Lane closure investigation in Fort Lee, New Jersey ("Bridgegate")
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Chris Christie |
George Washington Bridge lane closures
In September 2013, a senior aide to Christie, along with two top political appointees, allegedly conspired to close lanes of traffic on the George Washington Bridge heading into Fort Lee, New Jersey—allegedly in retribution against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., who had refused to endorse Christie in the 2013 elections. While Christie originally denied his office could have anything to do with the traffic problems, a series of e-mails and text messages were released proving the aides' involvement in the traffic jams. Two access lanes from Fort Lee into New York were closed by the aides and by Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff, resulting in four days of gridlock for the area.
In an e-mail sent three weeks prior to the lane closures to David Wildstein, the appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who operated the George Washington bridge, Kelly wrote: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." Wildstein claimed that the lanes were closed as part of a traffic study.[1] In his response, Christie said, “I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge. One thing is clear: this type of behavior is unacceptable and I will not tolerate it because the people of New Jersey deserve better.”[2][1] Kelly was ultimately fired from her position for her involvement in the traffic jams.
Investigations
Private investigation initiated by Christie
Christie's administration hired the law firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher to investigate the lane closures. The firm released a 360-page report on March 27, 2014, and said that they could not find evidence that implicated Christie in the controversy. An employee at the firm, attorney Rando Mastro, said that the firm's ten-week review showed that Christie "had no knowledge beforehand of this George Washington Bridge realignment idea and that he played no role whatsoever in that decision or the implementation of it." In response to critics of the idea that Wildstein and Kelly had acted alone, Christie told ABC News: "Sometimes people do inexplicably stupid things, and so that's what makes it so hard then as the guy in charge - none of it made any sense to me, and to some extent still does not."[3]
Five former federal prosecutors reviewed 250,000 pages of documents and conducted 70 interviews during the law firm's investigation. While Christie was interviewed by attorneys from the firm, investigations did not involve the two primary individuals who were implicated in the traffic jams, Wildstein and Kelly.[3]
U.S. Attorney's Office investigation
Other investigations followed, including one executed by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark. The report by the U.S. Attorney's Office stated that Christie's press secretary Michael Drewniak recalled Wildstein saying that he had told the governor about the traffic jams while they were underway. Wildstein and Christie were photographed together on the third day of the closures. Wildstein's lawyer affirmed the existence of evidence that contradicted Christie's timeline of when he learned of the closures but did not explain what that evidence was at the time.
Christie confirmed that he did speak with Wildstein that day, but said that the two had not discussed the lane closures. "He didn't say: 'Hey, by the way, Governor, I'm closing down some lanes on the George Washington Bridge to stick it to the mayor. Is that OK?' That, I'd remember," Christie told ABC News.[3]
Indictments and trials
United States Supreme Court
On May 7, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously reversed the federal fraud convictions against Kelly and Baroni. According to the Court's opinion, "The question presented is whether the defendants committed property fraud. The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoing — deception, corruption, abuse of power. But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct. Under settled precedent, the officials could violate those laws only if an object of their dishonesty was to obtain the Port Authority’s money or property."[4]
United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
On January 12, 2015, Wildstein pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark to charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and “conspiracy against civil rights.” Each count against Wildstein carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
In April 2015, Kelly and Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, were each charged with nine counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud. Baroni and Kelly pleaded not guilty to all charges; however, Wildstein corroborated the charges against them, claiming that the three of them had collaborated in the bridge closing scheme. In May 2015, Judge Susan Wigenton pushed the start date of the trial from July 7, 2015, to November 6, 2015.[5][6][7] The trial was later postponed again and began on September 19, 2016. Christie stated in August 2016 that he would testify if subpoenaed and told reporters he was confident he would be absolved of any wrongdoing.[8]
During opening statements in the trial, both the prosecution and defense alleged that Governor Christie became aware of the lane closures on the third day they were in effect and that he helped to shield those who instigated them from subsequent investigations in order to protect his 2016 presidential bid. No evidence linking Christie to the closures emerged; the governor maintained that he was not aware of the closures until months after the fact.[9]
On November 4, 2016, Kelly and Baroni were both convicted on all charges.[10]
Transportation commissioner steps down during federal probe
On October 2, 2015, New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox resigned amid scrutiny related to a federal probe of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's relationship with United Airlines. Fox was a former United Airlines lobbyist.[11]
The United probe was one of several probes into the Port Authority that arose from the 2014 George Washington Bridge lane closure. Statements released by Christie and Fox on October 2 reported that the commissioner was leaving office to return to the private sector.[11]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CNN, "NJ Democrat lawmaker on traffic scandal: 'I do think laws have been broken,'" January 12, 2014
- ↑ Washington Post, "New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to address bridge scandal in news conference at 11 a.m.," January 9, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Philly.com, "Christie-appointed review clears governor in bridge scandal," March 28, 2014
- ↑ The Hill, "Supreme Court throws out two Bridgegate convictions," accessed May 7, 2020
- ↑ New York Times, "2 Indicted in George Washington Bridge Case; Ally of Christie Pleads Guilty," May 1, 2015
- ↑ New York Times, "2 With Ties to Christie Plead Not Guilty in Bridge Scandal," May 4, 2015
- ↑ Thomas Zambito, NJ.com, "Bridgegate: Trial for Baroni, Kelly moved to November," May 19, 2015
- ↑ Philly.com, "Christie:, If called, will testify in Bridgegate trial," August 28, 2016
- ↑ NJ.com, "Remarkable day in Bridgegate trial: Feds say Christie knew about lane closures," September 19, 2016
- ↑ Nj.com, "Bridgegate verdict: Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly guilty on all counts," November 4, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Andrew Seidman, Governing.com, "New Jersey Transportation Chief Steps Down Amid Federal Investigation," October 5, 2015
