Newark, n.j
While Christie wasn’t charged in the “Bridgegate” trial, the case produced a steady stream of new allegations against the governor that probably will haunt him as he tries to position himself as a significant player in a potential Donald Trump administration. Christie has been a forceful advocate of the Republican presidential candidate and serves as head of Trump’s transition team.
On the first day of the trial, which began early last month, prosecutors alleged that Christie knew about the plan to tie up traffic on the George Washington Bridge as it was happening. A key witness who admitted his own role in the affair would later testify that when he told Christie about the plot, Christie laughed.
Christie has said that he did not know about the bridge plan and repeated that claim in a statement on Friday. The New Jersey governor said he was “saddened” by the choices those close to him made.
“Today’s verdict does not change this for me,” he said. “But 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. Anything said to the contrary over the past six weeks in court is simply untrue.”
But Christie, once a rising Republican star with aspirations to win the White House, has been stained by the scandal, which suggested a darker side to his tough-guy image.
“It taints his legacy,” said Brigid Harrison, a political science and law professor at Montclair State University. “No one will be able to think about Gov. Christie’s tenure in office without having it be colored by these convictions.”
Christie’s job-approval ratings are already at their lowest point. A Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll released in mid-October found that just 21 percent of residents approved of the job he was doing, down from 26 percent in June. And more than half of voters — 52 percent — said they thought there was “sufficient proof” that Christie was aware of the lane closures and didn’t try to stop them.
William Baroni Jr., the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff for legislative and intergovernmental affairs, were both convicted of all the counts against them, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said.
During the trial, the defense for Kelly and Baroni tried to pitch them as Christie’s scapegoats. Prosecutors described them as the governor’s “loyal lieutenants” intent on helping their boss run for president.
It is unlikely that Christie will be charged in the case, unless new evidence were to emerge to help bolster the assertions of witnesses.