Christie Crony And BridgeGate Player To Plead Guilty To Federal Charge

David Samson, a close ally to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), is expected to plead guilty Thursday to a federal charge in a misuse of power case that grew out of the investigation into the infamous lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in 2013.

Citing a person “familiar with the investigation,” The New York Times reported that Samson would plead guilty to using his position of power to benefit himself and his law firm, Wolff & Samson.

At the time of the so-called “BridgeGate” scandal, Samson was chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees Newark Liberty International Airport. United Airlines had begun offering flights from Newark to a small airport in Columbia, South Carolina that was near a home that Samson owned.

Samson had proposed the idea of the flight route at a dinner with United executives, according to Bloomberg News. The flight, which Port Authority officials referred to as “the chairman’s flight,” was dropped by United shortly after Samson resigned his post in March 2014 in the midst of the BridgeGate investigation.

Samson was appointed by Christie to head the Port Authority in 2010 and has a long history in New Jersey politics. He previously served as the state’s attorney general and has worked with both Democratic and Republican governors.