. >>> where in the world is chris christie? well, he is somewhere in texas tonight, avoiding cameras. and texas republican politicians are avoiding him. >> embattled governor chris christie heads to texas. chris christie is in texas today on a fundraising trip. >> on an rga fundraising tour. >> he is in texas. >> texas is one of the big atm's for politics. >> if we're taking a close look at what chris christie's brand of good governance is. a governor who has his extra duties -- >> that isn't very pretty. >> -- and scandal is following him. >> if you, a republican candidate. >>> governor rick perry and attorney general greg abbott -- >> are standing next to chris christie. >> will not appear with him today in texas. >> his troubles will become your troubles. >> republican candidates, republican elected officials. >> a lot of these christie allegations look really bad. >> won't touch him with a 250 mile pole. >> smart move right now, because so much is in flux. >> at the same time. >> john boehner's comments today on immigration

but chris christie is no mark samford. five years ago, mark sanford was found traveling secretly to r rendezvous with a woman that is not his wife. and the chairman of the republican governor's association is traveling secretly to republican governor association. he traveled to texas where he was shunned by the republican political establishment. rick perry left it to his spokesperson to deal with the christie invasion, saying simply governors come to our state regularly for a variety of reasons and we're pleased to have them here. greg abbott and the all but certain republican nominee to succeed governor perry stayed 200 miles away from christie, who was in dallas while abbott was in houston. normally republican gubernatorial candidates rush to the side of the chairman of the republican governor's association when the chairman comes to their state. if greg abbott becomes the republican nominee for governor, consider this -- he will be asking the republican governor's association for money. he will be asking chris christie

chris christie -- before the assembly. >> chris christie denied knowing anything about it david wildstein's lawyer says he had proof to the contrary. erica ferrari is live in fort lee. what is happening out there? >> well, it's the eve of the super bowl, the first ever for the state of new jersey. the timing couldn't be worse for new jersey governor chris christie, the state's leading newspaper saying if the allegations are true, they want him to resign. >> new jersey governor chris christie ignored reporters' questions as he left a birthday party for howard stern. a lawyer behind the george washington bridge traffic scandal released a letter claiming the governor knew about the access lane closures creating a commuter nightmare. in the letter david wildstein's lawyer says evidence exists, tying chris christie to having knowledge of the lane clornalers during the period, contrary to what the governor stated publicly. it was described as the chris christie administration's order. it was hatched by staffers, as payback. a democrat who refused to endorse cyst , on january the 9th, in a two-hou

he's chris christie's campaign manager. he was the new hampshire political director for the bush/cheney re-election campaign in 2004. in 2008, mr. stepien worked for the disastrous rudy giuliani presidential campaign. before leaving that failed effort to become national field director for the mccain/palin campaign. after that ended in 2008, well, that ended up being a convenient ending time because there was a republican candidate for governor who had to run in an off year election immediately after '08. he was running in 2009. and bill stepien was available and chris christie hired bill stepien to be his campaign manager when he first ran for governor in 2009. when he won the governorship, he brought bill stepien into the governor's office with him. he made him his deputy chief of staff. mr. stepien is reported to have been very closely involved in almost every aspect of the day-to-day running of the office and the christie administration as a whole. he was one of christie's closest confidants for years. mr. stepien was mo

so chris christie and phil kwon had a relationship that started back in 2002 when chris christie came on as the u.s. attorney for the state of new jersey. their relationship spanned all seven years of chris christie's time as u.s. attorney. and then when he became governor, brought all the people over from the prosecutor's office into his new administration, phil kwon was one of them. he hired phil kwon right away into his administration when he started in 2010. so by 2012, when then-governor christie nominated phil kwon to a seat on the new jersey supreme court, by that time, the governor and phil kwon had worked together for a decade. and then chris christie was more than just disappointed when phil kwon's nomination to the supreme court was rejected by democrats in the new jersey state senate. >> good evening. first of all, phil kwon, first and foremost, is a man of integrity. had the utmost privilege to witness that integrity firsthand. where in his role as an assistant united states attorney, the first assistant attorney general of new jersey, as a husband, a father, and a son. t

