In an effort to build on his budget address earlier this week, Governor Christie pushed for pension reform he says has an outsized impact on the state's budget during his monthly appearance on a radio call-in show Wednesday.

Christie was pushed on the bridge scandal where he said he supported the embattled chairman of the Port Authority, David Samson, and promised that his administration was continuing to review the matter.

When asked why he didn't push harder to question his staff and appointees, like former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, about the closings, Christie said, "My staff had already spoken to him about this and he said it was a traffic study." At the time, Christie said he had no reason not to believe Baroni.

At one point, when asked about a winter salt shortage, he shot back at host Eric Scott, "You are on a hysterical binge tonight." Many of the questions on the show were friendly but on Wednesday a fair number were also targeted at frustrations with not only the bridge scandal but Superstorm Sandy relief and the budget.

Eric Scott: “Do you still stand by Samson as your appointee?”

Christie: “Strongly, firmly. And I disagree with Pat Foye.”

Scott: “Not the first time.”

Christie: “No, and I suspect not the last.”

Christie indicated the bad blood between Foye and Samson isn't new but is only recently becoming publicly known. He said has spoken with Samson about it “many times.”

“I had nothing to do with this,” Christie said, repeating earlier assertions about the lane closings several times Monday night. “No knowledge, no authority, no planning– nothing to do with this before this decision was made to close these lanes by the Port Authority.”

He added, “While I’m disappointed in what happened here, I’m going to fix it.” He said his office has begun providing documents subpoenaed by the joint state legislative committee investigating the scandal and will do the same in compliance with the subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney. He also referred to the independent law firm he has brought in to conduct an internal investigation, saying: “I can’t wait for them to be finished so I can get the full story here.”

Asked to be specific about when he first became aware of the lane closings and the massive traffic disruptions they caused in the Fort Lee area last September, Christie referred to reports in the Wall Street Journal about the surprise and outrage expressed by Patrick Foye, the New York-appointed executive director of the Port Authority.

During the Feb. 26 edition of Ask The Governor Wednesday night, Gov. Chris Christie once again addressed the ongoing Bridgegate scandal, this time saying he’s too busy running the state to “give in to the hysteria of questions that are given from folks that have information today that I didn’t have earlier.”

During the live broadcast, the governor also discussed the state budget, which is the largest in NJ history. He also answered questions about the need to borrow money to fund the Transportation Trust Fund, the pot of money the state uses for road, bridge, and tunnel projects.

Beginning Jan. 1, he and hundreds of thousands of other Jerseyans have another major obstacle to contend with: a 53 percent toll hike on the Turnpike and 50 percent increase on the Parkway. (snip)

Cathleen Lewis, director of public affairs for AAA New Jersey Automobile Club, said the money from the toll hikes is necessary for road and bridge repairs, but New Jersey needs to create a sustainable solution for its perennially cash-strapped Transportation Trust Fund. The fund, which pays for road and bridge repairs and transit projects, had been raided over the years to help balance the state budget.

Chapters of AAA have joined in a federal lawsuit to block a toll increase at the six bi-state bridges and tunnels run by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The Port Authority has violated federal law by imposing the toll hike as part of a plan to finance a group of capital projects including some that are not related to transportation, AAA claims in a the suit filed today in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Gov. Christie On Planned Port Authority Toll Hike: ‘You’re Kidding, Right?’ Says He Plans To Meet With N.Y. Gov. Cuomo To See What Can Be Done
“I said, ‘You’re kidding, right?’ and they said ‘no,’” Christie said when asked for his reaction when he got the call from the Port Authority. “This is, unfortunately, a testimony to the mismanagement of the Port [Authority] for years. We shouldn't have to be in this kind of situation.”

Earlier this month, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer publicly accused the Christie administration of threatening to withhold Hurricane Sandy aid if she did not approve a development deal on land owned by The Rockefeller Group. Zimmer later met with federal prosecutors, and provided them with documents.

"Given the investigation, we've decided to shift our work on the project to another firm,” Dwayne Doherty, a spokesperson for The Rockefeller Group, told the Times, adding that Zimmer's allegations were "deplorable" if true.