NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal while it was taking place, according to federal prosecutors making their opening statements Monday morning in the trial of two former allies of the governor accused of creating gridlock in Fort Lee to punish the town’s mayor for not endorsing Christie’s 2013 re-election.
The governor, who has denied any knowledge of the scandal until months later, was told about the lane closures at a Sept. 11 memorial service at the World Trade Center in 2013, three days into the closures, Prosecutor Vikas Khanna Khanna told jurors.
Khanna said that Christie was told by Bill Baroni and David Wildstein, two former officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns and operates the bridge.
“The evidence will show that Baroni and Wildstein were so committed to their plan to punish mayor Sokolich during those few minutes they had alone with the governor they bragged about the fact there were traffic problems in Fort Lee and Mayor Sokolich was not getting his calls returned,” Khanna said.
Wildstein is the government’s star witness in the trial. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in relation to the lane closures last year and is cooperating with federal prosecutors.
Baroni, 44, is on trial alongside Bridget Anne Kelly, 44, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, accused of closing access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in 2013 to punish Fort Lee’s mayor, Mark Sokolich, for not endorsing Christie for re-election.