but not chris christie. here's chris christie discussing what has always been one of his favorite subjects -- how heroic he was in the aftermath of hurricane sandy. >> so when i was yelling and screaming about sandy aid in january of 2013, both at the other party and at my own, it wasn't because, you know, i needed a few extra bucks to balance the budget. it's because every dollar that we've been shorted will have an impact on the lives of the people of my state. and as governor, your job is to fight for those people as hard as you can. >> now, of course, christie knows that he's talking to an audience that knows nothing about what he's talking about. that's his specialty as a public speaker. that's how he became known as a good public speaker because he works best to audiences who do not know what he's talking about. he was talking to an audience that did not know that he helped funnel $6 million in federal hurricane sandy money to a senior center in bellville, new jersey, a police that suffered no damage.

the christie wing and then the not chris christie wing. what will be interesting to see is if people start to crowd the field that are in the establishment wing like chris christie is. >> we're obviously seeing a christie effect in that poll. >> look, no doubt. he was the punitive front-runner. the instability now that the situation has caused in the race is now people are sfek lating about a lot of different candidates. mike huckabee now top of the polls. the problem lawrence is for republicans, if you look at just the states democrats have won six out of the last six elections, there are 242 electoral votes. and that's a tough wall to overcome with 270 needed to bin. and the question, when you give consideration to a mike huk kcke candidate see, what state when you look at the country does mike huckabee pick up that we haven't already won. there's just not a good answer for that. there's no a candidate you can win in a general election with if you're a republican and you care about winning. >> nia, i want to put the poll back on the scre

they decided they were not going to fight chris christie. aw lot of them had deals with chris christie. a lot of them thought he was inevitable. and they basically said at the start of that year, barbara bono, state senator barbara bono, you want the nomination, you want to go out there, fine. she's even saying now, we're not going to help you, you can have the nomination week, not going to k there for you. that was the story in 2013. everybody who needed to roll over for chris christie did roll over for him. >> my next guest, the poor guy who had to write the retraction of the editorial. steve kornacki, your show is off for the olympics? because i looked for it this weekend. i was going to learn all the latest. what's going on? >> we were off last saturday and sunday for women's hockey. we're off this coming saturday for women's hockey, but we're on sunday. sunday morning 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. we'll be on sunday 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. >> 8:00 a.m. sunday. i will be there. steve kornacki, thank you very much for joining us. coming up, a republican

the christie wing and then the not chris christie wing. what will be interesting to see is if people start to crowd the field that are in the establishment wing like chris christie is. >> we're obviously seeing a christie effect in that poll. >> look, no doubt. he was the punitive front-runner. the instability now that the situation has caused in the race is now people are sfek lating about a lot of different candidates. mike huckabee now top of the polls. the problem lawrence is for republicans, if you look at just the states democrats have won six out of the last six elections, there are 242 electoral votes. and that's a tough wall to overcome with 270 needed to bin. and the question, when you give consideration to a mike huckabee candidate see, what state when you look at the country does mike huckabee pick up that we haven't already won. there's just not a good answer for that. there's no a candidate you can win in a general election with if you're a republican and you care about winning. >> nia, i want to put the poll back on the scre

he's chris christie's campaign manager. he was the new hampshire political director for the bush/cheney re-election campaign in 2004. in 2008, mr. stepien worked for the disastrous rudy giuliani presidential campaign. before leaving that failed effort to become national field director for the mccain/palin campaign. after that ended in 2008, well, that ended up being a convenient ending time because there was a republican candidate for governor who had to run in an off year election immediately after '08. he was running in 2009. and bill stepien was available and chris christie hired bill stepien to be his campaign manager when he first ran for governor in 2009. when he won the governorship, he brought bill stepien into the governor's office with him. he made him his deputy chief of staff. mr. stepien is reported to have been very closely involved in almost every aspe specspect of day-to-day orunning of the offie and administration. he was one of christie's closest con confidants for years. mr. stepien was moved out of the g

he represented chris christie's neighborhood when chris christie was a kid and the "new republic" reported when chris christie was 14 years old he walked up to his assemblyman's front door, tom kean's doorbell, asked him for advice, how he, chris christie, could some day get elected to public office. he was 14. tom kean was his first mentor in politics. chris christie's first involvement in grown-up electoral politics was working on the tom kean for governor program and tom kean went on from the assembly to become a popular two-term governor of new jersey. when he left office, he was one of the most popular political figures in new jersey ever. tom kean was respected enough he was asked to co-chair the 9/11 commission after september 11th. tom kean and chris christie were long seen as inextricable in new jersey politics. that's why it was so notable and unexpected when chris christie moved against tom kean. as soon as chris christie was reelected to start his own second term as governor, one of the first moves he made after his re-election was to try to force the republicans in the legisla

sincerely, chris christie. well, the spirit in which that apology was made is that it was legally required of chris christie after he was sued over those ads and he had to settle the lawsuit. mr. christie ran those, the ads with a false claim about his opponents being under investigation by the county prosecutor. he ran those ads when he was making his first run for public office. you can see how young he is there. in 1994. in morris county, new jersey. that claim that he made in those ads was totally false. the people he was running against were not under criminal investigation. but the ads worked anyway and chris christie won that race. he won that seat on the county mission. the freeholder seat. when he got sued over those false ads, though, he ended up settling the lawsuit. he had to pay money to the people who he'd made the false ads about, and he had to run that humiliating quarter-page ad in the sunday "star-ledger." and ultimately none of it sat very well with the people of morris county, new jersey. he

first, let's talk about chris christie's response there. very similar to the original response from the christie folks. in which the christie people said this confirms what we've always said, that the governor had no prior knowledge. again, when he's asked during the q&a on the radio, his response is, look, this is what i've been saying, i had to prior knowledge. it is not his prior knowledge subject to disfoot by david wildstein. >> what david wildstein said, evidence that the governor knew about the lane closings while they were going on and evidence exists to prove that. he said governor christie lied during the two-hour press conference. he said he made the truth and the evidence contradicts what christie said in the marathon two-hour press conference and he said things about me and i can prove what he said about me is wrong. you're right, christie is in some ways moving the goal post here, saying i never knew anything about this prior and what's the people of new jersey care about. he's leaving room for wildstein's accusation to be tru

this is a guy who taught chris christie's hockey team. his brother is a big christie donor. >> i don't disagree with you, alex. when you sit in traffic, the cops don't come up and say is there anything we can do for you? >> yes. i am. >> look, simply because that certainly does look like a coordinated effort to get people angry at the mayor of ft. lee, that still does not mean chris christie knew about it and checked off on it. >> yes. >> i don't find it implausible that bridget kelly, bill baroni, somebody in that orbit certainly knew and possibly set that in motion, but that's not the same thing as governor christie. i think we need to be careful. people close to him quite clearly, and most have been fired, did wrong things here. no one is debating that. the question i'm debating as we look to his political future is did chris christie -- can you draw a connect the dots line that makes direct sense to chris christie? >> we are not there yet. hunter, as governor ted strickland -- he raised the point that chris christie did not ask bridge

first, let's talk about chris christie's response there. very similar to the original response from the christie folks. in which the christie people said this confirms what we've always said, that the governor had no prior knowledge. again, when he's asked during the q&a on the radio, his response is, look, this is what i've been saying, i had no prior knowledge. it is not his prior knowledge subject to dispute by david wildstein. >> what david wildstein said, evidence that the governor knew about the lane closings while they were going on and evidence exists to prove that. he said governor christie lied during the two-hour press conference. he said he made the truth and the evidence contradicts what christie said in the marathon two-hour press conference and he said things about me and i can prove what he said about me is wrong. you're right, christie is in some ways moving the goal post here, saying i never knew anything about this prior and what's the people of new jersey care about. he's leaving room for wildstein's accusation to be tru

