Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

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Re: Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Oct 13, 2016 2:50 pm

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Chris Christie facing possible Bridgegate indictment: The final piece of a spectacular political collapse

Once seen as the future of the GOP, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie may now be facing criminal charges
SIMON MALOY

Earlier this morning, a judge in New Jersey’s Bergen County ruled that there exists sufficient probable cause to investigate allegations of official misconduct by Gov. Chris Christie related to the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal, also known as Bridgegate. Now the Bergen County prosecutor will determine whether to pursue an indictment against the governor.

Christie has maintained from the start that he knew nothing about a scheme devised by three of his top aides to create crippling traffic jams on the bridge as political punishment for the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey. And for a long time it seemed that the governor might escape the Bridgegate investigation without facing official charges.

Things changed last month when federal prosecutors made their first public statements alleging that Christie knew about the lane closures as they were happening. A couple of weeks ago, one of the Bridgegate plotters testified that Christie was kept apprised of the traffic problems and knew that they were politically motivated. Now it looks like the circle is closing in on the embattled leader of the Garden State.

The potential indictment of a sitting governor for his alleged involvement in a cartoonishly villainous scheme to inflict political punishment on a state official by disrupting the lives of ordinary citizens is remarkable enough. But this is Chris Christie we’re talking about. He was once viewed by pretty much everyone as the future of the Republican Party, and an indictment would be the final piece of one of the most spectacular political collapses in recent memory.

In 2014, there was near-unanimous agreement among Republican elites that Christie would be a force in the 2016 GOP primaries. He was a popular blue-state governor who knew how to manipulate the press and promote his “Jersey tough guy” brand. His bullying swagger, unmasked contempt for unions and willingness to sacrifice his state’s fiscal health through the relentless pursuit of tax cuts endeared him to the Republican establishment.

Even after the Bridgegate scandal broke and severely damaged his credibility in New Jersey, the Christie faithful weren’t ready to write him off. “Christie today radiates serenity,” wrote Washington Post columnist George Will in October 2014. “His critics, including many Hillary Clinton enthusiasts, hoped the past 12 months would be for him a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. He has, however, thrived.”

When the primaries started up and Christie launched his campaign, he conspicuously failed to gain any electoral traction anywhere. But there was still a potent, if inexplicable urge to treat Christie as a nominee in waiting whose appeals and charms would soon work their magic on the Republican electorate.

To pundits and reporters, Christie was always on the verge of a comeback, even as his poll numbers grew steadily worse. No one wanted to believe that the affable, jocular Christie who seemed to live on the set of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” was a fraud or that the authoritarian cruelty of the Bridgegate fiasco was a better reflection of who he really was.

The fever finally broke after Christie knifed Sen. Marco Rubio, another favorite of the party establishment, in a New Hampshire presidential debate and then endorsed Donald Trump after ending his own presidential bid. He was isolated, his political future was destroyed and an unholy alliance with Trump offered Christie’s only chance at any sort of continued relevance.

So the famously tough Christie prostrated himself before Trump’s throne and absorbed countless slights and indignities just for the opportunity to be in proximity to power. That’s when everyone finally saw the unprincipled rat who masked his cowardice and corruptibility with bluster and macho posturing.

The fact that Christie now faces possible indictment for the wanton malice with which he ran his administration is as strong an endorsement of karmic justice as one could ask for. As we all gawk and marvel at this incredible reversal of political fortune, it’s very much worth asking why so many people were taken in by this thug in the first place.
http://www.salon.com/2016/10/13/christi ... ndictment/


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Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

Postby seemslikeadream » Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:39 pm

Christie camp knew ‘s–t was hitting the fan’ over Bridgegate
By Kaja Whitehouse October 19, 2016 | 5:24pm
Modal Trigger Christie camp knew ‘s–t was hitting the fan’ over Bridgegate


Officials within the Christie administration knew that “s–t was hitting the fan” over the George Washington Bridge lane closures as early as October 2013, according to an e-mail brought into evidence at the Bridgegate trial on Wednesday.

