Christie's Bridge Scandal Is Back: Pal Pleads Guilty

As if Chris Christie's political fortunes weren't in enough trouble, Bridgegate is making headlines again. That would be the 2013 scandal in which the New Jersey governor's aides were accused of shutting down two lanes of traffic on the world's busiest bridge as a political vendetta against the mayor of Fort Lee. Today, a former Christie appointee who worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey pleaded guilty in the first charges stemming from the mess, reports the New York Times. David Wildstein ordered the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge, and he admitted conspiring with former port official Bill Baroni and former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly in doing so, reports the Star-Ledger. Those two are expected to be indicted later today.

The big question remains whether the charges will implicate Christie himself in the decision. He has denied any knowledge of it beforehand. Wildstein's guilty plea suggests he is cooperating with authorities, which means "he could give them an inside view of how the plot unfolded," notes Bloomberg. The US attorney for New Jersey, Paul Fishman, is expected to provide details this afternoon. Prior to the lane closures, Kelly wrote an infamous email to Wildstein declaring that it's "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee." In a weird footnote, Kirstie Alley is trending on Twitter today because of all the references to "Christie ally," notes the Star-Ledger. (More Chris Christie stories.)