Bridget Anne Kelly is the former deputy chief of staff to the
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...
,
Chris Christie
Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
Christie, who was born in N ...
, known for her participation in the
Bridgegate scandal
The Fort Lee lane closure scandal, also known as the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal or Bridgegate, was a political scandal involving a staff member and political appointees of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie colluding to c ...
Mount St. Mary's University
Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Ar ...
in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
Career
Kelly began her government career by working as a legislative aide to Assemblyman David C. Russo, later becoming Russo's chief of staff. In 2010, Kelly became director of legislative relations under Governor
Chris Christie
Christopher James Christie (born September 6, 1962) is an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, lobbyist, and former federal prosecutor who served as the 55th governor of New Jersey from 2010 to 2018.
Christie, who was born in N ...
. In April 2013, Christie appointed her to be his deputy chief of staff.
On November 4, 2016, Kelly was convicted for her involvement in the "Bridgegate" affair. She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment (later reduced to 13 months) on March 29, 2017. On May 7, 2020, the United States Supreme Court, in a rare unanimous decision, overturned her conviction.
Kelly said that she looks forward to returning to government work at some point in the future saying, "I'd like to make sure that my Wikipedia page is not all about Bridgegate". In 2021, she ran for and failed to win the position of
Bergen County
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.George Washington Bridge in the late summer of 2013, in part of what has been described as politically motivated retribution against the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey.
On August 13, 2013, Kelly sent an eight-word e-mail to David Wildstein, a Christie appointee to the board of commissioners of the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...
, that read, "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." Wildstein responded to Kelly's e-mail: "Got it." In a texting exchange the next day, Wildstein relayed to Kelly a text from Fort Lee Mayor
Mark Sokolich
Mark J. Sokolich ( ; born 1963) is an American attorney and politician. He serves as the mayor of Fort Lee, New Jersey. He is also the managing partner of the law firm that he founded. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Early life
Sokolic ...
in which he complained about the traffic jam and said, "The bigger problem is getting kids to school. Please help. It's maddening." "
Prosecution
On January 9, 2014, after the emails were disclosed, the governor announced that he had fired Kelly, calling her action "stupid" and "deceitful" and claiming her actions had caused him to mislead the public. That day, Kelly was named as a defendant in a federal
class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...
in the
U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (in case citations, D.N.J.) is a federal court in the Third Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the ...
that cited a
civil conspiracy
A civil conspiracy is a form of conspiracy involving an agreement between two or more parties to deprive a third party of legal rights or deceive a third party to obtain an illegal objective.
and "willful, wanton, arbitrary, and egregious official misconduct". In the wake of her firing, police established no parking zones outside of Kelly's home in Ramsey to keep press and gawkers away, while "no trespassing" signs were placed on the lawn of the home.
When she received subpoenas for documents from the New Jersey legislative committee, Kelly's attorneys indicated she would not comply with the subpoenas, citing their clients' Fifth Amendment right against
self-incrimination
In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself generally, by making a statement, "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another ersonin a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof". (Self-incriminati ...
and Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure The committee voted to compel Kelly to produce the previously requested documents, instructing special counsel Reid Schar to "take all necessary steps" to enforce them. But Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson found no basis to force Kelly and Bill Stepien, the governor's two-time campaign manager, to comply with the subpoenas. The pair had objected to the requests, issued in January, asserting that being forced to identify and turn over records would violate their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. They called the committee's requests a fishing expedition. The Court agreed.
On May 1, 2015, Kelly was indicted on nine charges in connection with her involvement in the scandal. She pleaded not guilty. Courts have ruled that evidence provided in discovery by the US Attorney cannot be made public. Courts also ruled that all materials used to prepare the so-called Mastro Report which exonerated the Christie administration must be turned over to the defense. The state has denied Kelly's request for reimbursement of legal fees.
Courts
First trial
On November 4, 2016, the jury in the Bridgegate trial returned guilty verdicts on all counts against Bridget Kelly and her co-defendant, Bill Baroni. On March 29, 2017, U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton sentenced Kelly to 18 months in prison and 500 hours of community service.
Third Circuit appeal
On November 27, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the majority of the convictions, overturned the determination that Kelly and Baroni had violated the civil rights of travelers, and found there is no established civil right to interstate travel that gives rise to a criminal conviction. The court directed for Kelly and Baroni to be resentenced on the remaining seven counts of the indictment. As a result, on April 24, 2019, Kelly was resentenced to one year and one month.
Following her sentencing in April 2019, Kelly said in a statement: "Mr. Christie, you are a bully and the days of you calling me a liar and destroying my life are over.... The truth will be heard—and for the former governor, that truth will be unescapable ic regardless of lucrative television deals or even future campaigns. I plan to make sure of that."
Supreme Court appeal
On June 28, 2019,"Why the ‘Bridgegate’ Scandal Could Backfire on Prosecutors", by Nick Corasaniti, ''The New York Times'', July 3, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019. /ref> two weeks away from beginning her custodial sentence, the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
agreed to take up her case, and her prison sentence was delayed pending its ruling. Political and legal commentators have noted that action by the Court as part of a continuingly "more stringent definition of the law" governing corruption cases involving political malfeasance.
Kelly's appeal was filed as '' Kelly v. United States'', No. 18–1059. On May 7, 2020, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned Kelly's conviction, stating:
“For no reason other than political payback, Baroni and Kelly used deception to reduce Fort Lee’s access lanes to the George Washington Bridge—and thereby jeopardized the safety of the town’s residents. But not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime. Because the scheme here did not aim to obtain money or property, Baroni and Kelly could not have violated the federal-program fraud or wire fraud laws. We therefore reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”
In a written judgment, Justice
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination ...
also noted that "not every corrupt act by state or local officials is a federal crime" and that "the realignment of the toll lanes was an exercise of regulatory power—something this Court has already held fails to meet the statutes' property requirement." They also considered that the prosecution had chosen an unrealistically-broad interpretation of
wire fraud
Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...
legislation.
Response
In response, Christie described his former team as having been "completely exonerated" and blamed prosecutors appointed by
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
. Kelly told
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was est ...
that she believed "while this may finally have made this case right for me, it does not absolve those who should have truly been held accountable." The ruling was described as "the latest instance in which the Supreme Court hemmed in prosecutors in corruption cases involving political figures." The ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' described the state of New Jersey as being "well versed in political corruption" but also that Bridgegate was a "particularly
baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
" episode.
Personal life
Kelly is a divorced mother of four and still resides in her childhood hometown of Ramsey.