Podcast: Why the feds care about what David Samson said at a 2011 party

 Governor Chris Christie, left, and David Samson, a former Port Authority chairman, have a conversation after a press conference at the Newark Liberty International Airport.

Governor Chris Christie, left, and David Samson, a former Port Authority chairman, have a conversation after a press conference at the Newark Liberty International Airport.

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Do scandals linger longer in the public memory when they have great nicknames? If so, this one isn’t going anywhere.

20150429 chairmans flight 1200“The Chairman’s Flight” was the sparsely-traveled United Airlines flight, that ran from Newark to South Carolina – allegedly requested by former Port Authority Chairman David Samson to make it easier to fly off to his weekend retreat.

Samson was appointed chairman by Governor Christie and resigned in the wake of investigations after the Fort Lee lane closures. It was a job where he had the power to make decisions affecting the airline’s interests at Newark airport.News about a federal probe into the “Chairman’s Flight” broke back in February. But new details have emerged thanks to the reporting of David Kocieniewski and David Voreacos with Bloomberg News. Kocieniewski joins host David Furst to talk about the dinner proposal that morphed into a corruption probe.Also on the podcast this week, Star-Ledger Editorial Editor Tom Moran takes a look at the long-dead bromance between Christie and NJ Senate President Steve Sweeney.And WNYC’s Matt Katz says to understand what Christie is selling in 2015 you need to look back to a speech he made four years ago in Washington, D.C.

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