Wildstein claims that he, along with Christie’s then-deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and then-Port Authority executive, Bill Baroni, schemed up a plan to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for refusing to endorse the governor in his re-election bid.
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Bill Baroni, center, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s former top appointee at the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, arrives at Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Court for a hearing, Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Newark, N.J. Three years after gridlock paralyzed a New Jersey town next to the George Washington Bridge for days, two former allies of Christie, Baroni and Bridget Kelly, are being tried.
Wildstein said he and his boss operated under the “one constituent rule”, which meant they did not serve commuters or staff – just Gov. Chris Christie.
Wildstein was expected to testify Friday.
Baroni was Wildstein’s boss at the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, the agency that operates the bridges, airports and other facilities including the World Trade Center.
Chris Christie getting impeached for his alleged role in the Bridge-gate scandal have gone up now that the trial of two players in the case has begun. Both Baroni and Kelly are now facing nine charges in connection with their involvement in the scandal.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s office turned a regional transportation agency into a “goodie bag” from which to dole out favors and funds to Democrats who might endorse the Republican during his 2013 re-election campaign, according to prosecutors’ star witness in the so-called Bridgegate trial on Friday. Christie has denied prior knowledge of it and hasn’t been charged. Kelly and Baroni claim Wildstein orchestrated the lane-closing scheme, which created traffic gridlock.
Mowers, who now works for Trump, also testified he told Kelly about Sokolich’s decision on August 12, 2013, the day before Kelly sent an email to Wildstein saying, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee”.
Traffic moves over the Hudson River and across the George Washington Bridge between New York City, and Fort Lee, New Jersey, on December 17, 2013. They claim Wildstein orchestrated the scheme.
David Wildstein took the stand Friday in the trial of two former allies of Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. When questioned about the meaning of that phrase, Wildstein said that there were a number of things the Port Authority could give to various towns and administrations.
Baroni, whom Wildstein described as “one of the closest friends I’ve ever had”, hired Wildstein to be the “bad cop” in pushing Christie’s agenda at the authority, Wildstein said. Among those emails was a chain between Kelly and Wildstein where he told her that the two should discuss the “Port Authority goody bag”.
Weinberg, who started the investigations into the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September 2013, reacted to what Wildstein said in court.
In court Thursday, the executive director of the Port Authority, Patrick Foye, called Wildstein abusive and said he was unable to fire him because he was protected by the governor, WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell reports.
Attorneys say David Wildstein is one of the next three witnesses who could testify Friday in the trial of two former allies of Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Wildstein also said that, often times, he would report requests that the Port Authority was able to facilitate to Kelly.
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Earlier Friday, jurors are expected to hear from Matt Mowers (MOW’-ers), a former campaign staffer who sought an endorsement from Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (SAHK’-oh-lich).
