Indicted Former Christie Staffer Seeks Other ‘Conspirators’

An indicted former staffer for Gov. Chris Christie has renewed her efforts to get prosecutors to release names of people who may have known about lane closings at the George Washington Bridge in 2013.

An attorney for former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly wrote that in a filing two weeks ago the government for the first time acknowledged it has names of people who “may have had knowledge of the conspiracy” but didn’t join in it.

Attorney Michael Critchley added in his letter to the judge Tuesday that it is crucial to Kelly’s defense to have the names since she has been portrayed in the indictment — and in a highly publicized report by a taxpayer-commissioned law firm two years ago — as the only government staffer who knew of the alleged plot.

Kelly and former Port Authority official Bill Baroni were indicted last spring on charges including wire fraud and civil rights deprivation. They’re accused of creating traffic jams near the bridge to punish a mayor for not endorsing Christie. Their trial is scheduled for mid-May.

“The defendants cannot be handcuffed by the government’s self-serving conclusion that these very same people with criminal knowledge did not join the conspiracy,” Critchley wrote. Kelly must be permitted “to explore evidence that others not only were aware of the criminal conspiracy, but also knowingly participated in the conspiracy,” he added.

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the March 8th, 2016 edition of Hamodia.