The Supreme Court sided with two allies of former New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie and overturned their convictions for their roles in the high-profile closure of two lanes on “the busiest bridge in the world.”
William Baroni, a Port Authority appointee, and Bridget Anne Kelly, who was Christie’s chief of staff, were convicted for a political payback scheme that played out during a four-day period in September 2013. The George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey to New York, was effectively turned into a parking lot after Christie aides ordered traffic from Fort Lee, New Jersey, to a crawl in retaliation against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for refusing to endorse Christie’s 2014 reelection bid.
The high court ruled in a unanimous decision on Thursday that the government overreached in prosecuting Baroni and Kelly because their actions in the “Bridgegate” scandal did not violate federal fraud statutes.
“Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, [William] Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws,” the court wrote in its unanimous opinion.
Kelly was weeks away from beginning a 13-month prison sentence when the Supreme Court took up the case. Baroni had begun to serve his 18-month prison sentence but was released when the high court stepped in.
Prosecutors were frustrated by the result, arguing that the ruling could strip them of important tools to prosecute white-collar crimes.
Christie denied having any involvement in the scandal and was not charged in connection to the case.
