New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had nothing to do with the George Washington Bridge scandal that has plagued his administration for months, his lawyer said on Thursday.

The lawyer, Randy Mastro, then released his team's 345-page report that concludes Christie had no advanced knowledge of the plot to close four bridge lanes and create a massive traffic jam in Fort Lee, N.J., as an alleged act of political retribution against the borough's mayor.

The report squarely places the blame for the incident on one of the governor's aides and a former high school classmate at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: Bridget Kelly, the aide, and David Wildstein, the Port Authority official.

The report, which was funded by taxpayer money at Mastro's rate of $650 per hour, also concluded that the governor's office did not suggest that the mayor of Hoboken should approve a redevelopment plan in her city if she wanted to receive aide for damage done during Hurricane Sandy.

“We found that Governor Christie had no knowledge beforehand of this George Washington Bridge realignment idea and he played no role whatsoever in that decision or the implementation of it," Mastro said.

But reporters immediately questioned the validity of the report, given that Mastro is Christie's lawyer. He responded by saying other investigations will follow this one and his team will be judged on whether they got this case right.

"It serves no one’s interest, not ours, not the gov’s office and not the .. the ppl of NJ for us to do anything other than uncover the truth

— Melissa Hayes (@Record_Melissa) March 27, 2014

The documents also say Wildstein informed Christie of the lane closures during a Sept. 11 memorial, while the traffic jam was ongoing. Christie reportedly remembers meeting Wildstein there, but didn't recall what they discussed and said a mention of traffic in Fort Lee would not have meant much to him at the time.

Despite the findings, reporters remain skeptical.

Fact: When someone says "I'm glad you asked that question," there's a 90% chance they're lying.

— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlakeWP) March 27, 2014

Two other investigations, one conducted by the New Jersey state legislature and the other by federal prosecutors, are ongoing.

2014.03.27 Report Copy for Press

See the full report:

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