Christie Allies Convicted on All Bridgegate Charges

Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, Jr. were found guilty Friday of all charges related to the 2013 orchestrated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. Kelly and Baroni were indicted in 2015 on nine counts of conspiracy, fraud, and other charges. Both of them pleaded not guilty. Baroni became involved in the scandal when, as a Chris Christie appointee to the Port Authority, he told the New Jersey Assembly that the lane closures were for a traffic study. Kelly, as deputy chief of staff to Christie, is the person who infamously sent an email to senior Port Authority official David Wildstein, “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” to which he replied in the affirmative. Wildstein pleaded guilty to two federal counts of conspiracy and became a witness for the prosecution. The most serious charges for Kelly and Baroni can carry a maximum up to 20 years in prison. The court will move to the sentencing phase next week.