BRIDGEGATE TRIAL–The “extraordinarily weird” twist in the month-long trial
The prosecution’s case in the Bridgegate trial has been living with a possibly fatal flaw for weeks–and, on Friday, that flaw threatened both the chances for convicting at least one defendant and also the credibility of the two-year federal investigation into the closing of entrance lanes at the George Washington Bridge in September, 2013. It has to do with an oddly worded email:
“I have an issue to discuss with you, extraordinarily weird even by my standards.”
Nearly a month ago, David Wildstein, the government’s chief witness against two allies of Gov. Chris Christie, told federal prosecutors he sent that email to Bridget Anne Kelly, one of the defendants in the case, on August 12, 2013. Wildstein was working for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Kelly was a deputy chief of staff in Christie’s office.
Wildstein said the message led to a telephone call with Kelly–but he couldn’t remember while he was testifying for the government exactly what he meant by the strange message and, more, he couldn’t remember what was said during the telephone call with Kelly that followed. On the stand last month, Wildstein repeatedly apologized but he just couldn’t remember what that message and call were all about.
Sounds strange. Wildstein had few memory problems while he testified for the government against Kelly and Bill Baroni, the former Port Authority deputy executive director and the trial’s other defendant.
On Friday, during the first hours of Bridget Kelly’s testimony in her own defense, she certainly remembered what that “extraordinarily weird” subject was: The so-called traffic study that would lead to massive traffic jams at the bridge–and, indirectly, to the downfall of Christie’s presidential ambitions.
“He (Wildstein) wanted Christie to be able to tout he had helped all those commuters,” Kelly said.
This wasn’t about punishing the mayor of Fort Lee–the government’s theory and the thrust of Wildstein’s testimony–it was about promoting Christie’s campaign among commuters using the bridge.
She said the study–which she believed to be genuine–would ultimately be used for BRIDGEGATE TRIAL–The “extraordinarily weird” twist in the month-long trial. |:
