Christie: Bridge scandal hasn’t changed thinking on 2016 White House bid

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said the bridge scandal that has surrounded his administration has not changed his thinking about a presidential bid in 2016. 

On his monthly radio program Wednesday night, Christie, however, said he is a long way from making a decision. 

{mosads}”There’s certainly nothing that’s happened in the last number of months, since we talked about this the last time, that would make me think any differently about my ability to pursue that job,” he said, according to CNN. 

Christie said he is not ruling out a run for the White House but he will not make “any conclusion until I absolutely have to.”

“I’m still the same guy. I think you can see by the way I’m conducting myself publicly. I’m still the same person,” Christie said. 

An internal review of last year’s lane closures on the George Washington Bridge is expected to be released Thursday by lawyers hired by his administration. 

Emails earlier this year showed that at least one member of Christie’s administration was involved in the closure, in apparent retribution on a local mayor who did not endorse Christie for reelection. His polling numbers in the state and nationally took a hit in the wake of the revelations. 

Christie fired his deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, earlier this year after emails linked her to the scandal. And he separated himself from his former campaign manager Bill Stepien.  

According to reports, the internal review is expected to clear Christie of any wrongdoing. It will also clear other members of his staff who continue to work for him, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

The review narrows the blame to Kelly and former Port Authority official David Wildstein, according to the report. 

Democrats have already criticized the report ahead of the release, and the U.S. attorney in the state and the New Jersey legislature are conducting separate probes. 

The law firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher led the internal review, conducting interviews with more than 70 people and reviewing about 250,000 documents. But it did not interview major players, including Kelly, Stepien or Wildstein. 

“All the important questions will be answered,” Christie promised in his radio interview Wednesday.