In Bridgegate trial, politics as usual under Christie will be judged

When the trial of two former Christie administration staffers for their role in the closing of access lanes to the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee three years ago begins on September 19, it will arguably be the most closely watched legal proceeding since the Abscam courtroom drama captured national attention 36 years ago.

Granted, the central figures in the Abscam sting operation were much higher profile - a United States Senator from New Jersey, a half-dozen members of the House of Representatives, and more than 20 others were convicted and sent to jail - but when Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, take their places at the defendants' table in a federal courtroom in Newark, public attention will be focused laser-like on them. The possibility of Christie testifying only sharpens the anticipatory edge.

Abscam was all about money and greed and its reach and scope far exceeds that of Bridgegate. It was a sordid, grubby tale of bribes and payoffs, surreptitious audio and video recordings in hotel rooms, and briefcases stuffed with cash. Bridgegate, on the other hand, is all about power run amok. There's never been even the slightest hint that anyone involved in the lane-closure scheme profited financially from it. Rather, it was an ill-conceived and arrogant exercise in using the authority of the executive office to send a chilling message - agree to our demands or pay a price.

Even coming in the midst of a presidential campaign drenched in vitriol, the accounts of the bridge scandal trial will certainly share above-the-fold newspaper space with the grenade-tossing contest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

Read more: http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/09/in_bridgegate_trial_politics_as_usual_under_christ.html