Esquire writer Scott Raab, who has been blogging about/reporting on the Chris Christie Bridgegate case for the magazine, writes today (in a piece co-bylined with Lisa Brennan) that four Christie aides and associates—David Wildstein, Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly, and Bill Stepien—will “certainly be indicted” by a grand jury at the request of U.S. attorney Paul Fishman. The piece also strongly suggests that Christie ally and former New York/New Jersey Port Authority chair David Samon could be in for a bit of the ol’ corruption prosecution. The claims are attributed to two sources with “intimate knowledge of the case.” More specifics:
Fishman’s challenge is to nail down specific criminal charges on several fronts – the diversion of Port Authority money to fund New Jersey road and bridge projects; the four-day rush-hour closures of George Washington Bridge lanes in Ft. Lee; and a web of real-estate deals spun by David Samson, long a Christie crony, when he chaired the PA’s Board of Commissioners as Christie’s appointee…
Fishman’s timetable is unclear – he has yet to send out target letters even to the lower-hanging fruit: Wildstein and Baroni, and Bridget Kelly and Bill Stepien, Christie’s former Deputy Chief of Staff and his former campaign manager, each deeply implicated in the Fort Lee/GWB debacle. One source expects Fishman to return some indictments as soon as next month. Both sources say that all of those four certainly will be indicted – and both further note that Fishman, an Obama appointee, hopes to see the entire matter resolved before this President’s term expires.
Esquire writes that Fishman “believes” he will ultimately be able to indict Christie, though the piece doesn’t say what the governor might be accused of.
For a thorough summary of Bridgegateghazi, see Ryan Lizza’s April New Yorker piece.
Correction, June 20, 2014: This post originally misstated that U.S. attorney Paul Fishman will reportedly indict Christie’s associates. If Fishman wants to prosecute the individuals for felony crimes, he must ask a federal grand jury to issue indictments against them.
