Tag: bridgegate
Prosecutors Will Not Pursue Bridgegate Charges Against New Jersey Governor

Prosecutors Will Not Pursue Bridgegate Charges Against New Jersey Governor

(Reuters) – New Jersey prosecutors on Friday said they would not pursue criminal misconduct charges against Governor Chris Christie in connection with the “Bridgegate” scandal.

The Office of the Bergen County Prosecutor said in a letter to a local judge it did not have sufficient evidence to prove allegations that Christie knew about a plot to close lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 in order to punish a local mayor for failing to endorse Christie’s re-election bid.

“The reason is simple, but compelling – that charge cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt,” the letter said.

Bill Brennan, a retired firefighter and activist who announced he would run for governor this year, filed the citizen complaint against Christie last September.

Two former Christie allies were convicted last year of orchestrating the lane closure plot, and U.S. prosecutors introduced evidence at trial suggesting the governor was at least aware of the scheme. Christie has steadfastly denied that he knew about the closures at the time.

Roy McGeady, a municipal judge in Fort Lee, had found probable cause to allow the case against Christie to proceed after a hearing at which Brennan testified. Christie’s lawyer was not permitted to argue or cross-examine, McGeady said, because the governor was not a defendant until probable cause was established.

Bergen County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Mizdol rejected Christie’s subsequent request to toss the complaint outright. But she agreed with both Christie’s lawyers and county prosecutors that McGeady erroneously denied the governor’s attorney an opportunity to participate.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office said in the letter that citizen complaints typically allege minor crimes of which the complainant has personal knowledge. The letter said criminal misconduct was far outside that scope.

“In short, a matter of this gravity should not have been heard by a municipal court judge,” the letter said.

Brian Murray, a spokesman for Christie, applauded the decision on Friday.

“The Governor is gratified that the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has ended this baseless fiasco began by Mr. Brennan and perpetuated by Judge McGeady,” Murray said in a statement. “It is right and appropriate that this injustice against the Governor is finally over.”

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)

IMAGE: U.S. Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie looks on at his primary election night party Nashua, New Hampshire, February 9, 2016. REUTERS/Gretchen Ertl

Judge To Weigh Citizen’s ‘Bridgegate’ Complaint Against Chris Christie

Judge To Weigh Citizen’s ‘Bridgegate’ Complaint Against Chris Christie

(Reuters) – A New Jersey judge is set to hear arguments on Wednesday over whether to dismiss a citizen’s criminal complaint against Governor Chris Christie for his alleged role in the “Bridgegate” lane-closure scandal.

A lawyer for Christie has asked Judge Bonnie Mizdol to throw out the complaint filed by Bill Brennan, a retired firefighter and activist who recently announced a long-shot bid to succeed Christie in this fall’s election. The governor is not expected to attend the hearing in Hackensack, New Jersey.

Prosecutors have also said they do not believe the case should proceed at this time.

Brennan has accused Christie of knowing about a scheme to shut down access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 to punish a local mayor for failing to endorse his reelection campaign.

Two former Christie associates were convicted in November of federal charges for orchestrating the plot. Christie has denied any knowledge of or involvement in the plan, but U.S. prosecutors presented evidence at trial suggesting he was at least aware of the lane closures at the time they occurred.

Brennan filed the complaint in municipal court in Fort Lee, where the lane closures occurred. In October, a different New Jersey judge, Roy McGeady, referred the complaint to prosecutors to determine whether enough evidence exists to support criminal charges against Christie.

Christie’s lawyer, Craig Carpenito, said in a court filing that the matter should never have gotten that far, calling it “a political stunt from a now-declared candidate for governor.”

The Bergen County prosecutor’s office has also taken the position that the case cannot continue, saying in court papers that McGeady violated Christie’s rights by not allowing Carpenito to take part in a hearing on the matter.

Brennan has said he will refile his complaint if Mizdol, the top judge in Bergen County, decides to toss it.

Despite Christie’s denials, the scandal dogged his failed bid for the Republican presidential nomination. He was once seen as a possible cabinet appointee for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump until the conviction of his former allies prompted a fresh round of negative attention.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

IMAGE: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie departs after meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., November 20, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Former Christie Allies Convicted In N.J. ‘Bridgegate’ Trial

Former Christie Allies Convicted In N.J. ‘Bridgegate’ Trial

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Two former allies of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie were convicted on Friday for their roles in the “Bridgegate” lane closure scandal, following a six-week trial that served to further tarnish the Republican’s damaged reputation.

Bridget Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were found guilty in Newark federal court on all counts, the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Jersey said on Twitter.

Kelly and Baroni were convicted of fraud, conspiracy and depriving the residents of Fort Lee, New Jersey, of their civil rights.

Christie, who has repeatedly denied any advance knowledge of the scheme, is a top adviser for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“Let me be clear once again, I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them,” Christie said in a statement following the verdict.

“Anything said to the contrary over the past six weeks in court is simply untrue.”

The scandal has dogged Christie, once seen as a rising political star and a potential presidential nominee before his campaign for the White House failed this year.

The two officials were accused of shutting down access lanes at the George Washington Bridge in September 2013 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, creating a massive days-long traffic jam to punish the town’s mayor, Mark Sokolich, for declining to endorse Christie’s reelection campaign.

The bridge, which connect New Jersey to Manhattan, is one of the country’s busiest.

Lawyers for Kelly and Baroni vowed to appeal.

