Two of Chris Christie’s cronies pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that they bottlenecked the George Washington Bridge to punish an elected official who did not back the New Jersey governor’s re-election bid.
Former Christie chief of staff Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, the governor’s top appointee to the Port Authority, were released on $150,000 bail each on fraud and conspiracy charges in the scandal, which has threatened the governor’s presidential hopes.
They were named Friday in a nine-count indictment after a yearlong investigation.
The indictment was handed up the same day David Wildstein, who went to high school with Christie and later became a top official at the Port Authority, pleaded guilty to two criminal counts in connection with the bridge scandal.
“I would never risk my career, my job, my reputation for something like this,” Baroni said outside federal court in Newark. “I am an innocent man.”
Kelly’s lawyer said he would not rule out calling Christie to the stand at trial.
“I would subpoena anybody to establish my client’s innocence,” said Michael Critchley. “That includes anyone.”
Although the indictments did not implicate Christie, the charges against his aides have not helped him with the public.
In a new Monmouth University poll, nearly 70 percent of the 500 New Jersey residents surveyed said they do not think Christie has been “completely honest” about Bridgegate.