AP Photo Judge again refuses to appoint special Christie prosecutor

A state Superior Court judge on Friday refused to reconsider her ruling against appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Gov. Chris Christie’s conduct during the George Washington Bridge Lane closures.

Bergen County Judge Bonnie Mizdol ruled that the activist pursuing the prosecutor, Bill Brennan, failed to demonstrate anything wrong with the decision she initially made on Dec. 2.


“The instant motion fails to state any legitimate basis for reconsideration,” Mizdol wrote. “In fact, Brennan’s argument is a mischaracterization of the court’s December 2, 2016 Order and Opinion.”

Brennan, a retired firefighter with a history of legal complaints against New Jersey politicians, in September filed a criminal complaint against Gov. Chris Christie for allegedly allowing his aides to close access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in 2013.

Brennan’s complaint against Christie came after witnesses at the Bridgegate trial testified in October that Christie knew of his aides' and appointees' involvement in the lane closures as they were happening. In a surprising October decision, another Bergen County judge ruled that there was probable cause to look into allegations against the governor. That decision referred the case to the Bergen County prosecutor to consider whether there was sufficient evidence for an indictment.

Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal, who was appointed by Christie, recused himself from the case, turning authority over to a prosecutor in his office. State Attorney General Christopher Porrino, a Christie appointee and former counsel to the governor, also recused himself, allowing another staffer to handle the case.

But Brennan argues all state and county prosecutors and their staff are inherently conflicted from investigating the governor, who ultimately has authority over them.

“The world is watching as a defendant controls his prosecutors, this is an astonishingly embarrassing spectacle that must be curtailed,” Brennan wrote in his motion to Mizdol.

Mizdol ruled that once a private citizen has filed a complaint, his role in the prosecutorial process ends. Brennan claimed Mizdol misapplied a rule that was intended to bar citizens from acting as or hiring private prosecutors.

“I did not ask to serve as my own private prosecutor yet your decision relies completely on a prohibition against my service as a private prosecutor in order to determine that I lack standing to raise prosecutorial conflict as an issue,” Brennan wrote.

Mizdol, in her decision, said, “it was obvious to the court that Brennan did not seek to be personally appointed as special prosecutor.”

“The principal issue was whether Brennan, as a civil complainant, had standing to make the request. He did not then, and he does not now, possess such authority,” Mizdol wrote.

Brennan said he plans to appeal Mizdol’s decision by Jan. 1, based on a newspaper quote from former Bergen County prosecutor John Molinelli saying he was ordered not to investigate Bridgegate by the state attorney general and U.S. Attorney’s Office when the scandal erupted.

“Molinelli's revelations confirm every issue raised in my request for a special prosecutor,” Brennan said by email. “It is clear that Defendant Chris Christie controls the people prosecuting him, Judge Mizdol was derelict in her duty to maintain public confidence in the integrity of our system.”