Top Stories of the Year: #3 Bridge-Gate Trial

On Nov. 4, two former allies of Gov. Chris Christie were convicted in a plot to use traffic jams for political retaliation. Bridget Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni,

News 12 Staff

Dec 28, 2016, 8:28 PM

Updated 2,818 days ago

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On Nov. 4, two former allies of Gov. Chris Christie were convicted in a plot to use traffic jams for political retaliation.
Bridget Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, a Christie appointee to the Port Authority, were found guilty of all counts against them.
Kelly and Baroni were convicted of scheming with former Christie ally David Wildstein to punish Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie when he ran for re-election in 2013. Wildstein pleaded guilty for his role in the case.
The governor denied any knowledge of the plot, and maintained his innocence even after the trial ended. But Kelly, Baroni and Wildstein all testified that Gov. Christie was informed about the lane closings either before or while they were going on.

Gov. Christie issued a statement following the verdict that said in part, "I'm saddened by this case and I'm saddened about the choices made by Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly and David Wildstein... But let me be clear once again, I had no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them."
This led to a request from activist Bill Brennan that a special prosecutor be appointed against the governor. It was ultimately denied.
Both Kelly and Broni have since filed for a new trial.
Sentencing is set for Feb. 21, 2017.
The U.S. attorney says that he is pushing for two years in prison.