A former ally of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) who directed lane closures on the George Washington Bridge in 2013, leading to the BridgeGate scandal, is expected to plead guilty Friday, Bloomberg reported.
The former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive and Christie appointee David Wildstein is scheduled to appear before a federal court Friday in Newark, N.J. and plead guilty to unspecified charges, a single anonymous source with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
The news organization originally reported that Wildstein was set to plead guilty on Thursday but later reported the court appearance had been rescheduled.
Neither Wildstein’s lawyer, Alan Zegas, nor a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey immediately responded to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.
Federal prosecutors have been looking into the lane closures, which snarled traffic in the town of Fort Lee, N.J. for several days in September 2013, for more than a year. Wildstein has reportedly been cooperating with their investigation.
Previous reports by other news outlets about the progression of the federal probe have proved to be false, however. The New York Times reported earlier this month that indictments in the BridgeGate scandal were coming as early as two weeks ago.
Christie, who fired aides implicated in the scandal, has long maintained that he knew nothing about the lane closures.
This post has been updated.
Now the question becomes: Will he spill the beans in exchange for a lesser sentence?
I think it depends on what charges he pleads to and how stiff the sentence is and how much payola Christie has offered for his silence.
Time for some rats-from-sinking-ships problems!
I can’t wait for the other shoe to drop.
Ain’t over until Christie sings.