Jared Kushner

Jared Kushner, son-in-law of of President-elect Donald Trump walks from Trump Tower.

(Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

TRENTON -- President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law once praised the admitted mastermind behind the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal, calling him a "badass" for his role in the scheme, according to an e-mail obtained by The Washington Post.

Jared Kushner, the husband of Trump's oldest daughter and who has served as the incoming president's confidant, praised David Wildstein for the lane closures the day after he was forced out of the Port Authority.

"Just wanted you to know that I am thinking of you and wishing the best. For what it's worth, I thought the move you pulled was kind of badass," Kushner wrote, according to the newspaper.

The email was sent amid growing evidence that Wildstein had ordered the lane closures.

A spokeswoman for the Kushner Companies, Risa Heller, told The Washington Post that the e-mail was a "poorly worded way of Jared trying to cheer up an old friend."

Wildstein recently testified in the Bridgegate criminal trial that Gov. Chris Christie was told of the traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge in the midst of the gridlock in Fort Lee in September 2013, and laughed when he heard about it.

Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes associated with the scandal and turned cooperating witness, testified in September that not only was Christie aware of the lane shutdowns as they were occurring -- so was David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and other members of Christie's closest inner circle.

Christie has refuted Wildstein's allegations.

Since Wildstein's testimony, two of Christie's his former associates, Bill Baroni and Bridget Anne Kelly, were each found guilty on all counts in the long-running Bridgegate saga.

Kushner, a real estate executive, is the owner of Observer, formerly New York Observer. As publisher of the newspaper, Kushner bought PolitickerNJ.com from Wildstein, who created the website and blogged anonymously for years about New Jersey politics under the pseudonym Wally Edge.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook.