Crime & Safety

Probable Cause To Charge Chris Christie In Bridgegate, Judge Rules

A judge has ruled that there is probable cause to charge Gov. Chris Christie with official misconduct. Story developing...

A judge has ruled that there is probable cause to charge Gov. Chris Christie with official misconduct connected to the Bridgegate scandal.

The decision from state Superior Court Judge Roy F. McGeady of Bergen County means the governor could still face charges connected to the scandal that has plagued his administration, even though the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office has said that it won't pursue it.

Former Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli told Patch it's the prosecutor's decision whether to revisit the complaint and pursue charges. The Attorney General's Office could supersede the BCPO's authority, but he doesn't see that happening in this case.

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The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, Molinelli said, has "prerogative" in this matter. "I have full confidence that the Bergen County Prosecutor [Gurbir S. Grewal] will make the right decision," he said.

Efforts to obtain comment from the BCPO were unsuccessful Thursday.

Find out what's happening in Mendham-Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A higher court judge had also reversed McGeady's decision that authorities should probe a complaint of official misconduct against Christie related to the George Washington Bridge lane-closure scandal.

The case, however, then went back to the lower court for reconsideration, and McGready ruled that the governor could face charges.

Christie is scheduled to appear in municipal court March 10 on a criminal summons.

Brian Murray, press secretary for Christie, released the following statement regarding the opinion by Bergen County’s presiding municipal court judge:

“This judge has once again violated the governor's constitutional rights and intentionally ignored the earlier ruling by Assignment Judge [Bonnie] Mizdol. The judge is violating the law, pure and simple. This concocted claim was investigated for three months by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, which summarily dismissed it, after concluding that the very same evidence relied upon again by this judge was utter nonsense. That is exactly what it is. The law requires this judge to have done the same. This is a complete non-event.”

McGeady issued the ruling in favor of North Jersey political activist Bill Brennan, who filed the complaint on Sept. 30. Brennan's complaint stems from testimony in the ongoing Bridgegate trial.

"When the governor conspires to turn the power of the government against the people, it becomes a totalitarian regime and it is a crime of highest order," Brennan, who is running for governor, has said. "A firm and direct stand against this dangerous abusive authority must be taken and an example must be made of him."

Testimony in a trial that convicted two Bridgegate conspirators has suggested Christie knew all about Bridgegate while the political payback scheme was happening — and he knew why it was being done.

Christie knew that his associates were involved in a plan to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, according to a New York Times account of the 2016 trial, and that the closings were intended to punish the Fort Lee mayor for declining to support his 2013 reelection bid.

The two indicted, Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor’s former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the top Christie executive appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were both convicted.

David Wildstein, the Christie-appointed Port Authority official also behind Bridgegate, has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy.

Long-time Christie confidant David Samson, who some believed had a role in the Bridgegate scheme but was never charged for it, pleaded guilty in July to demanding a bribe while he was chairman of the Port Authority.

Christie, who has repeatedly denied being involved in the scheme, recently told NBC that he believes the scandal impacted his chances of becoming Donald Trump's vice presidential running mate. Christie also made a failed attempt at running for president earlier last year.


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