President Trump says the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision Thursday to overturn two “Bridgegate” convictions reveals “grave misconduct” by the “Obama Justice Department.”
Liberal and conservative justices united to toss the 2016 convictions of Bridget Kelly, an aide to then-Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, and former Port Authority exec Bill Baroni.
The pair corruptly closed lanes on the George Washington Bridge but didn’t commit the fraud and conspiracy they were accused of, the justices found.
“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,'” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The president added: “The Democrats are getting caught doing very evil things, and Republicans should take note. This was grave misconduct by the Obama Justice Department!”
Republican Christie’s 2016 presidential bid was dogged by allegations that he knew about the actions of Kelly and Baroni, who orchestrated the September 2013 lane closures to punish Democratic Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie’s gubernatorial re-election.
Kelly, now 47, infamously wrote in an email: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”
She testified in 2016 she told Christie in advance about the lane closures, but insisted that the email referred to a legitimate traffic study, not a politically motivated operation.
A third person, former Port Authority executive David Wildstein, pleaded guilty to two felonies and assisted prosecutors. He received probation.
Kelly, who claims she was made a scapegoat by Christie, was sentenced to 13 months in prison. Baroni, 48, received an 18-month sentence.
The Supreme Court’s decision said the duo were guilty of wrongdoing, but not wire fraud because no money was involved.
“The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoing — deception, corruption, abuse of power,” Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan wrote in the decision.
Christie also tweeted his outrage at the Obama administration.
Christie assisted Trump’s Republican primary win, torpedoing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with a blistering debate-stage attack on the “establishment” pick’s amount of experience.
Christie was fired as the Trump presidential transition chairman two days after votes were counted. Christie blamed Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, whose father had been prosecuted and jailed by former US Attorney Christie.