GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE: The failed presidential candidate and current surrogate for GOP nominee Donald Trump isn’t on trial and may not testify, but his name will never be far from the minds of jurors and onlookers.
Advertisement
She may have come away the pundits’ victor, but New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday, Sept. 16, 2015, Carly Fiorina talked too much last night about herself and not enough about the issues.
On Monday, prosecutors said Christie knew of the road closures while they were happening.
A jury is hearing opening statements in Newark in the trial of former deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly and Port Authority of NY and New Jersey executive director Bill Baroni.
In case you forget how Bridgegate all went down – and what’s at stake in the coming weeks – here’s an explanation of how we got to this point.
“For four straight days Fort Lee woke up to traffic gridlock, and for four straight days, Mayor Sokolich was treated with radio silence”, Khanna said. About 150,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day, making it one of the world’s busiest.
The closures were Wildstein’s idea, while Kelly “instructed him to take that action, and Baroni blessed it”, Khanna told jurors. The Port Authority oversees the bridge.
In opening statements Monday, the prosecution told jurors that former Port Authority official David Wildstein would testify that he and former bridge authority executive Bill Baroni “bragged” about the traffic problems in Fort Lee and the mayor not getting his calls returned.
Who was charged in Bridgegate?
They’re charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, deprivation of civil rights and fraudulently using an agency that receives federal funds.
In response to the charges, Kelly chalked up her correspondence with Wildstein to “sarcasm and humor”. Wildstein responded: “Got it”.
Those facing charges had clear and direct ties to Christie. This is the first time that Christie has been accused of knowing about the scandal as it unfolded over four days in Fort Lee.
As CBS2’s Christine Sloan reported, there have already been startling accusations about Christie.
“It’s a search for the truth and we believe we have gotten to the truth”, former federal prosecutor Randy Mastro, whose law firm produced the Bridgegate report, told NJ.com in 2014 upon its release. To think, a politician as blustery as Christie has become well known for an incident of political revenge that involved him allegedly shutting down access lanes to the George Washington Bridge.
It remains to be seen whether Christie will be subpoenaed.
The Republican governor has said he didn’t know about it. “But the fact is that I won’t because I really don’t have any knowledge of this incident at all”. Chris Christie responds at the CNN Republican. “I have been investigated by three different entities, two of them led by partisan Democrats, who have all found that I had no knowledge of this incident and no involvement in it”.
Even if Christie doesn’t take the witness stand, the governor will likely remain front and center in the federal trial. Court documents recently revealed that Christie’s staff was texting about their boss’ public lies, and now, matters have grown worse for Christie.
What’s at stake for the defendants?
Baroni’s defense attorney, Michael Baldassare, also claimed that Christie knew about the lane closures and argued that his client had been used as a scapegoat by Christie staffers as the fallout began, according to Bloomberg.
Advertisement
Of course, they could also leave the court as free people, should a jury clear them of all charges.
