Two former aides to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the chairman of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team, have been found guilty of closing down lanes approaching the state’s George Washington Bridge, deliberately causing traffic chaos to punish a local mayor for his failure to endorse Mr Christie for re-election in 2013.

The jurors in the so-called “Bridgegate” trial at Newark’s federal court arrived at the verdicts after almost six days of deliberations, finding Mr Christie’s former chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, and Bill Baroni, whom the governor appointed to the state’s Port Authority, guilty on seven counts including misusing the Authority's resources.

Mr Christie himself has repeatedly denied knowledge of or involvement in the September 2013 plot to retaliate against Mark Sokolich, mayor of Fort Lee, who walked back his support for Mr Christie during that year’s gubernatorial election. Among the evidence presented at trial was an email, written by Ms Kelly, suggesting it was “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee.”

The Government’s star witness was David Wildstein, a former high school classmate of Mr Christie’s who in 2013 was a senior official at the Port Authority, which operates the George Washington Bridge. Mr Wildstein told jurors he had concocted the idea of a lane closure, which caused commuter gridlock in Fort Lee for several days.

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Mr Wildstein said he had come up with the cover story that the closures were part of a traffic study. He also testified that he and Mr Baroni had talked to Mr Christie about the lane closures while they were in place – and that Mr Christie had laughed. The Governor has never been charged in the case, but the Bridgegate trial has sent his approval ratings spiralling downward.

In her testimony, Ms Kelly described the bullying atmosphere in Mr Christie’s administration, recalling how the governor had thrown a water bottle at her during a foul-mouthed tirade. Asked by her lawyer whether she was afraid of Mr Christie, the single mother of four – who could now face up to 20 years in prison – replied: “yes”.

By the time of the lane closures in 2013, Mr Christie was already planning his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. After dropping out in February, he was one of the first major GOP figures to enthusiastically endorse Mr Trump.