Trial Put Off Until March For Christie Associates Accused In Bridgegate Scandal
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The trial was postponed this week for two former associates of Gov. Chris Christie who have been indicted in the Bridgegate scandal.
As WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron reported, Newark U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton filed an order late Thursday stating the trial for former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly and former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive Bill Baroni will begin on March 7, 2016, after earlier moving it from July to November.
"This is a bit of a political win; perhaps a temporary reprieve for the governor," said Montclair State University political science professor Dr. Brigid Harrison.
Harrison said Christie will not be faced with having to deal with the outcome of the trial as he tries to gain the momentum going into the early caucuses and primaries in his run for the Republican presidential nomination.
On the other hand, having the trial start in March at the height of the primary season will bring negative attention to the Christie campaign, according to Harrison.
"So I don't know that you can consider the delay of the trial a victory," she said.
Harrison noted that the Christie campaign is already struggling to gain momentum, and the brief reprieve likely will not be enough to set it on course.
Kelly and Baroni pleaded not guilty in May. They were named in a nine-count indictment unsealed Friday after a yearlong investigation.
Another defendant, David Wildstein, who went to high school with Christie and later became a top official in the Port Authority, pleaded guilty in May to two criminal counts. He admitted that he helped plot lane closures in Fort Lee on an approach to the world's busiest bridge as political payback against that community's Democratic mayor for failing to support Christie's re-election campaign.
Wildstein admitted that he talked with Kelly and Baroni about how the bridge's access lanes could be used as leverage against Mayor Mark Sokolich.
Prosecutors claim Baroni and Kelly conspired with Wildstein to make sure the bridge shutdown happened Sept. 9, the first day of school – even ignoring emails from Fort Lee's mayor that emergency crews were being jammed.
The four days of traffic jams were apparently triggered by an email from Kelly to Wildstein saying, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."
"Got it," Wildstein replied.
Kelly told reporters in May that she was not guilty of the charges and called Wildstein "a liar."
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