Ex-Christie aide pleads not guilty

A former close aide to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges stemming from the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge.

Bridget Anne Kelly, the former deputy chief of staff to Christie, and Bill Baroni, a former executive at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, both pleaded not guilty on multiple counts filed against them by federal prosecutors, according to Politicker NJ.

{mosads}Their bail was reportedly set at $150,000 each and their trial was scheduled to begin in July.

Baroni and Kelly were indicted Friday for their alleged role in the George Washington Bridge closure that federal investigators believe was politically motivated as retribution against a Fort Lee, N.J., mayor who did not endorse Christie.

Baroni and Kelly appeared in court for the first time on Monday.

David Wildstein, a former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official and confidant of Christie, pled guilty on Friday and said he would cooperate with investigators.

Investigators noted that Kelly sent an email to Wildstein that said it was “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” to which Wildstein acknowledged “Got it.” She later lamented to Wildstein that they could not “cause traffic problems in front of” the house of a rabbi who angered him. 

Kelly disputed the charges on Friday, calling Wildstein a “liar” and seeming to chalk up her emails and texts to “offhand attempts at sarcasm and humor,” according to CNN.

Wildstein’s lawyer repeated his client’s claim that Christie “knew of the lane closures as they occurred,” according to The New York Times.

But Christie has said the charges and lack of additional indictments proves that he was not involved in the alleged conspiracy.

“Today’s charges make clear that what I’ve said from Day One is true, I had no knowledge or involvement in the planning or execution of this act,” he said in a statement on Friday.

“The moment I first learned of this unacceptable behavior I took action, firing staff believed to be accountable, calling for an outside investigation and agreeing to fully cooperate with all appropriate investigations, which I have done.”

— Updated at 12:40 p.m.