 The Fort Lee lane closure scandal, also known as the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal or Bridgegate,[1][2] is a U.S. political scandal in which a staff member and political appointees of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, colluded to create traffic jams in Fort Lee, New Jersey, by closing lanes at the main toll plaza[3][4] for the upper level of the George Washington Bridge. “I reported back to him that they were doing a traffic study and that I talked to Bill Baroni.” 
 
 He confirmed that he told Bridgegate mastermind David Wildstein that he was still a “part of the team” after he fired him in Dec. 2013 because he still believed it was all a traffic study gone awry. [202] That evening's NBC report by Brian Williams, "federal [Bridgegate] charges are now ruled out for Chris Christie", was retracted. [241] 
 
 Official misconduct case against Christie [ edit ] 
 
 Private citizen, activist, and retired Teaneck firefighter William J. Brennan, who had attended Seton Hall Law School but is not a member of the New Jersey Bar,[242] filed a complaint in September 2016 in the Fort Lee municipal court, alleging official misconduct by Christie. McGready ruled, "I'm satisfied that there's probable cause to believe that an event of official misconduct was caused by Governor Christie. [245] 
 
 That summons put the case into the hands of the Bergen County prosecutor's office, which must decide whether to bring an indictment against Christie. Thursday’s ruling now forwards Brennan’s summons — which calls Bridgegate an “intentional evil minded act” — to Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal, who will decide whether to charge the governor. Brennan alleges that Christie’s failure to end the closures constitutes second-degree official misconduct, a charge punishable by five to 10 years in prison. [246] 
 
 Brian Murray, speaking for Christie, said the governor would appeal the ruling immediately, adding, "this is a dishonorable complaint filed by a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system," and reiterating the governor's denial of knowledge before or during the closure. Brennan said his criminal complaint of the governor was over the government's star witness David Wildstein's accusation that the governor knew by midweek about the lane shutdowns for political retaliation against Fort Lee's mayor, as well as the governor's subsequent failure to seek criminal prosecution of his staffers once he found out.
– A citizen's official misconduct complaint against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie can move forward, a judge in the state ruled Thursday. Bill Brennan, whom the Star-Ledger describes as a "citizen activist" and Christie's office describes as "a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system," filed the complaint last month over the 2013 BridgeGate scandal. Per Brennan's complaint, Christie knew lane closures were happening and could have put a stop to the whole thing. The complaint is based on testimony from the trial against former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly and former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni. During the trial, a man Christie appointed to Port Authority testified that both he and Baroni told Christie about the lane closures during a 9/11 ceremony (the lanes were closed from Sept. 9 to Sept. 13, 2013). Now that the judge has ruled the complaint can move forward, it will go to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office so a decision can be made as to whether Christie should be indicted. Christie's office, which insists the governor had no knowledge of the lane closures while they were ongoing, said it would appeal the judge's ruling. The Star-Ledger reports that the courtroom audience, "mostly there for minor criminal violations," applauded the judge's ruling. The judge issued a criminal summons for Christie, the New York Post reports.