on the vote. Thats for the Supreme Court, leaving the Supreme Court with only eight members until they see who wins the presidency. And the big cherry on the top of this sunday, benghazi investigations hour by hour. Joining me right now, the author of that piece, msnbc political
analyst joan walsh. I want both of you to paint the picture. I admit this is a get out the vote effort by me. I think people should note. I think people should especially vote if they have something at stake. But this side, i think its the progressives who have something to worry about. These numbers are not good. So what is going to happen . Whats the bad at the end of the tunnel if they lose the senate . If the republicans control the senate as well as the house, chris, that means they control the senate calendar. Mitch mcconnell, assuming he reelections. He could lose and republicans could still get control. Republicans run the senate, they run the calendar. They say what gets to the floor, what doesnt get to the floor. They say what the committees have a hearing on, dont have hearings on. Majority control the Senate Judiciary committee. The house has passed a lot of conservative legislation that harry reid has just blocked and said were never going to bring this to the floor. Hes protected obama in that way. If the republicans have the senate, that legislation all
comes to the senate floor. Obama is going to veto presumably. Hes had two vetoes in his presidency, the least since James Garfield who was only president for six months anyway. Obama would be forced to take a lot of stand, and the republicans can pack a lot of things in Appropriations Bills that hes going to be really uncomfortable with. I think the republican goal was to make president obamas presidency himself was an asterisk. He wasnt really president. Like a guy who used drugs in baseball. Well, he doesnt really belong to be on the batting list of all time. If they can use the next two years to stifle the guy, to smother him politically, force him to spend all his time battling to just not sign thing, they win. Absolutely, chris. I think what they would try to do if they had that power would be repeal his presidency. Erase his legacy. It would be as though he didnt exist. They would do everything they could to chip away at the
affordable care act. We would lose the contraception mandate a lot of it. I