The Bridgegate trial centers on a bizarre scheme to punish a Democratic mayor for refusing to endorse a Republican governor. Under cross examination, the mayor changed a key element of that story. NJTV News Chief Political Correspondent Michael Aron was in the courtroom. He spoke with Anchor Mary Alice Williams.
Williams: Michael, what happened?
Aron: Well, Mary Alice, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich got caught in an inconsistency today. In September 2013, in the month of the lane closures, he had said he thought this may be punishment for not endorsing the governor. In a letter to Bill Baroni at the end of the lane closures, he said he suspected punitive overtones. And then in November — this was pointed out by Michael Critchley, the defense attorney for Bridget Kelly — in November, after the governor had been safely reelected, Sokolich wrote a letter to the Star-Ledger in which he said your reporting about my thinking this was retribution was wrong. He said, “…in no way do I believe that these lane closures are a result of my refusal to support the governor.” So Critchley questioned him about this. Critchley said to him, “One’s true, one’s a lie. Which is a lie?” And Sokolich said, “That one,” referring to the letter to the editor in November. Critchley said, “You’re a mayor. Sokolich said, “I am.” Critchley said, “Are you proud of yourself? Proud of lying to the public?” Sokolich had a bad moment there but then on redirect examination, the government got him to explain that the reason he wrote that letter to the editor was that he was “petrified” of more retribution from the governor’s office and that’s why he didn’t want that narrative to continue.
Williams: Who was the next witness, the head of the Port Authority right?
Aron: That’s right. Pat Foye, the executive director for the Port Authority over the past five years was the next witness called by the government. He talked about the lane closures as being so aberrational, nothing the Port Authority would ever do in the way it was done, secretively. He also testified that watching Bill Baroni’s legislative testimony, he knew that Baroni’s testimony was mostly false. Then the defense attorney said at him during cross examination, and they said isn’t it true that your agency, the Port Authority, is dysfunctional, that the New York side and the New Jersey side are like the Jets and the Sharks from “West Side Story” and that this lane closure was all a part of that war? He didn’t say that. And then Michael Baldassare, Bill Baroni’s attorney, accused him of sitting on his awareness about the lane closures for longer than he is admitting to. Baldassare said to Foye, “You knew about it well in advance and you let it continue so you could swoop in and look like the hero.” And then Critchley got him for having allowed the Port Authority to put out press releases saying that this was all part of a traffic study and he got Foye to admit that Foye signed off on two false press releases. Foye’s excuse was “I was focused on reopening the lanes on the bridge and I wanted to do something for Bill Baroni.” They had a close relationship. He didn’t want to further embarrass Baroni at that particular moment in time.
Williams: Tomorrow?
Aron: Tomorrow, two more Port Authority employees — John Ma, Foye’s chief of staff, Tina Lado, the government relations chief for the New Jersey side, and the first witness from the governor’s office, Matt Mowers, who was the liaison to the governor’s office and the town of Fort Lee.
Williams: OK, Michael Aron, thank you.