David Wildstein, the former Port Authority executive who replied "Got it" when a top deputy to Governor Chris Christie told him to cause some traffic problems for Fort Lee, NJ, testified in front of a NJ Assembly committee today about his role in Bridgegate. But he wasn't very chatty.

Wildstein, who failed to quash the subpoena, said, "Under the advice of counsel, I assert my right to remain silent," and repeated that excuse throughout the session. The Star-Ledger reports:

“Did Mr. Wildstein consult directly with the governor on this traffic study?” Stender asked

Wildstein’s attorney advised him not to answer.

Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen) said Port Authority employees who testified before the committee felt that if they had not followed orders to close they lanes, they would have lost their jobs.

“Was there an actual fear? Would they have lost their jobs if they did not follow that order?” Johnson asked Wildstein.

Wildstein’s attorney advised him not to answer.

Wildstein was held in contempt; Assemblyman John Wisniewski, who was chairing the transportation hearing, said to Wildstein's lawyer, "I think answering simple questions about, 'Is this your email? Where did you work? What was your job?' really runs beyond your client’s protection from self incrimination."

Also, Christie himself wanted to talk about his relationship with Wildstein during his marathon press conference this morning. See, the governor is not thrilled about the press calling Wildstein his childhood buddy just because they knew each other back in the day!

Well, let me just clear something up, OK, about my childhood friend David Wildstein. It is true that I met David in 1977 in high school. He's a year older than me. David and I were not friends in high school. We were not even acquaintances in high school. I mean, I had a high school in Livingston, a three-year high school that 1,800 students in a three-year high school in the late '70s, early 1980.

I knew who David Wildstein was. I met David on the Tom Kean for governor campaign in 1977. He was a youth volunteer, and so was I.

Really, after that time, I completed lost touch with David. We didn't travel in the same circles in high school. You know, I was the class president and athlete. I don't know what David was doing during that period of time. And then we reacquainted years later in, I think, 2000 when he was helping Bob Franks with his Senate campaign against Jon Corzine. So we went 23 years without seeing each other, and in the years we did see each other, we passed in the hallways. So I want to clear that up. It doesn't make a difference except that I think some of the stories (that've been written imbued ?) like an emotional relationship and closeness between me and David that doesn't exist. I know David and, you know, I knew that Bill Baroni wanted to hire David to come to the Port Authority, and I gave my permission for him to do it, but that was Bill's hire. He asked for permission, I gave my permission for him to hire David. But let's be clear about the relationship, OK?

And how do I feel about David now? Listen, what I read yesterday makes me angry. That's the one bit of anger I felt. That language and that callous indifference in those emails from David yesterday, are just over the top and outrageous. It should never, ever have been written or uttered by somebody with a position of responsibility like that, and those sentiments. So that's the way I feel about it, and thanks for the opportunity to further expound on my relationship.