Two former aides to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have been found guilty on all nine counts in the so-called Bridgegate trial. The officials knowingly closed the access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in September of 2013, creating an enormous traffic jam for four days–doing so only to punish a mayor who wouldn’t endorse Governor Christie in his bid for reelection. The recent verdict may also create some issues for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has made Christie an important member of his campaign team.

The aides are Bridget Kelly, former deputy chief of staff for Christie, and Bill Baroni, the former Deputy Executive Director at the Port Authority. The charges against them include conspiracy, fraud, and misapplication of public resources. Sentencing is scheduled for February 21, and according to NBC News, both face up to 86 years in prison if convicted. Although the actual sentences will likely be much shorter.

When Mark Sokolich, the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, did not endorse Christie in 2013, his town was punished with gridlock. Two out of three lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge were closed, jamming up traffic on the world’s busiest bridge. As a result of the closures, a commute that normally took 30 minutes ended up lasting four hours.

This caused extreme delays for emergency calls–one 91-year-old woman reportedly died because an ambulance didn’t make it to her in time. Children were stuck on the buses and couldn’t get to school. David Wildstein, a Christie appointee at the Port Authority who resigned due to his involvement in the scheme, said that Mayor Sokolich asked Baroni for help because kids couldn’t get to school. After learning that, Wildstein texted an unidentified person saying they were “children of Buono voters,” referring to Christie’s opponent in the election. Amidst the traffic, a toddler was lost and countless people were late for work and appointments.

Remember when Chris Christie led the “lock her up” chants at the GOP convention? #Bridgegate https://t.co/4wAHJVc8sF pic.twitter.com/xUDSEOup4z

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) November 4, 2016

While Chris Christie continues to argue that he had no knowledge of the scheme, both prosecution and defense attorneys presented evidence that he knew about it beforehand. Kelly and Baroni testified that they discussed the lane closings with Christie as they were happening and Wildstein said that he told the governor about it when he saw him at a 9/11 memorial service. Even Donald Trump, who appointed Chris Christie to serve as the chair of his Transition Team, has said Christie “totally knew about” the plans to close the lanes.

During the Bridgegate trial, Kelly’s defense painted her as a helpless scapegoat who just did as she was told. But the jury apparently didn’t buy it. Kelly was the one who infamously emailed Wildstein, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” before the lanes were closed. And after hearing about school children who were stuck on buses, she texted Wildstein, “Is it wrong that I am smiling?” In exchanges revealed during the trial, Baroni and Wildstein also referred to Mayor Sokoloch as “Serbia,” although he is actually of Croatian descent.

While Chris Christie was never charged for any potential involvement, the episode will have very negative consequences for his political career. His approval rate in New Jersey currently stands at 21 percent, a record low.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Last month, a former firefighter and activist lodged a complaint against New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for his inaction in the Bridgegate scandal. On Thursday, a Bergen County judge signed a criminal summons against Christie, a Republican, finding probable cause to justify further investigation into Christie’s role in the lane closures of the George Washington Bridge in 2013. “I’m satisfied that there’s probable cause to believe that an event of official misconduct was caused by Gov. Christie,” Judge Roy McGeady said. “I’m going to issue the summons.”

The case will now move to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, where a Christie-appointed prosecutor will determine whether there is enough evidence to indict the governor, and send the case to a grand jury.

Bill Brennan filed the complaint against Christie last month, when former Port Authority official David Wildstein testified that Christie was told about the Bridgegate plot two days before it played out. Wildstein, who pleaded guilty for his own role in the scheme, said Christie laughed about the plan when he was informed of it while at a 9/11 memorial service.

Brennan argued that Christie’s inaction in the incident–which was potentially political retribution for the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, who refused to back Christie’s reelection bid in 2013–cost New Jersey taxpayers millions of dollars, and qualifies as second-degree official misconduct, punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

Christie spokesman Brian Murray called it a “dishonorable complaint filed by a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system,” in a statement to NBC News. Brennan unsuccessfully sued the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office in 2014, when he argued the names of bidders for baseball memorabilia seized during a drug arrest should be made public.

Currently, a former Christie aide and a former Port Authority deputy are on the third week of trial at a federal court in Newark. Previous investigations into the scandal have failed to produce any explicitly damaging evidence of Christie’s involvement. But in August, text messages sent by two former aides to Christie hinted that he may have been cognizant of Bridgegate. While watching Christie tell reporters he had no knowledge of the lane closings, one aide sent a text to the other, saying “he just flat out lied.”

In his statement, Murray maintains Christie “had no knowledge of the lane realignments either before they happened or while they were happening,” and vowed to appeal the ruling. Christie is set to appear in court on October 24.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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As Governor Chris Christie (R-NJ) told reporters in December 2013 that he and his senior aides had no knowledge of the scandal known as Bridgegate, one of his aides sent a text message to a colleague: “Are you listening?” Christina Renna, Christie’s director of intergovernmental affairs, asked Peter Sheridan, a staffer for Christie’s re-election campaign at the time. “He just flat out lied,” continued Renna.

The messages were part of a document from a court filing in United States District Court in Newark on Wednesday. The filing comes on behalf of Bill Baroni, a top Christie appointee for the Port Authority, and Bidget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to Christie. A trial is set for next month, when both Baroni and Kelly will testify, along with Renna, the aide who sent the text messages.

What is Bridgegate? In the fall of 2013, two lanes on the New Jersey side of the George Washington Bridge–a major thoroughfare connecting New York City with New Jersey and the most trafficked bridge in the world–mysteriously closed down. Commuters were furious–and flummoxed–at the blocked lanes. At the time, the Port Authority said the lanes were closed for a traffic study. But skeptics, including Democrats and the media, saw a deeper ruse at hand.

.@ChrisChristie denies the claim that he ‘flat out lied’ about Bridgegate https://t.co/dBd9DffDG5 https://t.co/3JJtP2UYXP

— POLITICO (@politico) August 10, 2016

Around the time of the lane closings, the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, refused to endorse Christie in his re-election bid. Communications between Christie’s staff and the Port Authority revealed the “traffic study” to be a smokescreen in order to punish Fort Lee, the town directly connected to the New Jersey side of the bridge. There has been no evidence to directly link Christie or any of his senior staff.

“I absolutely dispute it,” Christie told reporters on Wednesday after they asked him about the allegation made in the text exchange between his two aides. “It’s ridiculous. It’s nothing new. There’s nothing new to talk about.”

But if Renna’s text messages are to be believed, there could be more to Christie’s–or his aides’–involvement in Bridgegate than meets the eye.

Alec Siegel

Alec Siegel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. When he’s not working at Law Street he’s either cooking a mediocre tofu dish or enjoying a run in the woods. His passions include: gooey chocolate chips, black coffee, mountains, the Animal Kingdom in general, and John Lennon. Baklava is his achilles heel. Contact Alec at ASiegel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Chris Christie, the popular governor of New Jersey, has been one of the stars of the Republican Party for a few years now. Admittedly, he does have a lot going for him. New Jersey is usually a relatively liberal state — President Obama won it in 2012 with 58 percent of the vote — but Christie sailed to an easy reelection this fall. He recently became head of the Republican Governor’s Association. He has a strong background as a US Attorney. In 2012, he delivered the RNC Convention keynote address. And until this week, I would have bet on him to win the Republican nomination for President in 2016.

Also good at coat catching.

Then this week, this whole debacle over the George Washington Bride broke. Apparently we’re calling it “bridgegate” because over the past 40 years pundits have utterly given up on trying to be creative while naming political scandals.

For anyone who hasn’t been watching the news in the last 48 hours, here’s a quick summary of what’s happening in the Garden State. On September 6, 2013, the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey and New York, had some lane closures. For anyone lucky enough to have never driven over the GWB, it is ginormous. It has two levels and is one of the busiest bridges in the world. I hope that you never get stuck on the GWB, because I have, and believe me, it sucks.

The GWB is a big deal. And when it experiences double-lane closures for no apparent reason, bad things happen. Like children not being able to get to school. People not being able to get to work. And a 91-year-old woman dying because she was stuck in an ambulance. This was all a massive problem for Fort Lee, the town in New Jersey where the bridge starts.

It has now come out that Christie’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, sent an email to the Port Authority suggesting it was “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.” The man to whom she wrote, David Wildstein, said in a separate email that it was going to be a “tough November for this little Serbian,” presumably referring to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich (who is actually Croatian.) The Port Authority closed the bridge lanes on Wildstein’s orders, although claimed it was a traffic study. Kelly has since been fired.

The political shitshow that is now unraveling four months later is confusing, weird, embarrassing, and fascinating. Here are the top seven reasons you should all be paying close attention to this story.

7. We Still Have No Idea What Exactly Happened

There’s nothing more delightful than a game of political whodunit. Or in this case, I guess it would  be “whydunit.” At this point, it’s pretty clear that Bridget Kelly recommended the closure of the GWB lanes, and that her friends at the Port Authority helped her out. In fact, David Wildstein was a high school classmate of Christie’s, and has long been a political player in New Jersey. But why? Currently there are two possible theories. One is that Christie’s staff was seeking retribution against Mark Sokolich, the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee who did not endorse Christie in the gubernatorial race this year. Another is that they were seeking revenge on the New Jersey Senate Democratic leader, State Senator Loretta Weinberg, after a contentious judicial nomination back-and-forth between the two political leaders.