first, let's talk about chris christie's response there. very similar to the original response from the christie folks. in which the christie people said this confirms what we've always said, that the governor had no prior knowledge. again, when he's asked during the q&a on the radio, his response is, look, this is what i've been saying, i had no prior knowledge. it is not his prior knowledge subject to dispute by david wildstein. >> what david wildstein said, he said the governor knew about these lane closings while they were going on, and evidence exists to prove that. he said governor christie lied during the two-hour press conference. he said he made the truth and the evidence contradicts what christie said in the marathon two-hour press conference and he said things about me and i can prove what he said about me is wrong. you're right, christie is in some ways moving the goal post here, saying i never knew anything about this prior and that's what the people of new jersey care about. he's leaving room for wildstein's accusation to be t

why can't you be more like star athlete and class president chris christie? >> next up, it was one of the most popular super bowl ads on sunday night, but some bob dylan purists out there aren't only objecting to the music legend's appearance in chrysler's new ad, they're taking issue with part of the message as well. here is a clip. >> is made with the one thing you can't import from anywhere else, american pride. so let germany brew your beer. let switzerland make your watch. let asia assemble your phone. we will build your car. >> if critics viewed that as a tacit endorsement of outsourcing, then conan o'brien's version might give them more cause for concern. >> here is the part they edited out for time. >> let france make your water. let denmark make your cheese. let india answer your tech support. let chile catch your sea bass. let mexico make your pinatas. let canada make your dental floss. let costa rica sew your cargo shorts. let yemen manufacture your chia pets. we will build your car. at least the parts that aren't built in canada or mexico. >> love

he represented chris christie's neighborhood when chris christie was a kid and the "new republic" report eed when chris christie s 14 years old he walked up to his assemblyman's front door, tom kean's doorbell, asked him for advice, how he, chris christie, could some day get elected to public office. he was 14. tom kean was his first mentor in politics. chris christie's first involvement in grown-up electoral politics was working on the tom kean for governor program and tom kean went on from the assembly to become a popular two-term governor of new jersey. when he left office, he was one of the most popular political figures in new jersey ever. tom kean was respected enough he was asked to co-chair the 9/11 commission after september 11th. tom kean and chris christie were long seen as inextricable in new jersey politics. that's why it was so notable and unexpected when chris christie moved against tom kean. as soon as chris christie was reelected to start his own second term as governor, one of the first moves he made after his re-election was to try to force the republicans in the legis

the republican candidate for governor of texas did not want to be seen with chris christie. even though he was in their state. it happened in florida as well. where the republican governor running for re-election in florida did no public events with chris christie and the one private event he did with the governor, governor rick scott was brought in through the back door of the event to avoid photographers and reporters who would have seen him going into the front door to meet with chris christie. today in illinois, it was democrats who tried to capitalize on chris christie's appearance in that state by trotting out the former democratic governor, ted strickland, to basically rake chris christie over the coals and to highlight the fact that the republican candidates for governor in illinois did not want to be seen with him while he was on a fund-raising trip to their state. >> we're here in yil yillinois , it seems not even the winds of chicago can blow away the storm clouds that are hanging over the head of governor chris christie. while we wait for the governor to explain

