‘Bridgegate’ Convictions Tossed Out by U.S. Supreme Court
- High court unanimously backs Christie allies Kelly and Baroni
- Not every corrupt act is a federal crime, Justice Kagan writes
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The U.S. Supreme Court threw out the convictions of two allies of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal in a ruling that limits the power of federal prosecutors to target state and local corruption.
The court unanimously said Thursday that Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni didn’t commit criminal fraud under U.S. law, even if they lied about why they closed two access lanes in the 2013 “Bridgegate” scheme. The closures created crippling traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey, to punish the borough’s Democratic mayor for not endorsing the Republican Christie’s re-election bid.