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Democrats in New Jersey’s state assembly have formed an investigative committee to probe how high up the chain of command the decision to artificially cause a nightmare traffic jam in Fort Hill might have gone. Governor Chris Christie’s administration has come under fire for revelations that the closure of lanes on George Washington bridge was political payback for the mayor of Fort Lee’s refusal to support Christie’s reelection bid last year.

In a press conference last week Christie announced the firing of his Deputy Chief of Staff Anne Kelly over the controversy, and fielded questions from the press for nearly 2 hours.

Christie also faces a federal probe into how some Hurricane Sandy relief money last year may have been inappropriately spent on a tourism ad for New Jersey that featured the Governor and his family.

Christie, who has major presidential ambitions for 2016, will give his State of the State address today.

Veteran journalist and Truthdig columnist Chris Hedges has penned a new article where he warns that “if Christie becomes president, [we will] see the vast forces of the security state surge into overdrive to stymie and reverse reform, gut our tepid financial and environmental regulations, further enrich the corporate elite who are pillaging the country, and savagely shut down all dissent.”

GUEST: Chris Hedges, Senior Fellow at the Nation Institute and a columnist for Truthdig.com, veteran foreign correspondent, Pulitzer prize winner and author of several books, most recently, Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt with Joe Sacco.