And during one coffee shop meeting with Christie’s political consultant Mike DuHaime, Wildstein said he “would not have done the traffic study without Trenton knowing about it beforehand”, the report discovered. Christie wasn’t charged in the case, although the trial may shed light on what he knew and when he knew it.
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The former deputy chief of staff to Republican Gov. Chris Christie was a “minnow” compared to others who knew about or had a hand in closing access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2013.
Kelly and Baroni’s attorneys also will present opening statements today.
Kelly and Baroni have said in court filings that the government has twisted federal law to turn their actions into crimes.
In November 2013, Christie was re-elected as governor with 60% of the vote. “He’s a bully”, Baldassare said before resorting to profanities to describe him.
Mr. Christie’s office and attorney did not immediately return requests for comment. Critchley displayed a chart in the courtroom with Christie at the center, titled “Inner Circle”.
New Jerseyans were similarly pessimistic about state’s overall future, with just a quarter of voters responding they believed New Jersey is headed in the right direction, down six points from the previous level.
The governor, at one time a leading Republican presidential hopeful, has not been charged in the scandal that nevertheless helped torpedo his hopes for nomination to the White House in 2016. “However, they’ve made it quite clear in their pretrial briefs that they intend to say ‘Look this wasn’t us, this was much higher than us, ‘ i.e., the governor or people who were right next to him”.
That official, Wildstein, pleaded guilty in 2015 and will be the government’s key witness.
Christie has said he will testify if called, but that he has not yet received a subpoena.
New Jersey Governor #Chris Christie has been ridiculed for many things, including being a “fast food fetcher” for Donald Trump. “But the fact is that I won’t because I really don’t have any knowledge of this incident at all”.
The two defendants are accused of orchestrating the closure of access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 to punish a local mayor.
The depictions of Wildstein got brutal when defense attorneys had their say.
“I have known and liked Chris for 15 years”, Trump said in a statement to The New York Times. “They chose personal and political revenge over the safety of the people of Fort Lee”. “Not only was that conduct mean-spirited, and vindictive, it was illegal”. “My God, does she wish that”.
“These lane closures harmed the economy, frustrated commuters and inconvenienced first responders”, said Brock, who founded Correct the Record and American Bridge 21st Century, a pair of super PACs backing Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee. The organization is the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, which runs area bridges, tunnels and transit hubs and is where Baroni served as deputy executive director. Baroni, then the highest-ranking official at the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, ignored Sokolich’s repeated entreaties to open the lanes. They face as long as 20 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.
Wildstein, he said, was little more than a colleague she knew via e-mail and telephone, and their communication was often banter.
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Wildstein pleaded guilty previous year. Critchley said that’s nonsense and that Wildstein pitched the traffic alternation to Kelly as a logical traffic study that would undo a political deal struck decades ago.
