SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Two Top Allies of Trump Surrogate Chris Christie Found Guilty for Role in Bridgegate
Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly found guilty of conspiracy and fraud
Nov 04, 2016
A federal jury on Friday found two former top aides of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie guilty on all counts for their role in the scandal known as Bridgegate.
That refers to the September 2013 closing of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., as an act of political revenge over the failure of that city's mayor to endorse Christie's candidacy for governor.
The aides--Bill Baroni, a Christie-appointed former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff--"were each charged with seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud, including misusing the resources of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge, and violating the rights of the citizens of Fort Lee, N.J., to travel without government restriction," the New York Times reports.
Over the course of the six-week trial, NJ.com reports, "the most damaging evidence might have been the now-infamous 'time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee' email sent by Kelly less than a month before several local access toll lanes at the world's busiest bridge were inexplicably closed for nearly a week in September 2013, leading to paralyzing gridlock on local streets."
Baroni and Kelly's "co-conspirator," Reuters reports,
a former Port Authority official and confessed mastermind David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and appeared as the government's star witness, detailing how the three schemed to pay back Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat.
But Wildstein also implicated Christie, saying he and Baroni discussed the lane closures with the governor while they were ongoing. Christie, Wildstein testified, laughed at the notion that Sokolich was frustrated by the traffic.
In fact, NBC News writes, throughout the trial "several witnesses said Christie was aware of the plan before, during, and after."
Christie, for his part, issued a statement following the verdict saying he is "saddened about the choices made by Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly, and David Wildstein," adding, "I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments."
Noting also the guilty plea from former chairman of the Port Authority David Samson, WNYC writes that "now the verdict 'guilty' has been rendered four times for aides Christie once named to some of the most sensitive positions in his administration."
Christie, who's suffering record-low approval ratings, is a surrogate for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and head of his White House transition team--a point noted by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow:
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A federal jury on Friday found two former top aides of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie guilty on all counts for their role in the scandal known as Bridgegate.
That refers to the September 2013 closing of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., as an act of political revenge over the failure of that city's mayor to endorse Christie's candidacy for governor.
The aides--Bill Baroni, a Christie-appointed former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff--"were each charged with seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud, including misusing the resources of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge, and violating the rights of the citizens of Fort Lee, N.J., to travel without government restriction," the New York Times reports.
Over the course of the six-week trial, NJ.com reports, "the most damaging evidence might have been the now-infamous 'time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee' email sent by Kelly less than a month before several local access toll lanes at the world's busiest bridge were inexplicably closed for nearly a week in September 2013, leading to paralyzing gridlock on local streets."
Baroni and Kelly's "co-conspirator," Reuters reports,
a former Port Authority official and confessed mastermind David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and appeared as the government's star witness, detailing how the three schemed to pay back Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat.
But Wildstein also implicated Christie, saying he and Baroni discussed the lane closures with the governor while they were ongoing. Christie, Wildstein testified, laughed at the notion that Sokolich was frustrated by the traffic.
In fact, NBC News writes, throughout the trial "several witnesses said Christie was aware of the plan before, during, and after."
Christie, for his part, issued a statement following the verdict saying he is "saddened about the choices made by Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly, and David Wildstein," adding, "I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments."
Noting also the guilty plea from former chairman of the Port Authority David Samson, WNYC writes that "now the verdict 'guilty' has been rendered four times for aides Christie once named to some of the most sensitive positions in his administration."
Christie, who's suffering record-low approval ratings, is a surrogate for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and head of his White House transition team--a point noted by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow:
A federal jury on Friday found two former top aides of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie guilty on all counts for their role in the scandal known as Bridgegate.
That refers to the September 2013 closing of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., as an act of political revenge over the failure of that city's mayor to endorse Christie's candidacy for governor.
The aides--Bill Baroni, a Christie-appointed former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff--"were each charged with seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud, including misusing the resources of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge, and violating the rights of the citizens of Fort Lee, N.J., to travel without government restriction," the New York Times reports.
Over the course of the six-week trial, NJ.com reports, "the most damaging evidence might have been the now-infamous 'time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee' email sent by Kelly less than a month before several local access toll lanes at the world's busiest bridge were inexplicably closed for nearly a week in September 2013, leading to paralyzing gridlock on local streets."
Baroni and Kelly's "co-conspirator," Reuters reports,
a former Port Authority official and confessed mastermind David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and appeared as the government's star witness, detailing how the three schemed to pay back Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat.
But Wildstein also implicated Christie, saying he and Baroni discussed the lane closures with the governor while they were ongoing. Christie, Wildstein testified, laughed at the notion that Sokolich was frustrated by the traffic.
In fact, NBC News writes, throughout the trial "several witnesses said Christie was aware of the plan before, during, and after."
Christie, for his part, issued a statement following the verdict saying he is "saddened about the choices made by Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly, and David Wildstein," adding, "I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments."
Noting also the guilty plea from former chairman of the Port Authority David Samson, WNYC writes that "now the verdict 'guilty' has been rendered four times for aides Christie once named to some of the most sensitive positions in his administration."
Christie, who's suffering record-low approval ratings, is a surrogate for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and head of his White House transition team--a point noted by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow:
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.