I knew I'd get a chance to use my Chris Christie art collection again! This morning Kate Zernike, writing for the NY Times, which Trumpy-the-Clwon hasn't sued yet, reported that prosecutors in Bridgegate have finally come out and said aloud what anyone in their right mind knew from day-one of this, namely that Christie knew about the lane closings in real time. When will they charge him with ordering the lane closings and orchestrating the coverup? Do you want to see the New Jersey governor in prison-- as though he was an Illinois governor? I do.Today was the opening day of the trial of former Christie top level aides Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly (not to be confused with Trumpist Kellyanne Conway). They were the two who carried out Christie's orders to shut down the George Washington Bridge to spite Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey knew that his close associates were involved in a plan to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as it was happening and that the closings were intended to punish a local mayor for declining to support him, prosecutors said on Monday.It was the first time Mr. Christie, a Republican, has been accused of knowing about the scheme as it unfolded.The prosecutors made the assertion during opening statements in the trial of two former Christie administration officials charged with closing the lanes in 2013 and then covering it up.Mr. Christie has insisted that he had no knowledge of the plot to close the lanes, and said that he did not recall being told about the closings while they were happening. Defense lawyers have also said that Mr. Christie knew. But the statement on Monday was striking in that it was prosecutors confirming that assertion.Prosecutors from the United States attorney’s office said that two of the alleged co-conspirators in the case, David Wildstein and Bill Baroni, had bragged to the governor about the lane closings, and that they had been done to “mess” with the mayor of Fort Lee because he had declined entreaties to endorse the governor’s re-election.The prosecutor, Vikas Khanna, instantly advised the jury that they should not consider the actions of “others” or wonder why they were not charged.The details of the plot that Mr. Khanna laid out were largely familiar by now: that one of the defendants, Bridget Anne Kelly, sent an email in August 2013 saying “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” after confirming that the mayor of that borough would not endorse Mr. Christie. A month later, two of three access lanes to the George Washington Bridge were shut down, and the other defendant, Mr. Baroni, the highest ranking official at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge, studiously ignored the mayor as he pleaded by text, email and a handwritten letter for the agency to reopen the lanes.
Oh, what a shot!
