NJ Governor's Former Aides Get Jail Terms While Christie Is Appointed To White House Panel On Drugs
WASHINGTON (CBS) -- On the same day that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie takes on a major advisory role within the Trump Administration, two former Christie aides are sentenced for their roles in the Bridgegate affair.
Christie joined the president at the White House, where he was appointed chair of a panel to look into ways to tackle the national opioid epidemic.
"The president and I both agree that addiction is a disease, and it's a disease that can be treated," Christie said during the 30-minute session.
The governor has taken on the issue of drug addiction as his prime initiative in his final year in office.
"We're pro-life for the whole life, not just for the 9 months in the womb but for the whole life," he added. "Every life is an individual gift from God and no life is irredeemable."
Christie also brought along three New Jersey residents directly affected who told their stories. Among them was Vanessa Vitolo, who was homeless on the streets of Atlantic City until she got help.
"There is hope and there is a tomorrow and there is a day after that," Vitolo said. "You just have to fight for it and people have to know that there are people fighting for them too."
At the same time, a sentencing hearing was underway in a federal courtroom in Newark, New Jersey, where former state Sen. Bill Baroni was given two years and former gubernatorial aide Bridget Kelly a year-and-a-half in prison after they were convicted in the Bridgegate trial.
READ: 2 Former Christie Aides Sentenced For Their Roles In Bridgegate
Both were found guilty for their roles in a shutdown of lanes on the George Washington Bridge in 2013. It was determined the act was political payback for the refusal of the mayor of Fort Lee to endorse Christie's re-election effort.
A third defendant, former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing after testifying against Baroni and Kelly.
Both are free pending appeal of their convictions.
Christie was never accused of any criminal wrongdoing in the case, and has steadfastly maintained he knew nothing of the scheme until learning about it in press reports.