|
In a decision
made public on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton, in
Newark, New Jersey, rejected arguments by William Baroni and
Bridget Anne Kelly that the laws under which they were charged
were too vague and that they had no reason to know some of their
activities might have been illegal.
Kelly, a former Christie deputy chief of staff, and Baroni, a
former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey, were charged with wire fraud, civil rights
deprivation and conspiracy for allegedly arranging the September
2013 shutdown of bridge access lanes in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
The closure led to several days of gridlock affecting the
bridge, the world's busiest, which spans the Hudson River to
connect New Jersey to Manhattan. Prosecutors said it was
intended to punish Fort Lee's Democratic mayor for not endorsing
Christie's successful reelection bid.
In her 23-page decision, Wigenton said reasonable public
officials would understand that wrongdoing attributed to the
defendants would violate drivers' right to travel.
"Political payback is not a significant government interest,"
she wrote.
Wigenton also said it was for jurors to decide whether to hold
the defendants criminally responsible for their alleged dealings
with former Port Authority executive David Wildstein, who
pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and is cooperating with
prosecutors.
Michael Baldassare and Michael Critchley, lawyers who represent
Baroni and Kelly respectively, did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
A trial is scheduled for Sept. 12, court records show.
Christie has not been charged and has denied involvement in
wrongdoing, but the scandal hurt his popularity within New
Jersey and weighed on his unsuccessful 2016 presidential run.
Both defendants are also seeking records from Christie's
cellphone through subpoenas to a law firm that previously
generated a taxpayer-funded report absolving the governor of
wrongdoing. Critics of Christie have called that report biased.
Separately, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia is weighing
requests by media to publicly release a list of unindicted
co-conspirators. Oral arguments were heard on June 6.
The case is U.S. v. Baroni et al, U.S. District Court, District
of New Jersey, No. 15-cr-00193.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
