Christie allies found guilty on all charges in Bridgegate trial

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published 4 November 2016

A jury Friday found two former allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) guilty on all counts in the Bridgegate trial. Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, each faced seven counts, including conspiracy and fraud, for their involvement in the 2013 lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.

After a seven-week trial, the jury determined both Kelly and Baroni were guilty of helping to "orchestrate massive traffic tie-ups" at the bridge after the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, where the bridge access lanes are located, declined to endorse Christie in the governor's re-election race that year. Kelly, who sent the infamous email declaring it was "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," claimed during the trial that the proposal to close access lanes to America's busiest bridge was presented to her as a "traffic study" by former Port Authority official David Wildstein. Wildstein had already admitted to masterminding the plot, and served as the prosecution's key witness in the trial.