Baroni attorneys grill Wildstein on past political stunts
NEWARK — Lawyers for Bill Baroni continued to impugn the credibility of David Wildstein, the government’s chief witness in the trial over the George Washington Bridge lane closures, accusing the former Port Authority official on Thursday of changing his story and engaging in a long history of political stunts.
Michael Baldassare, Baroni’s lawyer, recalled a litany of Wildstein’s exploits, about which he bragged to friends. The most notable being when Wildstein stole former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s jacket before a debate with Republican challenger Millicent Fenwick, for whom Wildstein worked at the time.
“You bragged about the Lautenberg jacket, right?” Baldassare said.
“Yes sir, I repeated that story,” Wildstein said.
“You wanted to brag about the cones the same way you did that, didn’t you?” Baldassare said.
Wildstein replied, “Sir, I never had the intention of bragging about the cones.”
Baldassare repeatedly tried to assert that Wildstein, in his initial conversations with associates and even in interviews with prosecutors, claimed a bigger role in the lane closures than he has admitted in testimony during the trial. He asked if Wildstein also took greater part in the alleged conversation with Gov. Chris Christie and Baroni on September 11, 2013 than he testified in court.
The conversation, which would indicate Christie knew of the closures while they were happening, is central to Baroni’s role in the alleged conspiracy. Baldassare implied that in his meetings with prosecutors, Wildstein claimed a diminished role in the plot.
“As those meetings progressed with the government your role in that conversation, your role decreased and Mr. Baroni’s increased, correct?” Baldassare said. “We’ve established what your trial testimony is. It’s all Bill. He was the spokesman.”
Wildstein, who throughout the morning testified he couldn’t recall specific answers to Baldassare’s questions, denied changing his story.
“Would you agree with me that under your oath, you should tell the jury that you cannot keep your stories straight?”
The prosecution objected and Wildstein was not required to answer.
Wildstein is testifying against Baroni and co-defendant Bridget Anne Kelly. The two were indicted last May on charges of conspiracy, fraud and civil rights violations.
They are accused of closing local access lanes to the bridge — the world’s busiest — to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing Christie in his 2013 re-election bid. The lane closures caused days of gridlock in Fort Lee and surrounding communities.
Wildstein, who was the Port’s director of interstate capital projects, has already pleaded guilty and implicated the two others.
Christie, who is currently a top adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, continues to deny having any knowledge or involvement in the scheme.