Release of list of 'Bridgegate' co-conspirators delayed

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

World | Fri May 13, 2016 1:38pm EDT

Release of list of 'Bridgegate' co-conspirators delayed

BY JOSEPH AX

A federal judge in New Jersey has extended the deadline to Tuesday for U.S. prosecutors to release a list of unindicted co-conspirators in the "Bridgegate" scandal, while she weighs a request from an individual on the list to keep it sealed.

U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark earlier this week had ordered the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman for New Jersey to file the list by noon EDT (1600 GMT) on Friday after a consortium of media companies filed a motion seeking the information.

The court document could reveal how many individuals in the administration of Governor Chris Christie had been aware of the scheme to close down lanes at the George Washington Bridge, a major commuter link to New York City, in what prosecutors say was an act of political retaliation against a local mayor.

Christie, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for his party's presidential nomination this year, has denied knowledge of the plot.

The people on the list have been described in court filings as individuals who joined the conspiracy but have not been criminally charged.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-jersey-bridgegate-idUSKCN0Y416X

[dmosh42]

1. With all the delays, we might wonder if payoffs are in play.

[Laxman]

2. We'll Just Have To Wait Until...

Tuesday. This list will be public. Now it's time for some speculation loosely based on fact. Who is John Doe? Unindicted co-conspirator means that it's someone who participated in the planning but took no overt act to further the conspiracy or someone against whom the prosecution lacked sufficient corroborated evidence to indict. I would add that its probably one of Christie's cronies from the U.S. Attorney's office since they have gone to a former Asst. U.S. Attorney from Christie's days there for representation. So who could it be? Kevin O'Dowd? Drewniak? Phillip Kwon? I'll put a dollar on Kwon since I'm pretty sure he's on the list for his work cooking up Bill Baroni's phoney testimony before the legislative committee. There's lots of other candidates out there. Feel free to speculate yourself.

[malaise]

3. Been searching for the list

Thanks

[Glitterati]

4. Im betting it's Chris Christie himself.

Who else would care about a useless "unindicted co-conspirator?"

[Laxman]

5. Well, Judge Wigenton Doesn't Think Much....

of John Doe's objection. She denied the motion and now her order is on appeal to the third circuit.

'John Doe' request to stop release of Bridgegate names denied

A federal judge today denied efforts by an unnamed "John Doe" to keep the names of others tied to the Bridgegate scandal from being disclosed.

The matter was immediately appealed in advance of a Tuesday noon deadline requiring prosecutors to publicly release the list of "unindicted co-conspirators" involved in the politically-motivated 2013 George Washington Bridge lane shutdowns.

A consortium of news organizations—including NJ Advance Media—has been fighting in court to reveal the names—those who federal prosecutors said had conspired in the bridge scheme, or in the subsequent cover-up, but had not been charged.

That effort came in the wake of indictments brought by the U.S. Attorney's office last year against two former associates of Gov. Chris Christie, charging that they had used the bridge as a vehicle for political retribution with the intent to cause massive traffic tie-ups in Fort Lee to punish the Democratic mayor who had declined to endorse Christie for re-election.

In court documents filed in preparation for the trial of William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff, defense attorneys first learned there was a list of other individuals who allegedly played a role in the conspiracy, but had not been charged in the case.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/john_doe_filing_to_hold_up_release_of_bridgegate_n.html#incart_river_home