New Jersey governor Chris Christie was fully aware of a plan to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge in 2013, prosecutors asserted Monday. A Christie aide wrote “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” after the mayor of Fort Lee declined to endorse the governor’s reelection campaign—and the lane closures came the following month. Governor Christie, now a prominent Trump surrogate, consistently claimed ignorance of the vengeful plot behind Bridgegate.
The New York Times reports:
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey knew that his close associates were involved in a plan to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as it was happening and that the closings were intended to punish a local mayor for declining to support him, prosecutors said on Monday. It was the first time Mr. Christie, a Republican, has been accused of knowing about the scheme as it unfolded. The prosecutors made the assertion during opening statements in the trial of two former Christie administration officials charged with closing the lanes in 2013 and then covering it up. Mr. Christie has insisted that he had no knowledge of the plot to close the lanes, and said that he did not recall being told about the closings while they were happening. Defense lawyers have also said that Mr. Christie knew. But the statement on Monday was striking in that it was prosecutors confirming that assertion.
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