Shocked kitty doesn’t like dirty political tricks.

These are just two theories that have come out over the last few days. More might arise, or one or the other might be proven to be true. But speculation is fun, and the media has run with it since this story broke. On September 12, Sokolich wrote to the Port Authority claiming the bridge closure was “punitive.” It’s looking like he might be right.

6. There’s a Rabbit Hole Here 

This isn’t going to be a little thing. Wildstein took the stand yesterday during an investigation into the whole mess by the New Jersey Assembly Transportation Committee…and pleaded the Fifth on EVERYTHING. The attorneys questioning him say they’ve never heard someone plead the Fifth as many times as he did. Now pleading the Fifth makes sense if you could incriminate yourself, but some of the questions he chose not to answer couldn’t have possibly been incriminating. WIldstein is hiding something, and he might be just the tip of the iceberg.

And I have a feeling it’s a pretty spacious rabbit hole. Double Down, a book on the Romney campaign by Mark Halperin and John Heilermann, took a look at the campaign’s quest for a VP. Apparently Christie was crossed off the list because, according to Ted Newton, one of Romney’s advisors, “When you look below the surface, it’s not pretty.”

5. Christie’s Catch-22

Did Chris Christie know about the bridge plan? Well, no one’s really sure. Some political insiders think he did, and is now just claiming ignorance to protect himself. Others think that someone else may have been calling the shots. Kelly was very loyal to both Christie himself, and Christie’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien. An anonymous source claims that Stepien’s job was to keep the governor’s fingerprints off things and Kelly’s was to put plans in action.

Christie is left with two options here, both bad. He is either a liar who knew about bridgegate, or a weak leader who couldn’t control his own people. As someone who wants to be President of the United States, neither of those is a particularly attractive quality.

4. If He Knew, This Says a Lot About Christie

If Christie knew, or was behind the scheme to shut down the bridge, that says a lot about who he is as a politician and as a person. It says he plays dirty. And to me, it says that he’s been in an ivory tower far too long.

A man who shuts down the GWB, or at least lets his staffers shut down the GWB, for pretty personal reasons isn’t thinking about why people take that bridge. They take it to get to work and to school. And why do people go to school and work? Because they have to. Because they support their families; because they have things they need to do. If Christie had the hubris to say his political grudges were more important than every single person who had to cross the bridge that day, he’s forgotten what it’s like to be a regular person. He doesn’t know what it’s like for people who need to get to work because they need the money. He’s forgotten that the world (or at least New Jersey) doesn’t revolve around whether or not he’s friends with the political leaders in another town. If Christie knew, shame on him.

3. If He Didn’t Know, It Says Even More

If Christie really didn’t know what was going on, then he has a staff problem and a leadership problem. A strong leader — a possible presidential nominee — needs to appear strong. He needs to be the power on the throne and he can’t have accusations of staffers running the show. In a lot of ways, if he actually didn’t know about this, it will hurt him more in the 2016 game than if he did and is now lying. A disgustingly dirty player may be preferable to a weak one.

2. Christie Could Come Out on Top 

All is not lost for Christie. He’s already received some applause for his actions in the last few days. He immediately fired Kelly, who he claimed “betrayed” him, no questions asked. He gave an exhausting press conference in which he dutifully answered every question. He proved that he wasn’t immediately sunk over these accusations, and if he handles this right, he could come out as a strong leader.

Or, he could come out a corrupt bully. He could end up completely off the list for potential 2016 nominees. Scandals are tough, but they’re not impossible. Clinton barely escaped the Monica Lewinsky scandal with his presidency, but he’s now an elder stateman of the Democratic Party. How Christie handles this could make or break his political career.

No pressure.

1. This Feels Unreal

Like any good young political junkie, I love overly dramatic political shows. The West Wing, Scandal, and House of Cards are my bread and butter. And while writing about bridgegate, I feel like I’ve been transported into one of them. A bridge closed for political retribution? That’s not normal politics. That’s dirty…that’s conniving…that’s some Frank Underwood-level manipulation.

If not fictional, this at least feels like a political move that would have happened years ago, before Watergate made us suspicious and before the Internet allowed us to track every suspicion. The problem is that Christie’s staffers apparently were either too cocky to think they’d get caught, or forgot that if you send an email, it is forever. Pro-tip to anyone planning to pull a major political move in the future: use snail mail. Or owls. Or code. Or smoke signals. Just don’t use electronic communication. You will get caught.

This promises to be one interesting ride. Keep your eyes on this story. I promise you won’t regret it.

—

Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Donkey Hotey via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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