the republican candidate for governor of texas did not want to be seen with chris christie. even though he was in their state. it happened in florida as well. where the republican governor running for re-election in florida did no public events with chris christie and the one private event he did with the governor, governor rick scott was brought in through the back door of the event to avoid photographers and reporters who would have seen him going into the front door to meet with chris christie. today in illinois, it was democrats who tried to capitalize on chris christie's appearance in that state by trotting out the former democratic governor, ted strickland, to basically rake chris christie over the coals and to highlight the fact that the republican candidates for governor in illinois did not want to be seen with him while he was on a fund-raising trip to their state. >> we're here in illinois today, it seems not even the winds of chicago can blow away the storm clouds that are hanging over the head of governor chris christie. while we wait for the governor to explain

chris christie sees a problem with david wildstein. on saturday, in the midst of super bowl appearances, a 700 word memo was sent to strat gifts and media to discredit david wildstein: >> donors told al jazeera chris christie assist memo was embarrassing and lame. the governor did not address that criticism, chris christie tried to underscore that david wildstein's allegations did not undermine a central point. >> the most important issue is did i know anything about the plan to close these lanes, did i authorise it, did i know about it, did i approve it or have knowledge of it beforehand. the answer is still the same - unequivocally - no. >> in addition to the federal and state investigations the governor is looking forward to an internal investigation he has authorised. chris christie made no mention of presidential politics or campaign aspirations which are hanging in the balance as the controversy plays out. >> the scandal began when lanes connecting new jersey and new york were closed last september, causing a gridlock for days. >

this was not an angry chris christie tonight. he was still somewhat on the defensive which i thought was interesting. so you're seeing him present a somewhat contrite, a little bit on the defensive where his people more subtly and behind the scenes are going on the offense. and i wonder if that's a tone we're going to continue to see for a while, or if that's going to shift a bit at some point. >> matt, i want to ask you about part of that other tone we're seeing, part of that aggression. i have to say, i'm not saying it for a fact, i found it to be really, really strange reading that e-mail from the governor's office reportedly sent to friends and allies about david wildstein attacking david wildstein's credibility in ways that are really embarrassing when you put them up next to the publicly glowing things governor christie has said about david wildstein in the past and the way they're palpably close. things his social studies teacher and as a teenager to try to cast out, it's not like i don't expect them to two after somebody

todd christie was spared and the man who spared todd christie, chris christie as the u.s. attorney, was able to give him a contract. another interesting part of alex's piece. the largess that christie was able to spread around, sort of like a politician would as u.s. attorney when he had these deferred prosecution agreement where is he was able to spread money around and use it like a politician would, like he's done as governor. i just quickly add one thing on norcross. the amazing thing about not prosecuting george norcross in 2006, you can see the roots of everything planted right then. in 2009 always rumors in new jersey that norcross' machine kind of went to sleep on jon corzine, the democrat, the northward democratic machine went to sleep, union city went to sleep, these democratic machines went to sleep oncor sine. at the height of that 2009 campaign, there was basically a coup in the state senate when they took out this sort of anti-christie democrat and replaced him with a george norcross guy. when chris christie came to power he was aided by this alliance with no

my name is chris christie. i got into this race for the promise of a better future for my family and yours. but "the daily record" has called the current incumbents fumbling, bumbling amateurs. and now they're being investigated by the mars county prosecutor. >> great ad, huh? but it wasn't true. his opponents were not under investigation. but in the final days before the primary, there was no time to respond and so chris christie came in first in that primary, pushing out the republican incumbent. later, they successfully sued chris christie for defamation, which is so rare in a political campaign you can't believe it. sued for defamation successfully. christie was forced to issue a formal public apology that said in part, the ads, quote, were not accurate. neither of you were under investigation by the morris county prosecutor at anytime. i fully intend in any future campaigns in which i am involved to be much more sensitive to the impact of such tactics. three years later, christie lost his re-election bid.

