A former ally to Gov. Chris Christie said he bragged about the Bridgegate scheme to the governor, who then "smiled" and expressed pleasure about it.

The latest revelations came Tuesday from David Wildstein, the Christie-appointed Port Authority official who pleaded guilty to charges related to Bridgegate. Wildstein testified during the trial involving two former aides accused of masterminding the political payback scheme. Wildstein testified Tuesday he told Christie at a Sept. 11 memorial event about the scheme on the third day of the four-day lane closure in 2013 and said defendant Bill Baroni told Christie that the mayor of Fort Lee — the target of the political payback scheme — was "frustrated" he wasn't getting calls returned, according to CBS3.

Christie then replied sarcastically that he was sure that "Mr. Edge" wouldn't be involved in politics, referring to Wildstein's use of the pseudonym "Wally Edge" while publishing a New Jersey politics website, according to the report. Christie has denied Wildstein told him about the plot. NJ.com also provided Wildstein's account of the alleged exchange between Christie and his aides:

"Mr. Baroni said, 'Governor I have to talk to you about something,'" Wildstein was quoted as saying in the report. "(He said) there's a tremendous amount of traffic in Fort Lee ... and you'll be pleased to know Mayor (Mark) Sokolich is very frustrated." Wildstein said in the report that he and Baroni boasted to the governor about not returning Soklolich's repeated phone calls. Christie responded that he wasn't surprised Fort Lee's mayor "wouldn't be getting his phone calls returned," Wildstein said. Reporters covering the trial provided these moments of testimony from Wildstein, who has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy: BREAKING: David Wildstein testifies that he and Bill Baroni "bragged" to @GovChristie abt GWB lane closures as they were going on

— Joe Toohey (@joetoohey) September 27, 2016 Gov Christie was smiling, sarcastic & pleased when told of "major traffic jam" in Ft Lee during #Bridgegate, key witness says. @ChasingNews

— Alex Zdan (@ChasingZdan) September 27, 2016 BREAKING: Wildstein told jurors Baroni told Christie on 9/11/13: "there's a tremendous amount of traffic in Fort Lee." #Bridgegate

— Matt Arco (@MatthewArco) September 27, 2016 The reports back up what prosecutors in the trial have previously said: that Christie knew that his associates were involved in a plan to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, and that the closings were intended to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for declining to support Christie's 2013 re-election bid.



It was the first time Christie has been accused directly by law enforcement officers — or any of the key figures in the trail — of knowing about the scheme as it unfolded.

The trial involving two alleged Bridgegate conspirators who were indicted in connection with the scandal began last week, and it's supposed to last as long as a month.

The two indicted were Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the top Christie executive appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Long-time Christie confidant David Samson, who some believed had a role in the Bridgegate scheme but was never charged for it, pleaded guilty in July to demanding a bribe while he was chairman of the Port Authority.