Adviser Says He Told Christie Officials Knew Of Bridge Plot
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was told that two of his staffers had knowledge of the George Washington Bridge lane closures before he told reporters that no one in his administration knew about the closings, one of his top political advisers testified Friday.
Mike DuHaime said he told Christie ahead of a news conference two months after the September 2013 lane closures that his then-deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, and campaign manager Bill Stepien knew about the plot.
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"He already knew that information. I told him that information in the previous days," DuHaime testified.
Kelly is on trial along with another former Christie ally whom prosecutors say launched the bridge closings as revenge against a Democratic mayor who wouldn't endorse the Republican governor.
Asked at the Dec. 13, 2013, news conference whether he could say with certainty that no staffers other than former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey appointee David Wildstein knew about the plot, Christie said he had no reason to believe that.
Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty in the case, is the prosecution's key witness.
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Christie said at the news conference that he asked everyone on his senior staff to tell him if they had any knowledge "and they've all assured me that they don't." He said that Stepien "assured me the same thing."
Christie has denied he had any knowledge about the lane closures, and hasn't been charged. A spokesman didn't immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
Stepien's attorney has previously said his client did not engage in wrongdoing of any kind.
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Kelly then took the stand Friday afternoon, testifying in her defense.
DuHaime's testimony marked the second time someone has cast doubt that Christie was being truthful at the 2013 news conference.
Christina Renna, then an aide in Christie's office, texted to a colleague that Christie "flat-out lied" when he said he had no reason to believe anyone on his senior staff had any knowledge of the closures.
Renna later testified at the trial that her choice of words was "poor" and that she had no knowledge whether the governor was lying, only that it contradicted what Kelly said to her.
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