Judge Lambastes Gibson Dunn Over Missing Bridgegate Notes

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has been sharply criticized by a federal judge for the “unorthodox approach” it took in its investigation of the Christie administration Bridgegate lane-closing scandal. Two minor officials have been indicted in the matter, and when their lawyer requested contemporaneous notes from the investigation, the firm said they had been overridden and did not exist. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had commissioned the investigation in an attempt to apportion blame and lay the matter to rest. Judge Susan D. Wigenton of United States District Court in Newark said she took the firm at its word – that the notes were gone – but called it a “clever tactic” and accused the firm of “opacity and gamesmanship” in an investigation that cost tax payers millions of dollars. The New York Times notes that one of the lawyers involved in preparing the report recently hosted a fund raiser for Christie’s presidential campaign.