But the federal courtroom is proving to be a much different venue: Christie’s at center stage, but he’s no longer in control of what’s being said. A federal prosecutor told jurors Monday that David Wildstein, a former Port Authority official, will testify that Christie knew about the plan.
Advertisement
Now, three years after a series of epic traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge – spanning Fort Lee, New Jersey, and Manhattan – introduced “Bridgegate” into the lexicon, 12 jurors will decide whether it was a criminal conspiracy fueled by political revenge. It was more likely that Baroni and Kelly would receive up to three years behind bars if convicted, Fishman added.
Christie has insisted that he never knew about the bush-league political plot beforehand – and didn’t remember ever being told about the closures when they occurred.
Even on Sunday, Christie maintained he didn’t know anything and would be willing to testify at the trial if called to do so.
Christie, a top campaign adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has not been charged. Did I have any knowledge of it beforehand?
Kelly was Christie’s deputy chief of staff and Baroni was a top executive at the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.
“This case is about the defendants’ abuse of power and callous disregard for the people of Fort Lee”, Khanna told jurors. “Not only was that conduct vindictive and mean-spirited, it was criminal”.
“They specifically found he was motivated because what he saw in Trenton made him sick”, said Baldassare of the FBI’s assessment of Baroni’s contributions. “Events don’t happen in a vacuum”. Baroni was a top Christieappointee to Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, which operates the bridge, and Kelly was Christie’s deputy chief of staff.
Kelly’s “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” email to Wildstein was sent August 13, 2013, a day after she was notified Sokolich wouldn’t endorse Christie, Khanna said. Then, she lambasted Wildstein for lying about her involvement in order to get himself a plea deal.
Wildstein was pilloried repeatedly, as was to be expected given that the former Port Authority executive’s testimony is key to the prosecution’s case. The attorney said that her word choice of “traffic problems” derived from previous information about the traffic study that caused the snarl. “The idea that Bridget Kelly is directing the affairs of the state of New Jersey, ordering the shutdown of the George Washington Bridge.it’s nearly absurd”, Critchley said. Zegas did not return a call seeking comment.
The following September, on the first day of the school year, Port Authority officials abruptly shut down some of the traffic lanes on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge, drawing the ire of motorists.
In the grand scheme of political scandals, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s “Bridgegate” is nearly laughworthy in terms of unimpressive scope. A photo surfaced of them together at a 9/11 memorial service in NY on one of the days the bridge access lanes were closed.
In May, Wildstein pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy related to his role in incident.
With Christie’s assistance, Wildstein arranged for the Port Authority to pay $240 million to Bayonne for land it didn’t really need at the former Military Ocean Terminal, to help the city dig out from a financial hole and curry favor with a mayor Christie’s team wanted an endorsement from come 2013, said Critchley. Both say they violated no laws. “He’s a bully”, Baldassare said before resorting to profanities to describe him.
Advertisement
The governor isn’t facing charges in relation to the scandal, and prosecutors haven’t claimed he ordered the closures, only that he knew about the move.
