The names of those allegedly involved in the George Washington Bridge scandal won’t be released until one person on the list – known only as “John Doe” – is tried in court, an appeals judge ruled Tuesday.
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The ruling from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia called for a June 6 hearing for attorneys to present their arguments.
Sen. Loretta Weinberg, who headed the committee that investigated the scandal, says that it is in the public’s best interest to release the names.
The names were scheduled to be revealed last Friday, but were delayed on a motion by Doe.
U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton ruled last week in the media’s favor.
Without comment, Judge Thomas Ambro, deciding for the Third Circuit, said Doe’s effort to prevent the names being released “is granted temporarily to allow a full panel” to consider the case. William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, and Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, are facing trial on charges of wire fraud and civil rights deprivation in September.
A judge has asked media companies seeking a list of unindicted co-conspirators in the 2013 lane closures of the George Washington Bridge to respond to a motion by someone who wants to block its release.
One of the people on the list has challenged its release, arguing that his due process rights will be violated if the list is published and he would be branded a criminal.
Donald Trump’s sister could help determine the fate of the Christie administration’s role in Bridgegate – and perhaps the governor himself.
They were charged with conspiring to create traffic jams near the bridge in Fort Lee to punish the town’s Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie’s re-election. The court is also considering whether that hearing should be closed to the public, presumably to preserve the individual’s anonymity.
The media’s attorney, Bruce Rosen, of the firm McCusker, Anselmi, Rosen & Carvelli, said he remained optimistic the list would be released.
The unindicted co-conspirators are those who prosecutors believe joined in the plot but have not been criminally charged.
The US attorney’s office has opposed releasing the list citing individual privacy concerns.
He did not name the co-conspirators or elaborate on why they were not charged but said that they could be identified at a later date.
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It also could contradict the findings of a taxpayer-funded report by a Christie-hired law firm that placed most of the blame on former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly, one of those indicted, and former Port Authority of NY and New Jersey official David Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty.
