September 19, 2016

Christie Knew About Bridgegate Lane Closures, Prosecutor Says

The former presidential candidate and current Donald Trump surrogate could find himself ensnared in the scandal.

Mel Evans/AP

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie knew about the lane closures known as Bridgegate while the scandal was unfolding in September 2013, a federal prosecutor told jurors on Monday.

Since the lane closures created four days of mayhem in Fort Lee, New Jersey, near the George Washington Bridge to Manhattan, Christie has run for president, vied to be Donald Trump’s running mate, and become a senior adviser to Trump. The closures, undertaken in apparent retribution for the Fort Lee mayor’s refusal to endorse Christie’s 2013 gubernatorial re-election bid, has already appeared to hurt Christie’s political fortunes and could make it harder for Christie to remain a prominent Trump campaign surrogate. Christie acknowledged last week that the scandal was one reason Trump did not choose him as his running mate. “I’m sure it was a factor,” he told MSNBC’s Brian Williams, while maintaining his innocence. “No one has ever been able to prove that I knew anything or had any role in this and this trial will just confirm that.”

According to Politico, assistant US attorney Vikas Khanna explained that Christie’s aides bragged to Christie about the traffic jam when they spoke to him at a 9/11 memorial in Manhattan while the traffic problems were ongoing. Christie has not been charged with any crime, but one of his appointees to the Port Authority and one of his top aides are on trial for charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, deprivation of civil rights, and misuse of federal funds allocated to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

 

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

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