HuffPo: "Bridge Scandal May Be Death Knell For Chris Christie's 2016 Prospects."
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) The charges handed down against three former allies of Gov. Chris Christie in the George Washington Bridge traffic scandal provide mixed news for the Republican governor as he tries to regain momentum in support of an expected presidential bid.
Christie appears to have been cleared of any allegations that he personally participated in a scheme to shut down access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in September 2013. But the charges brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey still hit close to home: His former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and his former top appointee to the authority that controls the bridge, Bill Baroni, have both been indicted. David Wildstein, another ally, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy.
The charges also return focus to a famously bruising political style associated with Christie's administration. The documents unveiled Friday paint the trio as vindictive and petty bullies who plotted and then covered up a scheme to gridlock the town of Fort Lee to punish its Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie's re-election bid.
State Assemblyman John Wisniewski, a Democrat and co-chairman of a legislative committee investigating the scandal, said that with Wildstein's guilty plea, "the people of New Jersey have more reason to be skeptical of Gov. Christie's leadership style built upon bullying and retaliation."
Bridge Scandal May Be Death Knell For Chris Christie's 2016 Prospects
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/02/chris-christie-bridge_n_7194288.html