“A new high level of s–t is hitting the fan tonight on the Ft Lee/GWB issue. Maybe you should know about it,” Christie’s then-press secretary Michael Drewniak said in an e-mail on Oct. 18, 2013 to Chief of Staff Kevin O’Dowd.

Bridget Anne Kelly’s defense attorney, Michael Critchley, brought up the e-mail in an attempt to show that the lane closures were well-known throughout the Christie administration and that his client unfairly took the fall.

Kelly, a former Christie staffer, and Bill Baroni, the Port Authority’s former deputy executive director, are currently on trial, accused of orchestrating the lane closures as an act of political retaliation against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who refused to endorse Christie’s election.

Kelly is expected to take the stand in her own defense as early as Thursday — and insist she believed the lane closures were part of a legitimate traffic study, not an act of revenge.

She will also likely say she spoke to Christie about the lane closures more than once while working as his deputy chief of staff — suggesting orders for the bridge fiasco came straight from the top.

When asked about the e-mail to O’Dowd, Drewniak insisted the “high level of s–t” referred to state legislators asking questions about the scandal.

“Why were the legislators of interest to you all of a sudden?” Critchley asked.

“It had something to do with legislators,” Drewniak said. “Precisely what it was, I cant remember.”

But earlier in the day, Drewniak admitted he told a grand jury that he became aware that Kelly and Bill Stepien, another former Christie aide, knew about the lance closures the same day he sent the e-mail.

The former Christie spokesman also said he was asked by a reporter about whether the governor knew about the lane closures as early as Sept. 17th.

But he didn’t bother asking the governor about it until Dec. 5 — the day after the government’s star witness David Wildstein told Drewniak over dinner that he’d discussed the scheme with Christie at a Sept. 11 memorial.

“I didn’t see any reason to bother the governor,” Drewniak said of his decision not to ask Christie about it earlier.

On Dec. 13, Christie held a press conference on Bridgegate and insisted he had “no reason to believe” anyone on his senior staff was involved in the lane closures.
http://nypost.com/2016/10/19/christie-c ... ridgegate/



3 tense moments from Baroni's Bridgegate cross examination


Defendant Bill Baroni walks into the federal courthouse in Newark Monday with his attorney Jennifer Mara. As expected, the former Port Authority executive took the stand at the start of the day's proceedings. Baroni is on trial facing federal charges in connection with the shutdown of lanes at the George Washington Bridge as political retribution against the Fort Lee mayor for not endorsing Gov. Christie for re-election. (Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media, for NJ.com
Print Email Ted Sherman and Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com By Ted Sherman and Matt Arco | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

on October 19, 2016 at 8:14 AM, updated October 19, 2016 at 10:09 AM

NEWARK — Bill Baroni, accused by federal prosecutors of having a key role in the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, spent an entire day on the witness stand Tuesday under cross examination.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes questioned the former Gov. Chris Christie top appointee to the Port Authority for about five hours. It was sometimes confrontational.

The prosecutors aggressively pushed back against Bill Baroni's claim he was just following David Wildstein's orders when access lanes to the George Washington Bridge were shut down, and that his only fault in the political revenge scheme was to trust the former Republican operative.

Instead, prosecutors painted a picture for jurors of Gov. Chris Christie's top appointee to the Port Authority as someone close to the governor who, at times, acted as his attack dog.

Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes for his role in the lane closures and is the prosecution's star witness, admitted he orchestrated the lane closures as a form of political retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee for not endorsing the governor for re-election.

Baroni, along with former Christie aide Bridget Kelly, is on trial in federal court facing nine counts in connection with the case.

Prosecutors portray Baroni as attack dog
Prosecutors portray Baroni as attack dog
The governor turned to Baroni, at times, to deliver tough messages, prosecutors say.

Here are three such exchanges from Baroni's time on the stand:

1. Cortes asks the questions

Prosecutors aggressively pushed back against Baroni's claim he was just following Wildstein's orders when access lanes to the bridge were shut down, and that his only fault in the political revenge scheme was to trust the former Republican operative.

Instead, the painted a picture of Baroni as the administration's attack dog.

