Thursday, May 7, 2020

Two former allies of Gov. Chris Christie who were convicted for their roles in the Bridgegate traffic jam scandal nearly four years ago and were facing prison terms are not going to jail after all. In a dramatic ruling today in Washington, D.C., the United States Supreme Court overturned the 2016 guilty verdicts in Newark federal court of Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and William Baroni, the former governor’s top political appointment at the Port Authority. With all nine justices voting unanimously, the court threw out Kelly’s and Baroni’s convictions, thus setting them free to go on with their lives which had been in limbo since the scandal burst into the public spotlight with Kelly's infamous email:  "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee. "Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.Writing for the majority, Justice Elena Kagan said federal prosecutors in Newark improperly applied federal fraud laws in charging Kelly and Baroni with participating in the traffic scheme that reportedly was meant to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for his refusal to endorse the re-election of Christie, a Republican.