Bridget Kelly on Bridgegate: 'I Am Not Guilty'

[brooklynite]

Source: NBC News

A former top ally to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie passionately defended her innocence on Friday after being indicted for her alleged role in creating traffic jams on the busy George Washington Bridge as political retribution in 2013.

"I am not guilty of the crimes for which I was accused. I look forward to sharing the truth," she said in her first public comments since scandal first erupted.

The indictment against Kelly, a former deputy chief of staff to Christie, and Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, were charged with nine counts, including '"knowingly converting and intentionally misapplying property of an organization receiving federal benefits."

...snip...

"It is an absurd thought to believe that a member of the governor's staff could close the George Washington Bridge," Kelly said.



Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/bridget-kelly-bridgegate-i-am-not-guilty-n352236

---

So, just to be clear, is she 1) denying she wrote the email (with her name on it) saying "time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee"? Or is she saying this had a different meaning?

[blm]

1. My take: She's saying SHE couldn't have done it without being given the authority to do so.

A 'member of the staff' wouldn't have that authority unless it was arranged beforehand.

[calimary]

3. OR, more likely, she did it on the understanding that this was what her boss wanted.

Especially considering the tone he set, the bullying, rude, confrontational, punitive in-yer-face shit he's famous for. We've seen publicly, many times, how he treats people. God knows what kind of unspoken rules his dutiful underlings felt were important to execute in his name.

[calimary]

27. I was actually going to respond to the person whose post is no longer there.

Yeah, indeed, maybe we're trying to do some mind-reading here. One is often given to that kind of pursuit when no information is forthcoming to objectively inform one's conclusions. Sometimes all we can do is speculate. Try to analyze. Try to assess from WHATEVER even bare traces of information can be gleaned. Like for example, there's information to be derived from NOT being informed. Is there a reason there's a bias or something relevant was left out? Or maybe you study body language or parse language or word choices - looking for clues. If information isn't forthcoming, for example, if the police take days and days and days to come up with anything except for that almost too obvious little trick with the leak to the Washington Post about how Freddie Gray somehow broke his own spine. That was so contrived and so phony and so blatantly manipulative that I was actually insulted by it. But when it's just astoundingly stinky bullshit, and that's all there is, what else can a body do but guess, or, yes, mind-read?

[laserhaas]

29. well put..

Moi did a GD thread on how inane it is for WaPo to be part of smear chit and cover up absurdity campaign that Freddie Gray broke his own spine.

There should be an agency that gives turd awards to propaganda machines like WaPo

[global1]

4. That's How I Interpreted It.....

She said "It is an absurd thought to believe that a member of the governor's staff could close the George Washington Bridge".

I interpreted that she wouldn't have the authority - but somebody much more powerful than me would have the authority.

Like the Governor?

She's also saying that she "looks forward to sharing the truth". Could she be turning on Crispy?

[blm]

9. Could also be a threat to Christie if he keeps blocking state pay of her legal bills.

Basically - looks bad for Christie either way. If he doesn't allow the state to pay her legal fees, she can turn talkative. If he starts paying now it will raise even more questions starting with - Why now?

[calimary]

2. My take is "My Ass, Bridget."

[blm]

13. ; )

.

[TlalocW]

5. Not guilty huh...

Then explain how she has the word BRIDGE in her name to begin with!!!

Bam.

TlalocW

[laserhaas]

30. ha ha....

Isn't amazing how often names are apropos?

Like Judge Hammer

Or Doctor Tool

Now if they could just come up with Ofgicer hand....

[hrmjustin]

6. Don't believe her.

[1StrongBlackMan]

7. It could have a different meaning ...

I, once, was in a deposition in a sexual harassment case where the owner of a medium sized funeral home/crematory was accused of creating a (sexually) hostile work environment for his female employees. As the depo advanced I asked about a specific comment that he was alleged to have made ... "{Name of the Complainant} will do anything to get laid ... and I'm gonna help her!"

Of course, the Accused Owner denied making the comment, or anything like that comment ... No, it was not he did not recall making the comment, he "DID NOT, AND WOULD NEVER SAY ANYTHING LIKE THAT" ... He is a Christian and has a family, and a daughter the age of the accuser, dont'tcha know!

I produced, and played, a tape recording of him not making the comment, and asked was that his voice ... after a couple minutes pause, the accused owner stated: "Well ... yes ... but you have to understand ... 'Getting laid' is a term of art in this business, meaning: 'to be placed in a casket' ... there was nothing sexual about that comment." His attorney did not react; but, the stenographer (someone that we used probably a thousand times, over the years, and I had never seen her respond to anything she heard) ... just stopped typing and just looked at the accused.

The only response I could muster (because of the stenographer's reaction) was to say, "Okay." And then, I turned to the stenographer and asked her to read back the accused's response.

So yeah ... the email with her name on it COULD have meant something different to her and the person she was sending it to!

[SoapBox]

8. Uh huh...and I have a bridge to sell ya.

Start squealing.

