Supreme Court unanimously reverses 'Bridgegate' convictions

Public able to hear Supreme Court arguments live for first time as justices teleconference amid COVID-19 The Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the federal convictions of former New Jersey officials Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni, who had been charged with fraud for closing lanes on the George Washington Bridge under false pretenses for political purposes. The court recognized that the 2013 lane closures, known commonly as "Bridgegate," were done as political payback against the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., for not supporting the reelection campaign of then-Gov. Chris Christie. The problem, the court pointed out, is that this is not a violation of the federal fraud statutes under which the defendants were charged.-- More...