Former federal prosecutor Randy Mastro defended a
probe he led that cleared Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie of wrongdoing in the Bridge-gate scandal.
Mastro said he is a registered Democrat and has represented high-profile clients from both parties.
Appearing on Fox News Channel's
"The Kelly File" on Thursday, Mastro said he first met Christie on the day the governor hired his firm to lead the probe in mid-January.
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Mastro said he did once work for former GOP New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who is friends with Christie, but said he has never had any "extended conversations" with him about the Bridge-gate affair.
"I was honored to serve in his administration," Mastro said of Giuliani. "But as Rudy knows, I'm an independent and a registered Democrat."
Mastro's report was slammed as a "whitewash" by Hoboken mayor Dawn Zimmer, who was portrayed as delusional for claiming that Christie's lieutenant governor, Kim Guadagno, had tried to strong-arm her to support a real-estate development in her city in return for state aid to help Hurricane Sandy recovery, one of several conflict-of-interest allegations that were thrown up in light of the Bridge-gate inquiry.
Mastro said his clients have included the current Democratic mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio, and Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson.
Mastro said he went into the investigation with a "completely" open mind.
"We did an exhaustive and thorough investigation," he said. "We believe we got it right."
Federal investigators and a state legislative committee also are looking into the scandal, in which Christie aides are said to have closed down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, snarling traffic in political retaliation against the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J. Mastro said he believes those investigations will show his investigation reached the right conclusion.
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