[lindysalsagal]

10. This is just the first shoe dropping. Gonna be fun to watch the chess pieces fall.

You know she's got emails or recorded phone calls. There are always witnesses to something this big and deliberate. The indictments allow for subpoenas. That's when the real fun starts.

No worker bee would ever pull this stunt.

[blm]

12. Christie was already known for NOT using email because he didn't want anything

he did to have his fingerprints on it. He learned that when HE was the US attorney and exaggerating crimes based on emails of his political targets. For HIS age group (he's NOT an older politician unfamiliar with computers) that's exactly the approach someone would take who knew he'd have plenty to hide.

[mpcamb]

35. So if it was was done by phone calls, does the NSA have them? Is this racketeering?

Should they come into play as evidence?

Much as I detest domestic spying, if you're contending there's a reason for it, THIS is it.

[lovemydog]

11. My take is that she believes Gov. Christie

should be indicted, or named as an un-indicted coconspirator.

[Historic NY]

14. "Bridge It" says she's not guilty....

[Bill USA]

15. yes it's absurd to say you did it on your own. But, nevertheless, you are going to take the 'fall'.

the 'privates' always take the 'fall' for the 'generals'.

[longship]

16. Fine! Then talk! Who ordered it, Bridget?

For Christ (ie) sake!

If she doesn't start telling the truth she needs to do some serious hard time. Sadly, that isn't likely to happen. Hard time or not, she's likely to go away for a while. One would hope.

[longship]

23. Well, somebody had to decide to do it?

I don't think for a second that it was a deputy chief of staff. Might as well claim that it was deputy Barney Fife.

Get it?

[LiberalElite]

26. Here. Excerpts from emails:

http://nj1015.com/excerpts-from-the-bridgegate-emails/

-Snip-
New Jersey 101.5 has obtained copies of emails exchanged by state officials before, during and after the unannounced lane closings at the George Washington Bridge between Sept. 9 and 13.

The thread begins with an Aug. 13 email exchange between Bridget Anne Kelly, Gov. Christie’s deputy chief of staff, and David Wildstein, the Port Authority official who later resigned when it was disclosed that he ordered the lane closures.

Kelly’s message reads: “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Less.” [sic]
Wildstein’s reply: “Got it.”
-snip-


Read More: Excerpts from the ‘Bridgegate’ Emails | http://nj1015.com/excerpts-from-the-bridgegate-emails/?trackback=tsmclip

[Cha]

17. kick for Bridgett spilling the beans on christie

[avebury]

18. I will never believe that Christie did not know what was going on.

In the state that I live in, if there where anything like the cluster f**k of a road/highway/bridge slow down like what occurred in NJ you had better believe that it would have been all over the news. The local media would be hounding every office they can think of in state and local government to know what was going on. And people would be calling the Governor's Office, State Reps and State Senators to complain about it.

I work for a state agency and there is just no how no way that you could hide what is going on when it comes to something like that. A Governor would have to be deaf, dumb, blind or just plain oblivious to try to claim he/she did know what was going on. And you could never close down something on the level of the lanes of the GW Bridge without having authorization at the highest level unless it is a real identifiable hazard to the driving public (like a crumbling bridge). And press releases would be put out about the location and what is going on to inform the public.

Christie's claim of ignorance has always been absurd to say the least.

[Botany]

19. Her desk was w/in a few seconds of a walk of Gov. C.C. and do you think she would close down ....

..... the busyist bridge in America w/out Christie's knowledge.

I hope she sings like a bird.

[NBachers]

20. The Feds have a good conviction rate, Bridget- You should start mitigating things in your favor.

Give up the Big Guy.

[Itchinjim]

24. She's gonna sing...

like a canary. He heee!

[davidpdx]

25. As Monty Brewster once said....

"Send them to the showers, it's going to take them about 20 years to dry off where they are going."

[George II]

28. Richard Nixon: "I am not a crook"

[laserhaas]

31. U.S. Attorney Chris Christie rigged elections

As one of GWB's USA's that prosecuted Democrats (he even kept a fraudster out if jail, giving hin $50k per month to live on...with a directive to go bribe candidates.....{where almost all were found not guilty}).

This is just a march (hopefully) to nail corrupt Chris Christie

[sendero]

32. "Falling on your sword".

..... means falling on your sword. Since you would not implicate Christie, it must be you.

Suck it up.

[laserhaas]

33. like in the Serenity film, as she's in Goodfella marsh

Lands...

It will either be her (looking) as if she fell on her sword...her being the total blamed gal doing a short stint and coming out rich

Or she'll sleep with the swamp fishes, under Hoffa (er..I mean Meadowlands), Bew jersey, marshes

[ChairmanAgnostic]

34. She read what? A 248 page explanation that said nothing?

About half way through her presentation, not having heard one thing of substance, I went to the bathroom, flushed, washed my hands, cooked a grill cheese sandwich, poured some fresh coffee, went back to her speech and realized that I had had missed Not One Thing of importance.

So, she proved that she can read empty sentences.


Did I miss something of substance? Probably not.