'Bridgegate' defendant says he, and New Jersey's Christie, are innocent

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

POLITICS | Mon Oct 17, 2016 | 12:45pm EDT

'Bridgegate' defendant says he, and New Jersey's Christie, are innocent

By Joseph Ax | NEWARK, N.J

A former associate of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie denied any involvement in the "Bridgegate" scandal at his criminal trial on Monday, portraying himself as a duped victim of another Christie political appointee who has already pleaded guilty.

Bill Baroni, a former executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was Christie's top ally at the organization, and Bridget Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, are charged with conspiracy and other counts for closing down access lanes in 2013 at the busy George Washington Bridge to punish a local mayor for refusing to back the Republican governor's re-election campaign.

Lawyers for the defendants have argued they are scapegoats by prosecutors for a scheme orchestrated by David Wildstein, another Port Authority executive who last year pleaded guilty and testified earlier as the prosecution's star witness.

Baroni testified on Monday that he believed Wildstein had closed down the lanes as part of a legitimate traffic study to see whether conditions at toll booths could be improved, contradicting Wildstein's assertion that the two men concocted a bogus study as a cover story.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-jersey-bridgegate-idUSKBN12H1YC

[TheBlackAdder]

1. If it was a "traffic study" it would have been disproven 5 minutes into it. I call Bullshit!