President Trump congratulated former Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie after the Supreme Court overturned the convictions of members of his staff related to the “Bridgegate” scandal.
The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that it would overturn the convictions of two of Christie’s allies who were convicted after being accused of playing out a political payback scheme by creating traffic on the George Washington Bridge after Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich refused to endorse Christie in 2013. Trump congratulated Christie and his allies while condemning the Obama administration for its role in prosecuting the case.
“Congratulations to former Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, and all others involved, on a complete and total exoneration (with a 9-0 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court) on the Obama DOJ Scam referred to as ‘Bridgegate,'” the president tweeted.
“The Democrats are getting caught doing very evil things, and Republicans should take note. This was grave misconduct by the Obama Justice Department!” he added.
….are getting caught doing very evil things, and Republicans should take note. This was grave misconduct by the Obama Justice Department! @GovChristie
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2020
The court ruled unanimously that the actions taken by Christie and his colleagues did not violate any federal fraud statutes because it “did not aim to obtain money or property.”
William Baroni, a Port Authority appointee, and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s chief of staff, were set to begin their prison sentences for the case in a few weeks before the Supreme Court agreed to review the case. Baroni had been sentenced to 18 months in prison while Kelly was set to spend 12 months behind bars.
Eric Holder was the U.S. attorney general at the time of the investigation, and Paul Fishman, the U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey who was appointed by Obama, was the lead prosecutor. Following the ruling on Thursday morning, Christie slammed Fishman and Holder for their roles in the case.
“What cannot be undone is the damage that was visited upon all of the people dragged through the mud who had nothing to do with this incident by the prosecutorial misconduct and personal vindictiveness of Paul Fishman,” Christie said in a statement posted to Twitter.
“The leadership of the Obama Justice Department is also culpable for permitting this misconduct to happen right under their noses, authorizing Paul Fishman to weaponize the office for political and partisan reasons,” he added.
Here is my statement in reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision today. Complete exoneration for my team from the prosecutorial misconduct of Paul Fishman and the Obama Justice Department. pic.twitter.com/4JU8K17jtV
— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) May 7, 2020
Christie denied all involvement in the scandal at the time and was never charged.
