By Michael Aron
Chief Political Correspondent
Two former Christie allies facing trial in the politically charged Bridgegate scandal have met the men and women who’ll decide their fate. Chief Political Correspondent Michael Aron was in the courtroom as the jury was empaneled.
Williams: Michael, Who are they?
Aron: They are seven women, five men, four alternates in case somebody gets dismissed, racially diverse. Defense attorney Michael Critchley called the jury red, white and blue, a cross section of America. They include a retired camcorder repairman, a UPS supervisor, an NJEA member, a woman with ties to the Morris County Republican party of an earlier era and two people who don’t like Chris Christie. It was surprising that both the government and the defense allowed onto the jury two people who openly said under questioning that they don’t care for the governor.
Williams: Opening arguments are Monday. Do you have any sense of what we’re going to hear?
Aron: From Critchley, Bridget Kelly’s attorney, we’re going to hear a tale of hardship and how this ordeal has really upended the life of a single mother on a high trajectory career path. Now she’s too toxic to get a job. She has four kids she’s raising on her own. She can’t pay her legal fees and Critchley is overlooking that for now. Bill Baroni’s attorney, Michael Baldassare, is likely to talk about a lifetime of good deeds and his client as a cog in a larger machine. And the government is going to talk about how these two conspired to misuse public property and endanger public safety all for politics.
Williams: And you’ll have a front row seat. Thank you, Michael.
Aron: Thank you, Mary Alice.