christie, his troubles become your troubles. >> putting this distance between themselves and chris christie, smart move. >> republican candidates and elected officials won't taouch him with a 250-mile pole. >> everybody in texas will be on my bandwagon. >> they sold a lot of tickets for the titanic too. >> chris christie has relinquished his powers at home and is testing his power nationwide. the governor is seizing the chance to put about eight state, the appalachians, and the mississippi river in between him and bridgegate, jetting off to dallas, texas, to raise money for his fellow republicans. while christie is out of state, the governor temporarily ceases to hold power in new jersey. that is the scenario democrats are quite comfortable with as evidenced by the boatload of ads released by the dnc. >> it's difficult to explain why you didn't do something when you didn't not do it on purpose. i don't feel blamed for this at all because i had nothing to do with it. >> in a strategy they say will play out as christie travels to fund raisers across the country over the next month, texas demo

and now begin with the new charges against chris christie. the democrats have an online ad this morning. with all the investigations swirling around, are you confident he can continue to run the republican governor's association and be an effective spokesman for your party? >> i'm confident. he is a friend and fantastic governor. now we have one person's word against another. you can't base a conclusion on such a thing. unless something else is known or made clear, i don't see why you would change what's going on. he shouldn't step down. nothing has been proven, and always give a person the benefit of the doubt in my judgment. >> turn to the president's state of the union this week. he called for congress to act but made it clear he would use executive orders to advance his agenda. >> wherever and whenever i can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more american families, that's what i'm going to do. >> you have a tough reaction, saying he's circumventing the constitution. do you think his proposals are unconstitutional? h

and now we have seen chris christie introduced to the country not in the way chris christie wanted to be introduced. and what you see is a guy who, as mark said, plays by his own rules, who is a bully, who has beyonce level travel needs, and who seems to either be oblivious to what is going on around him or fudging the truth on what he knew and what he knew when about the bridge. and that's the thing. and you get the feeling of a guy who is the tribal leader and does it new jersey style. >> he is the chief shirks the chief. he runs that tribe. >> let's go to how he deals when people try to get information out of him. he doesn't just try to bully politicians, he bullies the press. you're trying to get information out of this guy, he comes at your face. here he is clearly trying to intimidate reporters. let's watch. >> governor, do you think this sort of confrontation tone you have taken -- >> you know, tom, you must be the thinnest skinned guy in america. >> on monday, are you going to be addressing the legislature? >> did i say on topic? are you stupid? on topic. on topic. next questi

if chris christie wants him gone, he's gone. certainly there's been no sign from either christie or samson that they think he has to go. there is a tremendous. a pressure on the new york side. obviously pat foye's public comments are part of that. again only foye's has had anything publicly about samson being unfit to lead. >> let me ask you about another angle about you've been writing about. on the day that bill barone delivered that, he talked about feedback and he responded, p.a.d.d., said all was fine. do we know what all was fine? >> we don't know what that means there. in his testimony he made reference to paul who is the head of the police union. he said he was the first person who had ever mention ad traffic lane change to david wildstein there. this according to the union came as a surprise that he was going to be mentioned in this context. we don't know there if wildstein is telling barone the actual head of the police department approved of the testimony. we don't know why he would have been weighing in. we don't kno

christie, bobby jindal, mitt romney came in first at 25%. >> there it is. >> chris christie, maybe 16%, 17%. maybe folks, you know, are kind of pining for the days in which the problem with the candidate was they were too clean cut. >> romney surging. brian? >> it got swallowed up in the news cycle, but we learned in harrison, new jersey, there was a station built that was used with money that was redirected into jersey. the governor's brother, port authority commissioners were both sides of that were involved in profiting off it. >> that story we are talking about that story on the show tomorrow. >> and on monday we find out how they plan to spend the next $1.5 billion in sandy funds. and i learned also from you that they needed a monitor for the monitor of the funds. >> a monitor for the monitor. anyway, i want to thank all of our guests today including suzy, brian, and bob. thanks for getting up this morning. thank you for tuning in. stick around next for melissa harris-perry. she is next. [ male announcer ] we all deserve a good night's sleep. thankfully, there's zzzquil. it's not