“This is not over,” Michael Critchley, Kelly’s lawyer, said outside the courthouse, with his arm around a weeping Kelly. He said the judge had erred during jury instructions.

Defense lawyers were furious when U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton told jurors during deliberations in response to a question that they could convict Kelly and Baroni on conspiracy even if the act itself was not “intentionally punitive toward Mayor Sokolich.”

Wigenton said prosecutors did not have to prove motive, even though their case had revolved around the political retribution.

“By answering the way you’re answering, you’re directing a verdict of guilty,” an angry Critchley told Wigenton on Tuesday.

Baroni’s lawyer, Michael Baldassare, told reporters on Friday the case was a “disgrace” and said the conviction would be overturned.

“I am innocent of these charges,” a smiling Baroni said.

Kelly and Baroni’s co-conspirator, former Port Authority official and confessed mastermind David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and appeared as the government’s star witness, detailing how the three schemed to pay back Sokolich, a Democrat.

But Wildstein also implicated Christie, saying he and Baroni discussed the lane closures with the governor while they were ongoing. Christie, Wildstein testified, laughed at the notion that Sokolich was frustrated by the traffic.

At the time, Christie was eyeing a presidential run, and his aides believed that securing the backing of Democratic officials would burnish his national reputation, according to trial testimony.

Kelly, who took the stand in her defense, testified she had discussed the lane closures with Christie a month beforehand, though she said she thought at the time they were part of a legitimate traffic study.

Legal experts have said it is unlikely Christie would face any criminal consequences based on the trial testimony.

Kelly and Baroni’s lawyers argued that Wildstein had orchestrated the plot himself and told them he was conducting a traffic study. Wildstein said on the stand the three of them knew all along that the study was a bogus cover story.

Prosecutors showed jurors numerous exchanges that Kelly and Baroni each had with Wildstein, who operated as a liaison between Baroni at the Port Authority and Kelly in the governor’s office.

Those included Kelly’s now-infamous email to Wildstein that prosecutors said launched the scheme, in which she wrote, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by James Dalgleish)

IMAGE: Peter Stevens via Flickr

Judge Rules ‘Bridgegate’ Complaint Against Christie Can Proceed

Judge Rules ‘Bridgegate’ Complaint Against Christie Can Proceed

PRINCETON, N.J. (Reuters) – A citizen’s complaint against New Jersey Governor Chris Christie related to the “Bridgegate” lane-closure scandal can move forward, a judge ruled on Thursday, referring the case to state prosecutors to consider possible criminal charges.

Roy McGeady, the presiding judge for Bergen County municipal courts, found probable cause for the criminal complaint filed last month by Bill Brennan, an activist and retired firefighter, a court official confirmed.

The complaint of official misconduct accused Christie of knowing about a plot to close down lanes at the George Washington Bridge as an act of political payback. The governor has repeatedly denied any prior knowledge of the closures, which created massive traffic jams in northern New Jersey.

The ruling ratchets up the political pressure on Christie, who became a major supporter of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after dropping his own White House bid and now heads his White House transition team.

The controversy surrounding the scandal, which has resulted in criminal charges against two of Christie’s associates, helped scuttle his bid for the Republican presidential nomination and has eroded the governor’s approval ratings in New Jersey.

The misconduct case now moves to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, which will decide whether enough evidence exists to support a criminal charge. “The office has no comment at this time,” spokeswoman Maureen Parenta said in an email.

Brennan filed the complaint in municipal court in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where Christie allies were accused of deliberately causing a massive traffic jam in September 2013 by closing access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in order to punish the town’s mayor. The bridge is a major link to New York City.

The two Christie associates – his former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive Bill Baroni – have been on trial in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, for their alleged roles in the scandal.

Brennan’s complaint was based on testimony from David Wildstein, another Port Authority executive who pleaded guilty in the case and has been cooperating with prosecutors, that Christie was aware of the lane closures at the time.

A Christie spokesman, Brian Murray, said the governor would appeal the ruling immediately.

“This is a dishonorable complaint filed by a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system,” Murray said. “The simple fact is the governor had no knowledge of the lane realignments either before they happened or while they were happening. This matter has already been thoroughly investigated by three separate independent investigations.”

Brennan has filed numerous complaints, as well as lawsuits, against various officials in New Jersey over the years.

Federal prosecutors have accused Kelly, Baroni and Wildstein of orchestrating the lane closures to send a message to Fort Lee Mayor Michael Sokolich after the Democrat refused to endorse Christie’s 2013 gubernatorial re-election campaign.

At the time, Christie was already eyeing a White House run, and his advisers believed a show of bipartisan support would help enhance his national standing.

Christie, 54, was among the 17 Republicans who originally vied for the Republican presidential nomination, but he dropped out of the race in February after failing to gain traction in the early voting. He became one of eventual nominee Trump’s staunchest supporters.

As head of the New York businessman’s transition team, he would work to smooth the handover from Democratic President Barack Obama to Trump should Trump defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in the Nov. 8 election.

U.S. prosecutors are nearing the end of their case against Kelly and Baroni after four weeks of testimony. Lawyers for the two defendants have argued that virtually the entire Christie administration was aware of the scheme and have portrayed Kelly and Baroni as scapegoats.

Both were expected to take the witness stand in their defense.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Frank McGurty and Jonathan Oatis)

IMAGE: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. July 19, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young

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