In opening statements today, federal prosecutors said Gov. Chris Christie was told about the George Washington Bridge lane closures. The remarks contradict the governor whose former appointees are on trial for misuse of federally funded property, fraud and civil rights violations. NJTV News Chief Political Correspondent Michael Aron was in court today as the trial opened. He spoke with Anchor Mary Alice Williams and Correspondent Michael Hill about the first day of the trial.
Hill: What are prosecutors saying about Christie’s involvement?
Aron: Michael and Mary Alice, the lane closures took place the week of Sept. 9, 2013. On 9/11 that week, that Wednesday, there was a famous photo taken of Bill Baroni, David Wildstein, Chris Christie and David Samson all smiling together. The government today said that at that event, Baroni and Wildstein bragged to the governor that they had caused a traffic jam in Fort Lee to get back at the mayor for not endorsing Gov. Christie. Gov. Christie has said in the past that if anybody talked to him about traffic that day it didn’t register with him. That’s not the kind of thing that would stay in his brain. Nonetheless, the allegation corresponds to what has been said by Wildstein’s attorney about a year and a half ago when he famously said “evidence exists” that the governor knew about the lane closures.
Williams: Were you left after the court today with a clear understanding of the chain of command, who reported to who?
Aron: I was. But I forgot one other thing. There was one other revelation in court today, which was Michael Baldassare, the attorney for Bill Baroni told the jury in trying to build up his client and make him sympathetic that for four years he secretly worked in cooperation with the FBI on an investigation of lobbying and money exchanges in Trenton. So that was brand new. Now, chain of command. There were two radically different viewpoints presented today by the government and the defense attorneys. The government said that these three people conspired to misuse public property, as you put it, and deny people their civil rights. And regardless of who else may or may not have known that these three were guilty. And said that Wildstein often took direction from Bridget Kelly. The assistant U.S. attorney who made the opening argument said, “The defendants put their personal political needs over the people of Fort Lee. They put punishment over public safety. The other view, presented by Michael Critchley, Bridget Kelly’s attorney and Baldassare was that these were just pawns in a much larger game, cogs in a machine, that they were not really part of the governor’s inner circle. One case, Baroni’s lawyer said Baroni even reported to Wildstein and Wildstein really ran the Port Authority and that the big shots in all of this are getting off. Critchley said of the government, they went hunting for whales and settled for a minnow, referring to his client Bridget Kelly.
Hill: Now David Wildstein, as we know, has pleaded guilty. He’s state’s witness in this case. In this case, does it depend on a conviction or not proving the case? Does it depend on Wildstein’s credibility?
Aron: The whole thing depends on Wildstein’s credibility. That’s the heart of the case. Wildstein was the object of perhaps half of today’s argument on both sides. Baldassare at one point called Wildstein a vicious guy, a bully, maniacal and used two scatological terms that as you said earlier you can’t say on television. There’s another quote from Baldassare talking about how Wildstein really wanted to please the governor and be part of Gov. Christie’s presidential campaign and saw himself as the governor’s enforcer at Port Authority and said, “When David Wildstein spoke, Gov. Christie’s voice came out, and everybody at the Port Authority knew it. David Wildstein looks like a ventriloquist doll sitting on Gov. Christie’s lap.” So that was pretty provocative stuff.
Williams: I know that there were no cameras allowed in the courtroom. Were you able to talk to anybody outside the courtroom?
Aron: The lawyers were not inclined to talk on camera today. We did catch up to Michael Critchley as he was moving through the media hoard. Here’s a little of what we heard:
Aron: What do you think the jury heard today? What did you want the jury to hear?
Critchley: A substantial outline of what we can contend the facts to be in the case.
Aron: You called Bridget Kelly a minnow and said the government was hunting for whales but they got a minnow. She wasn’t high up on the food chain?
Critchley: No, of course not.
Aron: Also in the courtroom today were the co-chairs of the legislative Bridgegate investigative committee — Sen. Loretta Weinberg and Assemblyman John Wisniewski. Here were their comments:
Weinberg: Certainly both sides, both the defense and the prosecution seem to be putting the governor’s office and perhaps the governor smack in the middle of all this. And I guess the most surprising news I got out of this this morning is that Sen. Bill Baroni was an undercover agent for the FBI from 2006 to 2010.
Aron: What was your takeaway from today?
Wisniewski: Well clearly the defense attorneys on both Ms. Kelly’s and Mr. Baroni’s part are making the governor’s office the center of attention of this case, that this was something that came out of the governor’s office and that the governor’s office bears responsibility. In Mr. Critchley’s closing, he implicated Mr. O’Dowd. When Mr. Baldassare was talking about it, he was talking about the governor’s office. So that underscores the need for the legislative committee to continue its work.
Aron: Mr. O’Dowd was Kevin O’Dowd, the governor’s former chief of staff and Critchley today said, “I’m going to take him apart when he gets on the witness stand.”
Hill: Michael, quickly, is the governor going to testify?
Aron: One of the defense attorneys said the government is certainly not going to call the governor but didn’t say whether we’re going to call the governor. My understanding is that if the defense subpoenas the governor, he has to come and the governor has said he would come and he would respond to a subpoena.
Hill: Michael Aron covering the Bridgegate trial. Thank you Michael.
Aron: Thanks Michael and Mary Alice.