The shoe we were waiting for has finally dropped.
Former deputy chief of staff Bridget Anne Kelly testified in her own defense at the Bridgegate trial this morning where she said Governor Chris Christie was told about the upcoming lane closures and also signed off on it.
Taking the witness stand in her own defense Friday, Kelly explained that Christie “really didn't react” when she told him of the upcoming study, but said “OK” and asked her when it would be scheduled.
Christie told her to “make sure you run it by O'Dowd,” she said, referring to Christie's chief of staff at the time, Kevin O'Dowd.
Former Port Authority executive David Wildstein testified earlier this month that Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge lane closures and even laughed about it with his advisers and staff on the 12th anniversary of 9/11.
It was already fairly well established that Christie knew about the political revenge plot against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, but Kelly's testimony is the first testimony we've seen of Christie signing off on the operation.
I expect Bill Baroni will offer similar testimony when it's his turn. You may recall that both the defense and the prosecution contend that Governor Christie knew all about it. For the defense, Christie's knowledge demonstrates that their clients have been scapegoated and thrown under the bus. For the federal prosecutors, Christie's knowledge of it and his staff's discussion of the plot with him is evidence of their wrongdoing.
A local county judge referred Christie to prosecutors for official misconduct last week. Christie is still the chief of Donald Trump's presidential transition (lol) team.
