Subject: FLAG: Judge orders release of unindicted Bridgegate co-conspirator names
From: "Kasnetz, Joel" <[email-masked]>
To: Research_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 May 2016 10:17:53 -0700

Judge orders release of Bridgegate co-conspirator names
By Ted Sherman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com <http://connect.nj.com/staff/thsherma/posts.html>
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on May 10, 2016 at 12:53 PM, updated May 10, 2016 at 1:09 PM
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/05/judge_orders_release_of_bridgegate_co-conspirator.html
Ruling (PDF): https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2828708/Judge-Orders-Release-of-Names-in-Bridgegate-Case.pdf
A federal judge in Newark has ordered the release of the names of individuals who allegedly had knowledge of the scheme to shut down lanes at the George Washington Bridge before the Bridgegate scandal broke.
In a ruling sought by a consortium of news organizations, including NJ Advance Media, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton said the public had a right to know who else may have been involved in the high profile case involving the politically motivated shutdown of local toll lanes bridge that led to criminal charges against William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie.
"There is very little that is private about the lane closures or the lives of the people allegedly connected to them," said Wigenton in her decision. "Further, individuals thus far identified as being involved in the lane closings have been public employees and/or elected and appointed officials."
She said while privacy for third-parties was important in criminal cases, "this court is satisfied that the privacy interests of uncharged third parties are insufficiently compelling to outweigh the public's right of access."
No timetable was set for the release of the names and the judge gave federal prosecutors and defense attorneys the opportunity to file additional briefs regarding the release of additional sealed documents connected to the case.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has opposed the media's request, asking the judge to maintain a seal and redactions on records the government gathered in the case.
In briefs filed by U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman's office, prosecutors argued that news outlets covering the Bridgegate case did not have a right to see the list of unindicted co-conspirators<http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/prosecutor_defends_keeping_bridgegate_conspirators.html> - individuals the government believes may have known about the plot to abruptly shut down access lanes to the bridge to cause massive traffic disruptions, but were not charged.