News Organizations Fight For Release Of Unindicted Bridgegate Co-Conspirators
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Federal prosecutors are disregarding law in favor of the suggestion the ``government knows best'' in their request to keep private a list of unindicted co-conspirators in the Bridgegate scandal, a group of media organizations argued on Friday.
The media organizations, among them the Associated Press, went to court last month seeking the list of people prosecutors believe were involved but weren't charged in a conspiracy by aides to Republican Gov. Chris Christie to close traffic lanes for political retribution against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee.
Federal prosecutors asked a judge to deny the request to release the list, which had been submitted by prosecutors to defense lawyers and the judge. Prosecutors said that people are sometimes designated unindicted co-conspirators even if there isn't enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and the fact they're not charged denies them an opportunity to challenge that.
The George Washington Bridge, one of the busiest bridges in the world, connects Fort Lee and Manhattan. Christie aides were accused of engineering the traffic jams in September 2013 by ordering lane closings in Fort Lee to punish its mayor, who didn't support Christie for re-election. The lane closures caused four days of massive traffic jams.
Former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey official Bill Baroni and former Christie deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly face federal charges -- both Christie allies – have pleaded not guilty in the case. Former Port Authority official David Wildstein pleaded guilty.
Christie has repeatedly denied any prior knowledge of the scheme, and a taxpayer-funded report he commissioned absolved him of wrongdoing.
The media organizations said in their original filing that the public has a right to know about the prosecutors' list because the people on it likely are public employees or appointed officials.
``Particularly given the Government's position that the people of Fort Lee were `callously victimized' and `the public has a right to expect better,' there is no good reason, let alone a compelling reason, for it to shield the list of unindicted coconspirators from public access,'' the media organizations argued on Friday.
A federal judge will decide whether to release the information.
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