Two former allies of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) convicted for carrying out a politically-motivated revenge plot to close lanes on the George Washington Bridge have filed for new trials.
Christie’s former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and top appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Bill Baroni, filed separate motions on Friday, according to WCBS.
The pair was found guilty last week on seven counts each of fraud and conspiracy for their role in orchestrating the lane closures, which created a days-long traffic jam. Prosecutors alleged that the scheme was meant to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey for refusing to endorse Christie’s reelection bid.
Another Port Authority official with close ties to the governor, David Wildstein, struck a plea deal for his own key role in cooking up the plot.
Christi has maintained that he had no role or prior knowledge of their plan, though both the prosecution and defense in the trial argued that he did. Kelly and Wildstein testified that they spoke to Christie about the lane closures and the motivation behind them while they were still underway.