Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Chris Christie. | AP Photo/Julio Cortez Bridgegate witness says Cuomo and Christie discussed cover story

NEWARK, N.J. — Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie personally discussed how to handle the fallout from the George Washington Bridge lane closures, even agreeing to release a report covering up the incident, according to the admitted mastermind of the political revenge scheme.

Cuomo’s administration — referred to in testimony as “Albany” — told the top official at the bistate Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to “lay off” Christie following the incident, former Port official David Wildstein testified here in U.S. District Court.


Wildstein said he was told of the conversations between the governors of New York and New Jersey by David Samson, the former chairman of the agency’s board, and Bill Baroni, its former deputy executive director and now a defendant in the case.

Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye, who was appointed by Cuomo and remains at the agency, had been investigating the September 2013 lane closures.

Cuomo, a Democrat, and Christie, a Republican, agreed that the agency would release a report washing over the incident, saying the lane closures were the result of a traffic study commissioned by officials on the New Jersey side of the agency and that there had been a “failure of communications,” Wildstein testified.

“My understanding was Governor Christie and Governor Cuomo has discussed this,” Wildstein told defense attorney Michael Critchley. “That if there was a report that was issued, that if New Jersey side accepted responsibility, that Mr. Foye would sign off on that.”

That was supposed to “put an end to this,” Wildstein said.

The report, which eventually became the basis for testimony Baroni delivered to a legislative committee in Trenton, was never released.

Wildstein said he believed the order was lifted after Christie won his reelection in November, and that he soon after received a call from a reporter asking about his own involvement in the lane closings.

A Cuomo spokesman issued a flat denial of Wildstein's account.

“The only role New York played in this episode was a positive one: it was our executive director who blew the whistle and ordered the bridge reopened," said the spokesman, John Kelly, in a statement. "To be clear, no such conversation between the governors happened, in fact no report of any kind was ever done, and whatever the admitted bridgegate architect thought or dreamt about New York’s involvement has no basis in fact. Anyone can say anything, especially a convicted felon spinning a tale, but it’s just false and delusional.”

Foye's lawyer, Eric Corngold, later issued a statement saying Wildstein's testimony "is not accurate."

Wildstein is testifying in the trial of Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s former deputy chief of staff. They were indicted last May on charges of conspiracy, fraud and civil rights violations.

They are accused of closing local access lanes to the bridge — the world’s busiest — to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not endorsing Christie in his reelection bid. The bridge is located in Fort Lee, and the lane closures caused days of gridlock in the Bergen County town and surrounding communities.

Christie, who is currently a top adviser to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has denied any knowledge or involvement in the incident. But Wildstein said last month that the governor was told of the traffic gridlock on the third day of the lane closings.

Wildstein, who was the Port’s director of interstate capital projects, has already pleaded guilty and implicated the two others.

The Wall Street Journal reported shortly after the scandal broke that the governors had spoken privately about the incident, citing "a person familiar with the matter." The report said Christie had called Cuomo to complain about Foye's handling of the lane closures.

Christie's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In court on Tuesday, Wildstein said Christie’s top aide, then chief of staff Kevin O’Dowd, got involved as lawmakers in Trenton began poking around the lane closings in the fall of 2013.

“Mr. Samson told me Mr. O’Dowd was working on it, he was on top of it, he was working with legislators to make the issue go away,” Wildstein testified.

But invitations had gone out to top Port officials requesting they testify before the Assembly Transportation Committee in Trenton. Among those invited was Foye, who had ordered the end of the lane closures and promised to get to the bottom of what happened.

O’Dowd, Wildstein said, got in touch with Cuomo’s top aide at the time, Secretary Larry Schwartz. The two discussed telling Foye “not to accept the invitation” to testify, Wildstein said, recalling what he’d been told by others.

The claim was backed up by text messages Wildstein received from Michael Drewniak, then Christie’s top spokesman, after a Wall Street Journal article reported that Foye was suspicious about the incident and stepped in to end the lane closures. Wildstein said he had forwarded the story to Drewniak, who said he’d speak to O’Dowd about it.

“I briefed O’Dowd on the Foye madness,” Drewniak texted in one message read aloud in court. “He gets it and is taking seriously.”

--additional reporting by Linh Tat and Dana Rubinstein.

NOTE: This article has been updated with the comment from Cuomo's office and Foye's attorney, and with testimony from later in the day.