Chris Christie (R) knew that members of his administration were involved in a risky and vindictive plan to shut down lanes of the busy George Washington Bridge in 2013, prosecutors said Monday.
Advertisement
But Khanna told jurors that they should consider only the conduct of Baroni, a former top Christie appointee at the Port Authority, and Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff.
The report went on to say that “even if credited, any passing reference by Wildstein made in a social, public setting at the time of a public 9/11 Memorial event to traffic issue in Fort Lee would not have been meaningful or memorable to the Governor”, and that Christie “recalls no such exchange”. Two former allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are accused of intentionally causing gridlock in Fort Lee by shutting down lanes on the bridge during morning rush hour in 2013.
Assistant US Attorney Vikas Khanna told jurors on Monday that a Port Authority official, David Wildstein, will testify that he and defendant Bill Baroni made Christie aware of the plan while they were attending September 11 commemorations in Manhattan. Khanna added that it was an “abuse of power and the callous disregard for the people of Fort Lee”. He’s set to be the government’s star witness and to serve as the principal narrator in describing the plot and the cover-up to the jury, said Lee Vartan, a former federal prosecutor not involved in the case. The prosecution alleged that Baroni and co-conspirator David Wildstein bragged to Christie about the lane closures when it happened, and that the point of it was to “mess” with Sokolich.
At a December 2013 news conference, Christie asserted that no one implemented the lane closures on his behalf, and that Bill Stepien, who managed Christie’s campaign, had assured him he had no knowledged of it. They are charged with conspiracy to misuse Port Authority property, wire fraud, deprivation of civil rights and conspiracy against civil rights.
Baldassare also revealed that Baroni worked secretly as a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant from 2006 to 2010, helping the agency investigate political corruption by lawmakers and the governor’s office in Trenton. Kelly and Baroni “chose personal, political revenge over public service”.
“Wildstein had told her those lanes could be used at leverage against Mayor Sokolich”, he said.
Wildstein is well known in New Jersey politics as a hard-nosed political operator who for years acted as one of the governor’s political enforcers within the Port Authority, according to NY, and who former colleagues have said ruled through intimidation at the agency. Wildstein pleaded guilty to two conspiracy counts last year and faces as long as 15 years in prison. Prosecutors charge that Baroni and Kelly, both 44, and Wildstein concocted the phony cover story that the closures were part of an unannounced traffic study.
When asked whether Monday’s assertions mean charges could be coming for Christie, Reilly said, “We have not filed any charges and we never discuss whether we will/won’t file charges”. Then, in January 2014, with the release of Kelly’s “traffic problems” e-mail, Christie denied any knowledge of the plot and fired Kelly.
“One of her most important responsibilities was ordering food”, Critchley told jurors.
That official, Wildstein, pleaded guilty in 2015 and will be the government’s key witness.
Advertisement
Jurors will hear opening statements Monday in Newark in the case against Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly.
