MAY 1, 2015
NEWARK, N.J. (AP)
Welcome to the state of the few, the proud, the corrupt: New Jersey.
A former ally of Gov. Chris Christie pleaded guilty Friday
to helping to engineer traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 and
concocting a cover-up along with two other officials with close ties to
Christie.
David Wildstein did not implicate Christie in the scheme
that has cast a long shadow over the Republican governor's White House
prospects in 2016.
Wildstein, an official at the Port Authority of New York and
New Jersey at the time of the tie-ups, pleaded guilty to two counts of
conspiracy.
He said that he came up with the plans along with Bridget
Kelly, who was Christie's deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, who was
Christie's top appointee at the Port Authority.
He said they orchestrated the scheme to punish the
Democratic mayor of the town of Fort Lee, at the foot of the bridge, for not
endorsing Christie's re-election bid. He said they also agreed to cover it up
by claiming the lane closings were part of a traffic study.
Before Wildstein appeared in court, Christie declined to
comment Friday as he left a hotel in McLean, Virginia. Christie has insisted
all along that he knew nothing about the scheme.
We are certain he will face significant civil liability, as
well, as many people suffered damages as a result of this cruel scheme. Get the real thug off the streets.
Now that Wildstein has pleaded guilty, it is worth
remembering that what Christie has wanted all along is for Wildstein to take
the fall.
In March 2014, Christie’s lawyers held an absurd press
conference wherein they released the findings of their internal review of
Bridgegate. They found, shockingly, that Christie had done nothing wrong—but
that Wildstein had.
They went as far as to paint Wildstein as frantic and
unhinged—someone with “50 crazy ideas a week.” The report claimed, “Wildstein
first approached [a Christie aide] about his idea to realign the Fort Lee toll
lanes.”
After Bridgegate broke, Wildstein publicly requested
immunity. A few weeks later, Wildstein’s attorney released a letter that
claimed “evidence exists as well tying Mr. Christie to having knowledge of the
lane closures, during the period when the lanes were closed, contrary to what
the Governor stated publicly in a two-hour press conference he gave…Mr.
Wildstein contents the accuracy of various statements that the Governor made
about him and he can prove the inaccuracy of some.”
Last April, the legal website Main Justice reported
that Wildstein had been cooperating with prosecutors, and implied that they
have struck a deal.
Christie has maintained that he did not know about the plot
to close the lanes, or the closures themselves. He went as far as to mock
reporter Matt Katz in December 2013 when he asked about it: “I worked the cones
actually,” he joked.
An admission of guilt from Wildstein does not necessarily
put Christie in the clear. What matters is whether or not he revealed anything
about Christie in his dealings with the Feds, and if his version of events
suggests Christie did know of the lane closures or did, in fact, work those
cones himself.
Sources: ap.com/thedailybeats.com