. >> and chris christie is having real problems in iowa. today in iowa, the des moines register ran an article titled to iowa recuters sour on christie. i don't think anything that's come out of bridgegate so far has changed my opinion of him one iota said cam sutton, a retired insurance executive who was one of a handful of rich iowans who flew to new jersey on a private jet in june 2011 to recruit christie to run for president then. their trip was widely interpreted by national political watchers as gop discontent in the first in the nation voting state with mitt romney and, of course, the rest of the presidential contenders at that time. but knowing now what has transpired? i probably wouldn't make the trip today. i think i'm disappointed in some of the things he's come out as. he's not really a conservative. just last night, governor chris christie was still trying to sell the idea that he is the republican who can pass his agenda in a democratic state, even while democrats are investigating his administration over the george washington

. >> chris christie unscripted. >> all of us from new jersey. if you get it, you are getting it right back. >> document dump that could cause problems for another republican governor. >> did wisconsin governor scott walker's office mix politics with official business? >> there's no good that comes of 27,000 pages coming out if you are someone who wants to run for president of the united states. >> the substance of what each governor is facing is identical. >> like bridgegate. >> very close advisers did something unseemly, potentially criminally wrong. >> there's more down the road and we had that many e-mails. always problematic. >> christie aides refusing to turn over materials to the investigative panel. >> drip, drip, drip. >> -- suggests he's lost a lot of public trust even among republicans. >> 13, how many percentage points hillary clinton is leading chris christie in ohio. >> look at now dynamic and unsettled this 2016 gop field is. >> my job here is to tell the truth whether the truth is happy or unhappy. >> can't stop, won't stop. that

chris christie's national favorability rating dropping, with 46% now viewing chris christie unfavorably. the marist mcclatchy poll shows running against hillary clinton, he runs behind hillary clinton by 21 points. the only one to poll worse is sar hah palin who said this about chris christie yesterday. >> you know, i just don't know all the information out there. but it's hard to be the ceo of an organization and not know what the closest people to you are up to. it's tough not to know. i know when i was mayor and manager of this city and governor of the state, certainly you know what your top aides are up to. you blow it if you ever try to hide anything. you know? whatever is hidden eventually light shines upon it. so oh man, you know, i just hope that the truth is being told. >> joining me now is sam stein and msnbc political analyst and reporter with the huffington post and brian murphy, professor and former political reporter in new jersey. brian worked for david wildstein in 2002 in new jersey at politic politicsnj.com. with friends like sarah palin, there is a hardy defense, huh?

plus, more problems for new jersey governor chris christie. you know, we've heard about bridgegate, but there is a new cover story today getting a lot of attention, suggesting his entire career reeks. major, major analysis and an accusation. that is "outfront" tonight. and a major update on a search for a woman that spent nearly two years traveling around the world, only to return to texas and vanish. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. it'♪ ♪st common sense. so you can get out of your element. so you can explore a new frontier and a different discipline. get two time

we've seen chris christie court them. all of this is interesting, we're going to be watching the walker situation thank you. >>> the fight over raising the minimum wage intensifies. >> we know from increases in minimum wage in the past that hundreds of thousands of low income americans have lost their jobs. and so the very people the president purports to help are the ones that are going to get hurt by this. >> we know says john boehner, not so fast. the full truth of minimum wage is next. and later, the right's new favorite progressive villain. my interview ahead. thunder crashes ] [ female announcer ] some people like to pretend a flood could never happen to them. and that their homeowners insurance protects them. [ thunder crashes ] it doesn't. stop pretending. only flood insurance covers floods. ♪ visit floodsmart.gov/pretend to learn your risk. crest 3d white whitestrips vs. a whitening pen. i feel like my lips are going to, like, wash it off. these fit nicely. [ female announcer ] crest 3d white whitestrips keep t

