On Friday, two former aides to Gov. Chris Christie were convicted of seven counts of conspiracy and wire fraud from the Bridgegate scandal, in which access lanes to the George Washington Bridge were closed to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark J. Sokolich, a Democrat who would not endorse Christie’s re-election.
Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni were accused of misusing the resources of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge. They were also accused of violating the rights of the citizens of Fort Lee, N.J., deriving from the shutdown for five days in September 2013.
There were intimations during the trial that Christie may have been deeply involved in the scandal. An ally of Christie’s testified that Christie was told of the lane closings as they were occurring; Kelly said she discussed the shutdown with him before its implementation.
On Friday, Christie any involvement, saying, “Let me be clear once again. I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them. No believable evidence was presented to contradict that fact.’’
The timeline of events looks like this:
Aug. 13, 2013: Kelly emailed David Wildstein, an ally of Mr. Christie’s, the director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” Wildstein replied, “Got it.”
Sept. 9, 2013: Two of three local access lanes on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge were suddenly closed on the first day of the school year, gridlocking Fort Lee for four consecutive mornings. On September 10, Sokolich texted Baroni, deputy executive director of the Port Authority, pleading for help: “The bigger problem is getting kids to school. Help please. It’s maddening.”
September 11, 2013: Christie, Wildstein, Baroni all attend a service in honor of Sept. 11 victims at the World Trade Center site. Wildstein later claims he discussed the lane closings with Christie.
September 12, 2013: Sokolich, fructrated with the lack of response, writes Baroni “there are punitive overtones” to the lane closings, and telephones an aide in the governor’s office, Evan Ridley, whose boss later forwards the mayor’s complaints by email to Kelly. Kelly forwards the email to Wildstein.
September 14, 2013: Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesman, writes to a local newspaper columnist, claiming, “The Port Authority has conducted a week of study at the… bridge of traffic-safety patterns.”
September 17, 2013: Christie’s press secretary, Michael Drewniak, tells The Wall Street Journal the closings were related to a traffic study.
For the rest of the timeline until the verdict, see here.
Kelly and Baroni could serve 20 years in prison, but the United States attorney for New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman, has there was “no way” his office would recommend terms of that length; it is more likely they will serve between one to three years.