DNC releases football-themed attack ad on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

The Democratic National Committee is using the Super Bowl as an opportunity to release a football-themed attack ad on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and the George Washington Bridge lane-closure fiasco -- its latest in a spate of online spots based on the scandal.

The online ad, already posted to YouTube, begins with the statement, “THE BIG GAME IS ABOUT TO BEGIN. A RISING STAR SHOWS PROMISE,” overlaid on images of a white-uniformed quarterback approaching an offensive line, already poised at the line of scrimmage.

The ad quickly pivots to a shot of Christie triumphantly telling supporters during an Election Day 2013 victory speech, "Maybe the folks in DC should tune in their T.V.s right now and see how it's done."

More football images follow -- this one of a white-clad receiver dropping a pass -- as the words, “THEY SAY HE IS UNSTOPPABLE. UNLESS HE CHOKES,” appear in succession, overlaid on the suggestive video clip.

The ad then cuts to a television news anchor reporting on a statement released last week from ousted Port Authority official David Wildstein’s attorney saying Christie knew of the closures as they were happening in real-time, and not only after they ended as the governor has previously stated.

Wildstein resigned after emails surfaced in which Christie’s then-Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly told him, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” to which he replied, “Got it.”

Christie, who has adamantly denied knowledge of the traffic-clogging closures in September, fired Kelly last month.

Democrats and other critics of Christie, considered a top 2016 GOP presidential candidate, have run an almost non-stop campaign to keep the issue in the news.

Wildstein and Kelly apparently orchestrated the unplanned closures as political retribution toward the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, who did not support Christie’s successful 2013 re-election effort.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the George Washington Bridge, has since refused to reimburse Wildstein for his mounting legal bills, money for which he has petitioned the agency.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark is investigating the lane closures. And Wildstein’s attorney, Alan Zegas, has likely already petitioned both federal and local authorities for immunity from prosecution in return for his client’s knowledge about who knew what and when concerning the scandal.
"If the attorneys general for New Jersey, New York and the United States were all to agree to clothe Mr. Wildstein with an immunity, I think you might find yourselves in a far different position with respect to information he can provide," Zegas reportedly said during a New Jersey State Assembly hearing in January.

Given that statement, The (N.J.) Star-Ledger wrote Saturday that, “There is wide speculation that Wildstein released the letter as further enticement for the U.S. attorney's office,” to provide immunity.

Meanwhile, the DNC ad then flicks to a replay of the receiver once again dropping a pass, accompanied by the words, “AND IT’S JUST THE FIRST QUARTER. IT’S GOING TO BE A LONG GAME.”