plus, more problems for new jersey governor chris christie. you know, we've heard about bridgegate, but there is a new cover story today getting a lot of attention, suggesting his entire career reeks. major, major analysis and an accusation. that is "outfront" tonight. and a major update on a search for a woman that spent nearly two years traveling around the world, only to return to texas and vanish. vo: once upon a time there was a boy who traveled to a faraway place where villages floated on water and castles were houses dragons lurked, giants stood tall, and the good queen showed the boy it could all be real. avo: whatever you can imagine, all in one place. expedia, find yours. so ally bank really has no hthat's right, no hidden fees.s? it's just that i'm worried about, you know, "hidden things." ok, why's that? well uhhh... surprise!!! um... well, it's true. at ally there are no hidden fees. not one. that's nice. no hidden fees, no worries. ally bank. your money needs an ally. did you run into traffic? no, just had to stop by the house to

this was not an angry chris christie tonight. he was still somewhat on the defensive which i thought was interesting. so you're seeing him present a somewhat contrite, a little bit on the defensive where his people more subtly and behind the scenes are going on the offense. and i wonder if that's a tone we're going to continue to see for a while, or if that's going to shift a bit at some point. >> matt, i want to ask you about part of that other tone we're seeing, part of that aggression. i have to say, i'm not saying it for a fact, i found it to be really, really strange reading that e-mail from the governor's office reportedly sent to friends and allies about david wildstein, attacking david wildstein's credibility in ways that are really embarrassing when you put them up next to the publicly glowing things governor christie has said about david wildstein in the past and the way they're palpably evidently close. and things his social studies teacher and as a teenager to try to cast out, it's not like i don't expect them to two

that was chris christie was number one. 24% of republicans were going to vote. now you can see mike huckabee is number one. he got trounced when he tried to run for president. >> mike huckabee did very well last time. he was a huge figure in the party. additionally that is a little unfair. anybody would take a hit in the polls if you had the media pile on that we have seen over this event. i think the "new york times" what they did last weekend was just unbelievably reprehensible up there with tabloid media. the notion that this scandal that he admits there is no evidence beyond the action of the governor and yet you see the throngs of media out there outside of a radio station is unreal. i cannot believe that there has been zero attention paid to any of the scandals in d.c. that democrats are involved in to a fraction of what has happened here. and as a guy who spent all of his time attacking republicans and can't find a motive and this is the media. >> it is live what you are seeing on the screen. the governor of new jersey taking questions talking about the s

and they see chris christie being attacked by the left. they also perceive a real liberal media bias here against chris christie. they believe that he's fought back, and so conservatives are sort of saying, okay, we're now welcoming you to our conference, because you're fighting for your life here, and you're fighting against liberals, and we like that. >> yep. and that all of a sudden, has become more popular on the conservative wing of the republican party, and that's demonstrated. >> this has driven chris christie into the arms of conservatives. i'm not so sure how long it's going to last, wolf. because as you know, chris christie is not perceived as a conservative in the republican party. >> much more moderate new jersey type republican. let's talk about david wildstein. his lawyer sent that letter on friday, saying evidence exists. he didn't say he had the evidence. he didn't say what the evidence was. evidence exists that christie may be lying about all of this. initially, christie's office put out a sort of legal statement denying t

to succeed him stayed away from christie. >> chris christie in town. republican governors association. rick perry, greg abbott, nowhere to be found. >> and tomorrow, christie heads to chicago, illinois, where all four republican candidates running for governor in the state are taking a pass on seeing him. after winning a second term in a blue state, chris christie was supposed to be the face of a resurgent gop across the country. instead, he has turned into the poster boy for buyer beware. >>> joining me now, former governor of ohio, ted strickland. he's a democrat. governor, how important are these two bodies? the rga and the dga? the democratic counterpart. how important are they particularly in midterm years for raising money, raising visibility and getting folks elected at the state level? >> very important. i mean, both the rga and the dga put considerable money into these campaigns. and to have christie now traveling around the country in his wounded condition, trying to raise money, i think is the spectacle. republican candidates are avoiding ch