NEW JERSEY–(ENEWSPF)–November 4, 2016
Governor Chris Christie (L) tours the fire area with Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Anne Kelly (R), senior staff and Office of Emergency Management personnel after a fire at the boardwalk September 12, 2013 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. In an ongoing investigation in January, 2014.
After a seven-week trial and five days of deliberations, a jury found two former members of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s administration guilty on all charges in the Bridgegate scandal, a bizarre plot to punish the mayor of Fort Lee for not supporting the governor in his 2013 re-election bid.
Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly were convicted of helping orchestrate massive traffic tie-ups at the George Washington Bridge in September 2013.
Christie, who has been a devoted surrogate for presidential candidate Donald Trump and who is the chair of Trump’s transition team, is scheduled to campaign for the GOP nominee this weekend, the last before Tuesday’s election.
Christie’s name was frequently mentioned in testimony throughout the trial, though he was not charged in connection with the case.
The criminal case, built around a rarely used provision of a fraud statute that makes it a crime to “misapply” property of federal aid recipients, charged that Baroni and Kelly intentionally misapplied the property or money of the Port Authority.
The jury of seven women and five men heard from 35 witnesses, including both defendants who took the stand on their behalf. But 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.
Source: http://dailykos.com
