Did You Ever Doubt Christie Ordered Bridge-Gate? (Oh Boy, I Get To Use The Pictures Of Christie Blocking The Bridge Again!)

I don't think it took many firing neurons to come to that conclusion. At her sentencing yesterday, the designated patsy for the crime, Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's deputy chief of staff, said Christie knew in advance. "The fact that I am on these steps in place of others from the Christie administration, and the governor himself, does not prove my guilt. It only proves that justice is not blind. It has favorites. It misses the mark. It misses the truth. And it picks winners and losers that are sometimes beyond anyone’s control... How did all these men all escape justice? Chris Christie was allowed, without rebuttal from anyone, to say out of one side of his mouth that I was a low level staffer-- a woman only good enough to plan menus and invite people to events. And then say out of the other side that I was somehow powerful enough to shut down the George Washington Bridge."

She then said the obvious-- obvious to anyone not so willfully obtuse as to ignore it-- that there was only one person powerful enough to approve that and only one person who would dare close down the bridge: Governor Chris Christie. Could anyone doubt that? For a minute?

She has no intention of remaining silent either. "Mr Christie, you are a bully, and the days of you calling me a liar and destroying my life are over. The truth will be heard, and for the former governor, that truth will be unescapable, regardless of lucrative television deals or even future campaigns. I plan to make sure of that."

David Wildstein has admitted having some up with the plan to create "traffic problems" for Fort Lee. Kelly testified under oath that she told Christie in advance about Wildstein's plan, which she claims she believed was a legitimate traffic study, and that he gave her the go-ahead. Wildstein also testified under oath that he personally briefed Christie about how the plan would work before it was carried out. Wildstein was granted probation in return for his testimony against Kelly and Baroni, but I guess he was only believable about them and not to the far more important testimony about Christie approving the scheme in advance!

She and Christie's deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Bill Baroni, were found guilty of plotting to shut down of several access lanes to the George Washington Bridge over the course of four days in 2013, creating a traffic nightmare for Fort Lee to screw over Mayor Mark Sokolich for refusing to endorse Christie's reelection bid. Although never directly under oath, Christie denied he knew anything about the dastardly deed. A spokesman read a statement from him: "As I have said before, I had no knowledge of this scheme prior to or during these lane realignments, and had no role in authorizing them. No credible evidence was ever presented to contradict that fact. Anything said to the contrary is simply untrue."

She was sentenced to 13 months in prison, although she remains free while her appeal works its way up to the Supreme Court. Baroni is already serving his 18 month prison sentence, although he has joined Kelly's Supreme Court appeal.