Developing: Chris Christie Associate Will Plead Guilty Today for Role in BridgeGate

Barbara Boland | May 1, 2015
DONATE
Font Size

After the 16-month federal investigation into Bridgegate, David Wildstein, friend and political ally of Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.,) will plead guilty later today to unspecified charges, reports The New York Times.

U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman announced today that court proceedings will occur at 11 a.m. and he will hold a press conference at 1 p.m. Other indictments are expected.

The New York Times reports:

The exact charges Mr. Wildstein would plead guilty to were not immediately clear, and both he and his lawyer declined to comment as they entered a courthouse in Newark on Friday morning. Typically, he would appear in court to answer a series of questions confirming the details he was acknowledging in his plea.

That plea will be heavily watched for what Mr. Wildstein indicates about what role – if any — Mr. Christie had in the lane closings, which gridlocked the town of Fort Lee, N.J., over four days, stranding emergency vehicles, commuters and school buses.

Mr. Wildstein told several people in the Christie administration that he had discussed the lane closings with the governor as they were happening, an assertion the governor denies. And through his lawyer, Mr. Wildstein has said that other “evidence exists” that Mr. Christie knew about the closings as they occurred. The lawyer, Alan Zegas, did not return calls and emails seeking comment this week.

Before the Bridgegate scandal erupted, Gov. Christie was considered a strong potential nominee in the Republican presidential race.

 

 

donate