What to Know
- Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni were convicted in November in the politically motivated revenge plot to close the lanes
- They contended their actions didn't violate federal law
- Gov. Chris Christie has repeatedly denied any advance knowledge of the lane closures; he has not been charged in the case
Two former allies of Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie seeking to have their convictions in the George Washington Bridge Lane-closing scandal reversed are citing a ruling last month in a Massachusetts corruption case.
Attorneys for Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni filed letters with a federal judge in Newark on Tuesday.
Kelly and Baroni were convicted in November in a plot to use traffic jams to punish a Democratic mayor who wouldn't endorse Christie. They contended their actions didn't violate federal law.
In the Massachusetts case, three people were convicted in a scheme to hire certain employees for the state's probation office in exchange for favorable legislation. Those convictions were reversed last month by an appeals court that wrote the government "overstepped its bounds" in charging them with federal crimes.
