Christopher Christie

Federal investigators are trying to determine whether any laws were broken during the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Port Authority Office of Inspector General has referred the matter to us, and our office is reviewing the matter to determine whether a federal law was implicated,” Rebekah Carmichael, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, said.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s close aides are accused of engineering the traffic lane by closing lanes leading to the bridge, the Journal wrote.

Whether a crime was committed is another question.

“There’s federal funds in this thing, but does that mean there’s a federal crime? It’s hard to tell right now if there’s anything like that,” Stephen Ryan, a former federal prosecutor, said. “The real risk in a thing like this is a coverup or a lie to investigators.”