Former Chris Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly sobbed again on the witness stand Wednesday, declaring her innocence as the Bridgegate trial motored toward jurors in Newark.
Six weeks of testimony wrapped up in the trial of Kelly and ex-Port Authority executive Bill Baroni, who are charged with misusing PA resources to snarl traffic in Fort Lee as political payback against the city��s mayor for not endorsing Christie.
Jurors are expected to be instructed by the judge on Wednesday afternoon before closing arguments on Thursday.
Kelly testified that Christie signed off on Fort Lee lane closures to the George Washington Bridge, which created a nightmare traffic jam in the borough in 2013. Kelly also testified that Christie shrugged off complaints that the lane closures were “government retribution.”
Kelly later cried on the witness stand when her lawyer asked her if she is “innocent of the charges.”
The government’s star witness, David Wildstein, had earlier testified that he told Christie about the lane closures while they were happening — and that he laughed about it.
Several ex-Christie aides also testified that they warned Christie that some of his staff may have been in on the scandal ahead of a lengthy Dec. 13, 2013 press conference where he denied any of his staff was involved.
Neither side of this trial called Christie as a witness.
Both Kelly and Baroni denied knowing the lane closures were punishment, claiming that they were duped by the government’s star witness David Wildstein.
Christie has always denied knowing about the lane closures.
Additional reporting by David K. Li