On Thursday, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed to overturn federal convictions in the infamous “<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/29/bridgegate-sentencings/99772338/">Bridgegate scandal</a>” from 2013, where two toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge were inexplicably closed, resulting in a massive traffic pile-up. Later, it was revealed that several of then-Governor Chris Christie’s allies were involved in the closure, which was allegedly enacted as a political retaliation against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie for governor.
According to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-reverses-bridgegate">Fox News</a>, former New Jersey officials Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni were acquitted by the Supreme Court on federal charges of fraud for closing the George Washington Bridge. Though the court acknowledged that the lane closure was enacted for political purposes against the Fort Lee mayor, the action was not tantamount to criminal fraud in light of the fact that they were not out to obtain money or property.
&#8220;The question presented is whether the defendants committed property fraud. The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoing – deception, corruption, abuse of power,&#8221; Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the court&#8217;s unanimous opinion. &#8220;But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct.&#8221;
At the time of the scandal, emails showed that ex-Christie aides wanted to create a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge to &#8220;punish&#8221; the mayor of Fort Lee for his failure to endorse Christie for governor. As a cover, Kelly, Baroni, and Port Authority official David Wildstein said the lane closures would be a part of a traffic study. Federal prosecutors argued that fraud was committed when the aides obtained &#8220;Port Authority funds necessary to pay traffic engineers for the study and back-up toll collectors to make the lane closure possible,&#8221; Fox News reported. The Supreme Court disagreed.
&#8220;[N]ot every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime,&#8221; Kagan wrote. &#8220;Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws.&#8221;
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) hailed the decision as a vindication.
&#8220;What cannot be undone is the damage that was visited upon all of the people dragged through the mud who had nothing to do with this incident,&#8221; Christie said in a statement, adding that the struggle &#8220;cost the taxpayers millions in legal fees and changed the course of history.&#8221;
President Trump<a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/496628-trump-calls-supreme-court-decision-a-total-exoneration-for-christie"> also congratulated</a> Chris Christie and the ex-aides for their victory on Thursday.
&#8220;Congratulations to former Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, and all others involved, on a complete and total exoneration (with a 9-0 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court) on the Obama DOJ Scam referred to as ‘Bridgegate.’ The Democrats are getting caught doing very evil things, and Republicans should take note. This was grave misconduct by the Obama Justice Department!&#8221; the president tweeted.
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Celebrities Visit SiriusXM – February 1, 2019

Supreme Court Unanimously Overturns Bridgegate Convictions. Chris Christie Claims Vindication.

Bridgegate

Chris Christie

Supreme Court

Chris Christie is unifying the once-warring clans of New Jersey and New York, who have put down their swords to join forces over one thing on which they can all agree: Hating Chris Christie.
To review: The New Jersey governor drew the wrath of his home-state residents this month when he frolicked on the beach at his mansion &#8212; a beach that was closed due to a budget shutdown and therefore off-limits to lowly non-governors. Said the ever-diplomatic Christie: &#8220;That&#8217;s just the way it goes. Run for governor, and you can have a residence.&#8221; Nice.
And both New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are still peeved at the portly politician for Bridgegate, when lanes at the main toll plaza on the George Washington Bridge which connects the two states, were closed, allegedly because Christie was having a political spat with a nearby Democratic mayor.
So on Tuesday night, the unpopular governor toddled off to Queens to catch the New York Mets game. And as governor, he gets not only a mansion and a private beach, but also some really good seats at baseball games.
In the top of the third inning, St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Paul DeJong hit a high pop up. Sitting in the third row right by the first-base dugout, Christie made a spectacular barehanded catch, reaching out with his left hand to snag the ball.
Then, he did one better: He walked up the aisle a row or two and handed the ball to a little kid. 
And still they booed him &#8212; long and loud.
Sometimes, when a fan makes a good catch of a foul ball, the commentators will joke, &#8220;Give that fan a contract.&#8221; Not so with Christie.
&#8220;A souvenir for Chris Christie &#8230; are you kidding me?&#8221; said Cardinals&#8217; play-by-play announcer Dan McLaughlin. &#8220;Nice to see him get from the beach here to the ball park,&#8221; he added as his color man laughed.
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe loading="lazy" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FqK4bvLJU78" width="854"></iframe></div>
As usual, Twitter was merciless. 
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
He thought a powdered donut was flying toward him.
&#8212; atlasfugged (@atlasfugged) <a href="https://twitter.com/atlasfugged/status/887492307905388545">July 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
Usually, we throw out several examples. But, you get the idea with just one &#8212; they went on and on like this.
Sadly, the meme war had yet to start on Wednesday morning, so if you&#8217;re proficient with Photoshop, here&#8217;s an idea from one tweeter:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
At least the stadium wasn&#8217;t empty with just him and his family. Someone with photoshop skills could make a good meme of that.
&#8212; Roth Combover (@RothCombover) <a href="https://twitter.com/RothCombover/status/887519984145932288">July 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>

WATCH: Chris Christie Makes Big-League Catch at Mets Game — And They STILL Boo Him!

On Friday, two former aides to Gov. Chris Christie were <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/05/nyregion/bridgegate-conviction.html?_r=0">convicted</a> 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&#8217;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&#8217;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, &#8220;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.&#8217;&#8217;
The timeline of events looks like this:
<blockquote>
Aug. 13, 2013: Kelly emailed David Wildstein, an ally of Mr. Christie&#8217;s, the director of interstate capital projects at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey: &#8220;Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.&#8221; Wildstein replied, &#8220;Got it.&#8221;
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: &#8220;The bigger problem is getting kids to school. Help please. It&#8217;s maddening.&#8221;
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 &#8220;there are punitive overtones&#8221; to the lane closings, and telephones an aide in the governor&#8217;s office, Evan Ridley, whose boss later forwards the mayor&#8217;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, &#8220;The Port Authority has conducted a week of study at the&#8230; bridge of traffic-safety patterns.&#8221;
September 17, 2013: Christie&#8217;s press secretary, Michael Drewniak, tells The Wall Street Journal the closings were related to a traffic study.
</blockquote>
For the rest of the timeline until the verdict, see <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/02/04/nyregion/Timeline-George-Washington-Bridge-Scandal.html#/">here</a>.
Kelly and Baroni could serve 20 years in prison, but the United States attorney for New Jersey, Paul J. Fishman, has there was &#8220;no way&#8221; his office would recommend terms of that length; it is more likely they will serve between one to three years.

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Bridgegate

Supreme Court Unanimously Overturns Bridgegate Convictions. Chris Christie Claims Vindication.

WATCH: Chris Christie Makes Big-League Catch at Mets Game — And They STILL Boo Him!

Breaking: Two Christie Aides Convicted In ‘Bridgegate’