We start tonight with the federal case against Christie administration staffers accused in the alleged political retribution scheme that triggered “traffic troubles in Fort Lee”. The prosecution has completed the direct exam of their star witness. Now it’s the defenses’ turn. NJTV News Chief Political Correspondent Michael Aron was in the courtroom.
Aron: The defense got its first crack at David Wildstein today.
Attorney Michael Baldassare representing Bill Baroni portrayed Wildstein as someone willing to sell his friends Baroni and Bridget Kelly down the river in order to save his own skin.
He reminded the jury that Wildstein faces up to 15 years in prison and has a heavy incentive to shade the truth.
He brought out that Wildstein had many meetings with federal prosecutors in the months after the story broke, for which he was granted immunity.
Baldassare said the government has built its case around what Wildstein told them in those meetings.
Baldassare also slipped in for the jury that Wildstein had taken the Fifth Amendment before the Legislature’s Select Committee on Investigations and then asked Wildstein today, “Do you recall being held in contempt at the end of that hearing?”
“Objection!” shouted Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes.
Judge Susan Wigenton dismissed the jury while the lawyers then sparred.
Cortes said, “David Wildstein was just exercising his constitutional rights” when he took the Fifth Amendment.
Baldassare replied, “Judge, he was held in contempt at that hearing. He wanted his immunity. Once he got it, he sang like a jaybird.”
Baldassare also questioned who reported to whom at the Port Authority, suggesting it was the admitted mastermind Wildstein who controlled Baroni.
As an example, he called up the email where Wildstein tells Baroni to respond to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich’s urgent messages with “radio silence”.
“So you are giving Bill instructions on what to do,” Baldassare says to Wildstein.
“It was more of a reminder,” Wildstein replies.
“Isn’t that because Mr. Baroni did what you told him? You told him radio silence, and he went radio silent….He did what you told him.”
Earlier, the government wrapped up its direct questioning by showing the jury excerpts from Baroni’s testimony before the Assembly Transportation Committee in 2013 where Baroni testified that the lane closures were part of a traffic study.
Now the jury has seen Baroni in the courtroom for eight days, but has not heard his voice.
Today on the big screen they got to see and hear him tell what they now know are lie after lie after lie that formed the cover story Wildstein laid out yesterday.
Baroni (Nov. 25, 2013): Every one of you on this committee has people in your communities who sit in longer traffic every day because of the special lanes for Fort Lee.
There was very little about the governor today after yesterday’s bombshell testimony that he knew about the scheme.
We’ll have more on that in a moment.
It should be noted, however, that Wildstein testified today that nothing significant happened at the Port Authority or in state government that Gov. Christie did not know about.