OPINION

EDITORIAL: Bridgegate closes in on Christie

The clouds continue to darken over Gov. Chris Christie’s political career. His integrity also comes into greater question with each passing day of the ongoing Bridgegate trial of two of Christie’s former allies.

The governor is sticking to his story that he knew nothing about the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013 either before or while they occurred. But the cracks in that story are growing wider.

The latest blows to the governor’s credibility came Friday during testimony from Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff standing trial for her alleged role in helping orchestrate the closures as political retribution against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich.

MORE: Bridgegate: Kelly says she told Christie of the plan 

Kelly said she discussed the closure plan with Christie well before the lanes were shut down in September 2013, even before she sent out her infamous “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee” e-mail. Kelly said Christie okayed the plan, although she also insisted she believed at the time that the closures were part of a legitimate traffic study.

Kelly said the plan was masterminded by David Wildstein, Christie’s old high school friend and, at the time, a high-powered Port Authority official who wanted to punish Sokolich for refusing to endorse Christie’s re-election. Wildstein has already pleaded guilty to his role in the closures. Bill Baroni, another Christie ally and former Port Authority deputy executive director, is standing trial with Kelly for his role in the scheme.

So if Kelly’s testimony is true, Christie knew about the closures beforehand. If Wildstein’s testimony about his own conversation with Christie at a Sept. 11 memorial that year is true, the governor knew about the closures while they were ongoing. Meanwhile, the trial continues to tie a growing number of Christie allies and staffers closer to the scheme with revelations about related e-mails and conversations. Many of those allies and staffers are almost certainly among the list of unindicted co-conspirators that has yet to be publicly released.

MORE: Ex-adviser: Christie knew of Bridgegate lane closure

None of this constitutes concrete proof. Kelly’s testimony was the closest thing to a bombshell, but she’s also trying to save her own neck. Wildstein cut a deal to rat out others. Christie and his apologists can pick apart each individual claim with favorable interpretations or outright denials.

But Christie isn’t charged with anything. He’s being tried in the court of public opinion. To believe the governor’s claims, you’d have to believe he remained utterly clueless about a scheme carried out on his behalf as part of a broader hardball campaign strategy. You’d have to believe that despite all of the discussions and e-mail exchanges referencing the lane closures among a variety of people either working for the governor or with close connections to him, Christie never heard a word about it. The earlier conversations telling him directly about the plan? They’d have to be lies. And Christie, the most powerful person of all, would be the innocent victim.

Christie’s version of events never quite added up. It makes less sense by the day.

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