NJ Mayor Says He Lied When Claiming Bridgegate Motive Wasn’t Political Retaliation

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, leaves the courthouse, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 in Newark, N.J. Sokolich, the Democratic mayor who prosecutors say was targeted by two former allies of Republican Gov. Chris Christie for ... Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, leaves the courthouse, Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016 in Newark, N.J. Sokolich, the Democratic mayor who prosecutors say was targeted by two former allies of Republican Gov. Chris Christie for a political vendetta told jurors Tuesday how he was courted by Christie staffers for more than three years before ultimately declining to endorse Christie's re-election. (Viorel Florescu/The Record via AP) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A Democratic New Jersey mayor who prosecutors say was punished with traffic gridlock by former allies of Republican Gov. Chris Christie for not endorsing Christie tells a jury he lied when he wrote to a newspaper it wasn’t a case of political retaliation.

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich testified Wednesday at the trial of Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly. They’re charged with causing traffic jams near the George Washington Bridge in 2013.

On cross-examination Wednesday, Sokolich admitted he lied in a letter to the editor of the Newark Star-Ledger in November 2013 when he denied earlier reports he’d been targeted for not endorsing Christie.

Kelly was Christie’s deputy chief of staff. Baroni was deputy executive director at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. Did he say WHY he lied?

  2. Avatar for edhedh edhedh says:

    not very informative, huh?

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for kendyzdad Avatar for edhedh

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: