U.S. Supreme Court overturns NJ 'Bridgegate' convictions

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the criminal convictions of two associates of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie involved in the "Bridgegate" scandal in a ruling that places new limits on the kinds of political acts that can be prosecuted.

Jillian Kitchener has more.

In a unanimous ruling - the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday threw out criminal convictions of two associates of former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie involved in the "Bridgegate" scandal.

All nine justices sided with Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni - convicted for their roles in engineering lane closures in September 2013 on the George Washington Bridge.

On behalf of the court, liberal Justice Elena Kagan wrote: "The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoing - deception, corruption, abuse of power.

But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct.” The lane closures caused days of gridlock on the bridge connecting New York and New Jersey... which prosecutors said, was intended to punish the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee , New Jersey after he declined to endorse Republican Chris Christie’s gubernatorial re-election bid.

Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Christie, and Baroni, a former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were convicted in 2016 of wire fraud and misusing Port Authority resources in the scandal.

Justice Kagan wrote that the laws would be violated only if their aim was "to obtain the Port Authority's money or property." Christie had denied involvement and was not charged.

But the scandal sullied Christie's reputation, damaged his campaign for the 2016 Republican U.S. presidential nomination and contributed to his sagging public approval ratings in New Jersey.