The Republican nominee wasn’t involved in the New Jersey scandal , but its weirdness is in keeping with the most unorthodox election campaign in decades

It was, critics might suggest, the kind of aggressive and bizarre political stunt that could only come from the Donald Trump playbook.



But when an epic traffic jam was deliberately conjured on the world’s busiest bridge to spite a mayor over a non-endorsement, Trump was still better known as a reality TV star across the river.

The 2013 scandal dubbed “Bridgegate”, in which two former allies of New Jersey governor Chris Christie were accused of deliberately sowing chaos on the George Washington Bridge, finally reaches trial on Thursday with jury selection.

Christie endorsed Trump as early as February, when the Republican nomination was still up for grabs, and has since been a loyal surrogate, attack dog and umbrella carrier. He missed out on being Trump’s running mate but is chairman of his transition team and has been tipped as a possible attorney general in a Trump administration.

Christie has not been charged over the bridge imbroglio, but questions linger over how much he knew and it dealt a major blow to his own presidential hopes. In a Republican primary debate last December, when Christie said he would order US forces to shoot down Russian aircraft over Syria, rival Rand Paul shot back: “When we think about the judgment of someone who might want world war three, we might think about someone who might shut down a bridge because they don’t like their friends.”

Now the timing of the trial is a headache that Trump, already mired in numerous controversies, could do without in the last stretch of the presidential election.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The timing of the Bridgegate trial is a headache that Trump, already mired in numerous controversies, could do without in the last stretch of the presidential election. Photograph: LM Otero/AP

Yet the weirdness of the incident is in keeping with the most unorthodox election campaign in decades. The Port Authority’s police department in Fort Lee, New Jersey, moved traffic cones without warning, forcing three lanes of cars through a single toll booth at the foot of the George Washington Bridge, which connects to New York. They chose the first day of the school year in Fort Lee for maximum impact. Commuters and students were gridlocked for hours, and emergency workers could not respond to calls. The lanes were shut for four days.

“It was unbelievable,” said Rick Tyler, a former spokesman for Ted Cruz, who ran against Trump and Christie in the Republican primaries. “I’ve been across the George Washington Bridge. I think I would have just removed the barricades and driven on.”

For a while, agency officials claimed that the operation had been a botched traffic study, but in early January 2014, leaked emails suggested a conspiracy. The motive is said to have been pure vengeance. Christie’s aides allegedly wanted to get payback on a mayor, Democrat Mark Sokolich, who refused to endorse his re-election as governor, then deployed official resources to cover their tracks.

The defendants on trial are Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, Christie’s top appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the bridge. Following a 16-month investigation, federal prosecutors have charged them with nine counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud and with violating the civil rights of the people trying to cross the bridge.

A third defendant, former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey executive David Wildstein, pleaded guilty and is assisting prosecutors. He will be sentenced later this year.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie’s deputy chief of staff, arrives at federal court for a hearing on 7 September. Photograph: Mel Evans/AP

On Wednesday, an appeals court ruled that a list of uncharged co-conspirators who joined the plot will remain sealed until the trial, reversing a judge’s order to make the names public immediately. “The time may come, perhaps at trial, when the information in the conspirator letter ought to be made public, but that time is not here yet,” the panel for the US appeals court in Philadelphia said.

Christie, who has not been charged and has denied any knowledge of the alleged plot, has said it is highly doubtful he is on the list. A taxpayer-funded investigation by a law firm hired by Christie cleared him of misconduct, but that finding was condemned by Democrats as a whitewash.

Opening statements in the trial of Kelly and Baroni are scheduled for 19 September. Damage to Christie will, by implication, be damaging for Trump, but perhaps less so than in a traditional campaign. Last month Trump also hired Bill Stepien, a former senior aide to Christie whose role in the Bridgegate scandal led to his dismissal.

Tyler said: “Corruption is bipartisan, but in this case it’s a Republican with ties to the nominee. The Clinton campaign could decide to paint a picture that this is Republican behaviour. Politics is perception and perception is what people believe.

“But in everything we’re looking at with Trump and Clinton, this is another story in all the scandals between them. This would be a huge story in another year but it will get lost as just another thing. Voters are inoculated now. They will hold their noses and vote.”

George Ajjan, a Republican consultant, said: “While Christie’s woes are of course not central to Trump’s candidacy, they provide good media fodder and thus bring to mind one of President Reagan’s maxims: ‘If you’re explaining, you’re losing.’ Unfortunately for Trump, this has been a recurring theme on the less-than-tight ship that he’s been running.”

Christie himself has expressed hopes for a quick trial. According to the New York Times, he told reporters last month: “I know you guys all hope for this story to go on forever. But unfortunately for you, I suspect by the time we get to October or so, it will finally be over.”