Bridgegate witness: A loyal Christie soldier? Or self-serving braggart?

Wildstein is the admitted mastermind of the traffic-snarling 2013 closing of Fort Lee, NJ's access lanes to the George Washington Bridge - created to punish the town's mayor for not endorsing Christie for re-election.

David Wildstein testified that not only was Christie aware of the lane shutdowns as they were occurring, but so was David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey, as were other members of Christie's closest inner circle.

Wildstein, who's testifying under a plea deal, is trying to convince jurors that defendants Bridget Anne Kelly, a former Christie aide, and Bill Baroni, Wildstein's boss and the governor's top appointee to the Porth Authority, were equal conspirators in the scheme.

Wildstein has pleaded guilty.

Kwon's attorney, Geoffrey Berman said his client did not "perpetuate a cover story", and that he was never told the closures were to punish the mayor of Fort Lee.

As the Bridgegate scandal rapidly spiraled out of control, David Wildstein testified he began telling Christie aides the truth.

Critchley also presented an e-mail sent from Kelly to Wildstein on September 14, 2013, the day after Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye sent an email reversing the lane closures. Baroni, a former executive at the Port Authority of NY and New Jersey and Bridget Kelly, New Jersey Gov. Christie's former deputy chief of staff, are on trial, charged with conspiracy, fraud and civil rights deprivation in an alleged political revenge plot.

"Check out the Road Warrior". He then told Charles McKenna, the governor's chief counsel, that the lane reductions had been his idea, Wildstein said on the stand Wednesday, his fourth day of testimony.

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"Would you agree with me that had there not been a legislative inquiry, a ton of press, and your resignation, and this [trial], you wanted to take full credit for the [traffic] cones?" "Miss Kelly had previously said to me, 'The governor is going to love this'".

Most striking, Critchley suggested, was Wildstein's ability to remember a phone call he had with Christie in 1977 but his inability to recall an email he sent Kelly on August 12, 2013, the day before she wrote him, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee".

Wildstein responded, "Sir, I was in my early 20s".

"An attorney for the Port Authority told me that he heard the FBI was investigating the hiring, and he said 'Don't be surprised if the Federal Bureau of Investigation comes knocking on your door,"' Wildstein said. He also said that he "probably spoke" with DuHaime and Stepiam about the same.

Wildstein's testimony bounced from the governor's "off again, on again" relationship with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, to advising his campaign manager and chief strategist on securing endorsements, voting patterns and raising money from Wall Street.

"I was teased about this particular photo and how adoringly that we were looking at each other", Wildstein said.

"I said to Governor Christie that if you get elected president I wanted to lay claim to the ambassador of Anguilla", Wildstein said, referring to the Caribbean island.

Wildstein and Christie had such an easy rapport that the two shared a laugh at the 2012 wedding of Christie's chief spokesman at the time, Michael Drewniak. "We meant to talk to Gov. Christie about the effects of the lane closures", he testified.


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