Bridget Anne Kelly | |
---|---|
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor of New Jersey | |
In office April 2013 –January 9, 2014 | |
Governor | Chris Christie |
Preceded by | Bill Stepien |
Succeeded by | Louis Goetting |
Personal details | |
Born | Bridget Anne Daul September 8,1972 Ramsey,New Jersey,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Joseph Kelly (m. 1995;div. 2012) |
Children | 4 |
Education | Mount St. Mary's University (BA) |
Bridget Anne Kelly is the former deputy chief of staff to the Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, known for her participation in the Bridgegate scandal.
Kelly, a New Jersey native, grew up in Ramsey and graduated from Immaculate Heart Academy in 1990. [1] She graduated from Mount St. Mary's University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. [2]
Kelly began her government career by working as a legislative aide to Assemblyman David C. Russo, later becoming Russo's chief of staff. [2] [3] [4] In 2010, Kelly became director of legislative relations under Governor Chris Christie. In April 2013, Christie appointed her to be his deputy chief of staff.
On November 4, 2016, Kelly was convicted for her involvement in the "Bridgegate" affair. [5] [6] She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment (later reduced to 13 months) on March 29, 2017. [7] [8] [9] On May 7, 2020, the United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, overturned her conviction. [10]
Kelly said that she looks forward to returning to government work at some point in the future saying, "I'd like to make sure that my Wikipedia page is not all about Bridgegate". [11] In 2021, she ran for and failed to win the position of Bergen County Clerk. [12] [13]
On November 4, 2016, Kelly was found guilty in connection with the four-day closures of entrance ramps to the George Washington Bridge in the late summer of 2013, in part of what has been described as politically motivated retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey. [14]
On August 13, 2013, Kelly sent an eight-word e-mail to David Wildstein, a Christie appointee to the board of commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, that read, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." [15] Wildstein responded to Kelly's e-mail: "Got it." In a texting exchange the next day, Wildstein relayed to Kelly a text from Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich in which he complained about the traffic jam and said, "The bigger problem is getting kids to school. Please help. It's maddening." " [16]
On January 9, 2014, after the emails were disclosed, the governor announced that he had fired Kelly, calling her action "stupid" and "deceitful" and claiming her actions had caused him to mislead the public. [17] That day, Kelly was named as a defendant in a federal class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey that cited a civil conspiracy and "willful, wanton, arbitrary, and egregious official misconduct". [18] [19] In the wake of her firing, police established no parking zones outside of Kelly's home in Ramsey to keep press and gawkers away, while "no trespassing" signs were placed on the lawn of the home. [20]
When she received subpoenas for documents from the New Jersey legislative committee, Kelly's attorneys indicated she would not comply with the subpoenas, citing their clients' Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure [21] [22] The committee voted to compel Kelly to produce the previously requested documents, instructing special counsel Reid Schar to "take all necessary steps" to enforce them. [23] But Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson found no basis to force Kelly and Bill Stepien, the governor's two-time campaign manager, to comply with the subpoenas. The pair had objected to the requests, issued in January, asserting that being forced to identify and turn over records would violate their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. They called the committee's requests a fishing expedition. The Court agreed. [24]
On May 1, 2015, Kelly was indicted on nine charges in connection with her involvement in the scandal. [25] She pleaded not guilty. Courts have ruled that evidence provided in discovery by the US Attorney cannot be made public. Courts also ruled that all materials used to prepare the so-called Mastro Report which exonerated the Christie administration must be turned over to the defense. [26] The state has denied Kelly's request for reimbursement of legal fees. [27]
On November 4, 2016, the jury in the Bridgegate trial returned guilty verdicts on all counts against Bridget Kelly and her co-defendant, Bill Baroni. [28] [29] On March 29, 2017, U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Kelly to 18 months in prison and 500 hours of community service. [30] [31] [32]
On November 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the majority of the convictions, overturned the determination that Kelly and Baroni had violated the civil rights of travelers, and found there is no established civil right to interstate travel that gives rise to a criminal conviction. [33] The court directed for Kelly and Baroni to be resentenced on the remaining seven counts of the indictment. [34] As a result, on April 24, 2019, Kelly was resentenced to one year and one month. [35]
Following her sentencing in April 2019, Kelly said in a statement: "Mr. Christie, you are a bully and the days of you calling me a liar and destroying my life are over.... The truth will be heard—and for the former governor, that truth will be unescapable [sic], regardless of lucrative television deals or even future campaigns. I plan to make sure of that." [36]
On June 28, 2019, [37] two weeks away from beginning her custodial sentence, [36] the United States Supreme Court agreed to take up her case, and her prison sentence was delayed pending its ruling. Political and legal commentators have noted that action by the Court as part of a continuingly "more stringent definition of the law" governing corruption cases involving political malfeasance. [37]
Kelly's appeal was filed as Kelly v. United States , No. 18–1059. [36] On May 7, 2020, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned Kelly's conviction, stating:
“For no reason other than political payback, Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lee’s access lanes to the George Washington Bridge—and thereby jeopardized the safety of the town’s residents. But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws. We therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.” [38]
In a written judgment, Justice Elena Kagan also noted that "not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime" and that "the realignment of the toll lanes was an exercise of regulatory power—something this Court has already held fails to meet the statutes' property requirement." [39] They also considered that the prosecution had chosen an unrealistically-broad interpretation of wire fraud legislation. [40]
In response, Christie described his former team as having been "completely exonerated" [39] and blamed prosecutors appointed by Barack Obama. [41] Kelly told Reuters that she believed "while this may finally have made this case right for me, it does not absolve those who should have truly been held accountable." [39] The ruling was described as "the latest instance in which the Supreme Court hemmed in prosecutors in corruption cases involving political figures." [42] The Financial Times described the state of New Jersey as being "well versed in political corruption" but also that Bridgegate was a "particularly baroque" episode. [40]
Kelly is a divorced mother of four and still resides in her childhood hometown of Ramsey. [43] [44] [2]
William E. Baroni Jr. is an American Republican Party politician and law professor. He represented the 14th legislative district in the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly. In 2010, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie named Baroni to serve as the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Christopher James Christie is an American politician and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he was the United States Attorney for New Jersey from 2002 to 2008 and a Morris County commissioner from 1995 to 1997. He was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and 2024.