Cortes' questions to Baroni were, at times, combative. Here's an example of one such exchange after the prosecutor asked Baroni whether he was called to Washington D.C. in 2011 to testify about toll increases:

Cortes: "You get that the answer to my question was a 'yes,' right?"

Baroni: "I'm sorry, sir, I was just trying to explain what I was going down there for."

Cortes, in a scolding tone: "When, Mr. Baroni, if I want an explanation, I'll ask. Ok?"

2. What's faster, an ambulance or a runner?

Cortes' cross examination was also peppered with moments of condescension from the assistant U.S. attorney.

The latter was apparent when Cortes pressed Baroni on how the gridlock in Fort Lee could have endangered the safety of its residents when first responders were trying to respond to emergency calls.

Cortes: "In a health emergency, you want an ambulance to get there as fast as possible, right?"

baroni
Bill Baroni in federal court.
Jane Rosenberg court sketch

Baroni: "You would, yes."

Then, Cortes explained for jurors that on the first day of the traffic jams, Fort Lee ambulance attendants were forced to ditch their vehicle and respond on foot because of the massive gridlock.

Cortes: "Responding on foot means getting out and walking, and, or, running, right?"

Baroni: "I assume so."

Cortes: "You agree with me, Mr. Baroni, that driving in an ambulance has the potential to be faster than walking or running, right?"

Baroni: "I guess so."

3. The judge weighs in

Cortes accused Baroni, a skilled politician who holds a law degree from the University of Virginia, on several occasions of evading questions and not giving simple answers to "yes" or "no" questions.

At one point, Judge Susan Wigenton weighed in.

Wigenton to Baroni: "It's a 'yes' or 'no' question. That's why we're having the problem. The question is being asked but you're not saying 'yes' or 'no.'
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/1 ... te_cr.html


Chris Christie Will Appear in Court Over Bridgegate
By Adam K. Raymond

On November 23, New Jersey governor Chris Christie will appear in front of a Hackensack judge to face criminal charges for his role in the Bridgegate mess. The charges arise from a complaint of official misconduct, brought last week by a retired firefighter who alleges that Christie failed to stop the closure of the George Washington Bridge in 2013. In New Jersey, citizens are allowed to file criminal complaints and if a judge finds probable cause, a summons is issued. Given Christie’s all-time-low approval rating, it was only a matter of time until this happened.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/20 ... egate.html
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:49 pm

Bridgegate Trial: Kelly Says Christie Knew About GWB ‘Traffic Study’
By Alyana Alfaro • 10/21/16 12:51pm


NEWARK, N.J.—In the ongoing Bridgegate trial, former Governor Chris Christie Deputy Chief of Staff Brigid Kelly told the court today that she informed the governor of the so-called George Washington Bridge traffic study prior to the infamous lane closures.

Charged with conspiracy, Kelly said former Port Authority employee David Wildstein told her about his proposed traffic study, and told her it would make the governor look good. Subsequent to her receiving an email from Wildstein in which he told her that he had “an extraordinarily weird” matter to discuss with her, Kelly made the governor aware on August 12th, 2013 of Wildstein’s plan for a “traffic study.”

In his communication with Kelly, she said, Wildstein told her that the study would initially be a “tremendous problem for Fort Lee” but that the study would be so successful that they would ultimately be able to have an event with signs and banners celebrating the governor, who was running for reelection that year.

When she relayed that information to the governor, Christie inquired about the governor’s office’s relationship with Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, said Kelly. On the stand today she said she told the governor she was unsure and would have to check, that she hadn’t heard anything about Fort Lee in some time.

Kelly said she thought little of the exchange at the time, as it was a busy day.

Christie asked Kelly to run the study by Chief of staff Kevin O’Dowd, the former deputy chief of staff recalled.

While she said the governor knew about the lane closures prior to them occurring, to be clear, Kelly did not say or imply that Christie knew anything about the punishing nature of the traffic study admitted to under oath by Wildstein.

When he was on the stand earlier in the trial, Widstein said he bragged to Christie at a 911 Memorial event about the study, and immediately after the event, the governor told Kelly that he had had a conversation with Wildstein, Christie’s former deputy chief said.

As for her “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” text, Kelly today said she said she was merely repeating or “parroting” language Wildstein had used in his communications with her.

http://observer.com/2016/10/bridgegate- ... fic-study/
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Nov 04, 2016 11:56 am

Former Christie allies convicted on all counts in New Jersey 'Bridgegate' trial

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-j ... SKBN12Z216


Christie's Bridgegate legal fees cost you another $1M, report says
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/20 ... eport.html
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

Postby norton ash » Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:12 pm

Trump, Christie and the East Coast Anti-Intellectual Establishment.
Zen horse
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Re: Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Nov 10, 2016 7:07 pm

Democratic lawmaker seeks GOP Christie impeachment hearings
By Associated Press November 10 at 5:13 PM
TRENTON, N.J. — A ranking Democrat on Thursday called for lawmakers to consider impeachment proceedings against Republican Gov. Chris Christie based on what was revealed during the recently completed George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial in which two of his former aides were convicted.

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg said there was “considerable testimony” during the trial that Christie knew about the bridge conspiracy, in which, prosecutors say, three allies closed lanes near the bridge to create traffic headaches in Fort Lee to retaliate against its Democratic mayor for not endorsing him for re-election. The bridge, one of the world’s busiest, connects Fort Lee and New York City.

In a statement, Weinberg, who co-chaired a legislative committee that probed the lane-closing scandal in 2014, called on Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto to consider the impeachment.

“The allegations of federal prosecutors and statements of witnesses who testified under oath cannot go unanswered and impeaching Chris Christie would bar him from further public service in this State,” Weinberg wrote.

Weinberg’s request comes as Christie, who failed in a presidential bid this year, is deeply involved with Republican President-elect Donald Trump as the chair of his White House transition team.

Prieto responded in a statement that the Assembly is “weighing all potential legislative activity.” He said it was disappointing Weinberg made her request in a press release.

Impeachment proceedings would begin in the Assembly, before being voted on in the Senate.

A jury convicted Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, Christie’s appointee to a top executive position at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge, last week. Kelly and Baroni had denied the charges against them, saying that the government twisted federal law to turn their actions into crimes and that people with more power and influence were involved but weren’t prosecuted.

Christie has denied any knowledge of the lane closures until weeks or months after they occurred in September 2013. But Kelly, Baroni and a third former Christie ally, who testified against them, said under oath that Christie knew about the plan to close lanes either in advance or during the four days it was in progress.

Kelly also testified she told Christie of the Fort Lee mayor’s concerns about political retribution during the week of the closures.

Christie is facing a criminal misconduct complaint filed last month by a resident who said that the governor “knowingly refrained from ordering that his subordinates take all necessary action to re-open local access lanes” and that residents were “deprived the benefit and enjoyment of their community.”

Last month a judge ruled the case can move forward, and a hearing is scheduled for this month.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... story.html
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: Bridge Over Big Fat Ego

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Feb 16, 2017 4:39 pm

:happyclap: :clapping:


That crime is punishable by up to ten years in the slammer. :yay

Bridgegate misconduct complaint against Christie can move forward, judge rules


on February 16, 2017 at 11:51 AM, updated February 16, 2017 at 1:28 PM
TRENTON -- A Bergen County municipal judge ruled Thursday that a citizen's complaint of official misconduct by Gov. Chris Christie can proceed anew, re-issuing a criminal summons that the governor had twice sought to have dismissed.

The official misconduct charge alleges that Christie failed to act to reverse the politically motivated 2013 Fort Lee access lane closures at the George Washington Bridge after being informed of their occurrence, something the governor has steadfastly denied.

"The court is satisfied that [Christie] had knowledge of the traffic problems in Fort Lee," said municipal Judge Roy F. McGeady, referring to in the now-infamous politically motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge that resulted in the federal convictions of two of the governor's top aides last fall.

"The court is satisfied that he had reason to believe that this traffic was purposely created, it was contrived, it was orchestrated" for political retribution, the judge added.

Judge says no to request to toss case vs. Christie

The judge ordered a new hearing on the Bridgegate-related complaint.

Drawing on testimony from David Wildstein, a cooperating witness in the federal trial of top Christie allies Bridget Ann Kelly and Bill Baroni, the citizen complaint alleged that Christie failed to take action after being informed of politically-motivated closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013.

A criminal summons to face a charge of official misconduct was initially issued by McGeady in October 2016, but had been appealed on the grounds that Christie was denied adequate participation from his defense counsel to defend him.

An appellate court agreed with the governor's attorneys and last month remanded the case back to McGeady, only to see the Bergen County prosecutor's office announce it would decline to pursue the misconduct charge regardless of what new evidence was presented at the second probable cause hearing.

Citizen activist Bill Brennan has repeatedly claimed that the Bergen prosecutors have a conflict of interest because they answer to bosses who serve at the pleasure of the governor.

Christie's criminal defense attorney, Craig Carpenito of Alston & Byrd declined to attend the second February 2 hearing, insisting the prosecutor's declining to pursue that case made it a "legal nullity."

Carpenito did not attend Thursday's hearing, either.

McGeady disagreed, and allowed Brennan to include testimony by Wildstein about a September 11, 2015 meeting between the governor, Wildstein and his political appointee Bill Baroni at the World Trade Center.

In that testimony, Wildstein testified that Baroni had told the governor about the lane closures creating 'tremendous' traffic jams and the distress they were causing Fort Lee's Democratic mayor, Mark Sokolich.

At that meeting, "no one mentioned 'political' at all except the governor," said McGeady.

"It was the governor who tied this to some type of political event when he twice referred to Mr. Wildstein, by a pseudonym, as not being involved in 'political' actions." said McGeady. "The court found that very persuasive."

The judge has ordered the governor to appear before the court on March 10 at 1:30 p.m. to face prosecutors, who could still bring charges, but are not expected to.

Shortly after the ruling by McGeady, Brennan stood outside the courthouse to accuse the prosecutors of the very same official misconduct charges he'd lobbed at the governor.

"It's not that they don't understand it, it's that they are beholden to the governor," said Brennan. "It is likely that the Bergen prosecutor is going to engage in an act of political corruption and dismiss this case with no basis whatsoever."

Earlier this month, Brennan filed a motion seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle the case with Bergen assignment judge Bonnie Mizdol, but on Thursday morning, he expressed doubt Mizdol would agree to one.

"I'm going to use this moment in time to call upon the other candidates for governor to get involved in this," said Brennan, who is also a running as a Democrat to replace Christie. He urged them "to call for an independent and special prosecutor" to take over.

Then, in a dramatic twist, Brennan called for any New Jersey citizen currently serving on a grand jury to exercise their legal right to summon him to testify before them and indict the governor.

"If anybody in the state of New Jersey is currently sitting on a grand jury, I implore you: Summon me before you," urged Brennan. "I will come before you with the transcripts and the evidence and you can get an indictment. Any grand jury, without prodding from the prosecutor, can call witnesses and demand evidence and demand this case be prosecuted...without the prosecutor's help."

Dennis Kearney, a former assistant prosecutor in Essex County who's now a partner in the criminal defense firm of Day Pitney, said such a move, while technically possible, would be unprecedented, and "very unlikely" to happen.

"The idea that a grand jury would 'go rogue'?" asked Kearney. "I've never seen it, and I go before grand juries for a living."

Brian Murray, a spokesman for the governor, released a statement on Thursday morning blasting the judge's decision as "illegal" and Brennan's claim as "concocted."

"The judge is violating the law, pure and simple," wrote Murray. "This concocted claim was investigated for three months by the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, which summarily dismissed it, after concluding that the very same evidence relied upon again by this judge was utter nonsense. That is exactly what it is. The law requires this judge to have done the same. This is a complete non-event."

Brennan, for his part, said that if the Bergen prosecutor's office was too "hopelessly conflicted" to pursue the criminal summons alleging official misconduct, he would consider filing official misconduct charges against them as well.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/20 ... an_pr.html
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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