Questions mount over Chris Christie's role in 'Bridgegate' after former allies’ conviction

Two former aides to Republican Governor Chris Christie were convicted on Friday of causing epic traffic jams for political revenge near the nation’s busiest bridge, a verdict that further damages his legacy and raises anew questions about why he and his inner circle escaped prosecution.

Bridget Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, Christie’s appointee to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were found guilty of all counts against them. Kelly cried as the verdict was read; Baroni showed no emotion. They announced plans to appeal.

The verdict also had ramifications on the presidential campaign trail, where Christie became an adviser to Republican Donald Trump after his own campaign collapsed, in part because of the bridge case. Before the verdict was issued, Trump’s campaign had announced Christie would stump for him in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania on Saturday, but later said he would not be on the trail Saturday.

Testimony during the seven-week trial contradicted Christie’s statements about when he knew about the four days of gridlock at the base of the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee in September 2013. The traffic jams were aimed at retaliating against Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie’s re-election, prosecutors alleged.

Other testimony described some of Christie’s top advisers and confidants knowing about the plan ahead of time or soon afterward and being aware of the political motivation well before Christie told reporters in December 2013 that none of his staff was involved.