William Stepien is an American political consultant who served as the campaign manager for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign beginning in July of that year. A member of the Republican Party, he was the White House Director of Political Affairs in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2018.
William "Pat" Schuber is an American Republican Party politician who served as Mayor of Bogota, represented the 38th legislative district in the New Jersey General Assembly and served 12 years as the Bergen County Executive
David Samson is an American lawyer who served as New Jersey Attorney General under Democratic Governor Jim McGreevey from 2002 to 2003. He served as the Chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) from 2011 until his resignation on March 28, 2014 in the aftermath of the Fort Lee lane closure scandal. Samson is a partner and founding member of the law firm Wolff & Samson from which he resigned in April 2015, and had been an ally of Governor Chris Christie.
Paul J. Fishman is an American lawyer and former United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 2009 to 2017.
Chris Christie took office as the 55th Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010, began his second term on January 21, 2014, and left office on January 16, 2018.
The Fort Lee lane closure scandal, better known as Bridgegate, was a political scandal in the U.S. state of New Jersey in 2013 and 2014. It involved a staff member and political appointees of then-governor Chris Christie colluding to create traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey by closing lanes at the main toll plaza for the upper level of the George Washington Bridge.
David Wildstein is an American businessman, former Republican Party politician, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the New Jersey political news website New Jersey Globe. A former mayor of Livingston, New Jersey, he served as a senior official in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey during the administration of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie until 2013, when Wildstein resigned in the midst of a scandal involving traffic lanes closures. On May 1, 2015, he pleaded guilty to two federal felony counts of conspiracy as part of a plea agreement, but his conviction was later overturned.
Regina M. Egea served as the chief of staff to the governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie. She was appointed in December 2013 and resigned in April 2016. She is the president of Garden State Initiative, a public policy think tank based in Morristown, New Jersey, which was founded in 2017.
Kevin O'Dowd is a New Jersey public servant and political figure who served as Chief of Staff to the Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie. He was considered, but not formally nominated, for the position of Attorney General of the State of New Jersey.
Michael Drewniak was press secretary to the Governor of New Jersey. He was appointed by Governor Christie to New Jersey Transit and started on April 1, 2015, at a newly created position. He has extensive management and strategy experience. In May 2016 he was named acting director of the agency.
Alan L. Zegas is an American criminal defense attorney. He was born in Newark, New Jersey, received a Bachelor of Science degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1974, an MBA from The Harvard Business School in 1978, and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law-Newark in 1981. He said that he became a lawyer to defend the “little, powerless person against the powerful forces of government.”
Philip Kwon is deputy counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a previous nominee for the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Walter Francis "Wally" Timpone is a former Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, having been sworn on May 2, 2016. He was nominated to the Supreme Court by Governor Chris Christie and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate in April 2016. He resigned on August 31, 2020.
Christopher S. Porrino is an American trial lawyer who served as the Attorney General of New Jersey from 2016 to 2018. Porrino is currently a partner of Lowenstein Sandler, and chair of the firm's Litigation Department.
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Paul Brian Matey is an American attorney who serves as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Prior to Matey's judicial service, he was a partner in the White Collar Criminal Defense and Litigation practice groups at the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. He was previously Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary at University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey.
Kelly v. United States, 590 U.S. ___ (2020), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the 2013 Fort Lee lane closure scandal, also known as "Bridgegate". The case centered on whether Bridget Anne Kelly, the chief of staff to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who was running for reelection at the time, and Bill Baroni, the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, improperly used lane closures on the George Washington Bridge to create traffic jams as a means of retaliation against Mark Sokolich, the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey, when he refused to support Christie's reelection campaign. While lower courts had convicted Kelly and Baroni on federal fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the convictions in its May 2020 ruling, stating that such charges could not apply as "the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property", and remanded their cases back to the lower courts.
Kelly grew up in Ramsey...she graduated from Immaculate Heart Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in Washington Township
'Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,' Bridget Anne Kelly, a deputy chief of staff to Mr. Christie, e-mailed David Wildstein, ... who worked at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the bridge.
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