A close ally of Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor whom many expect to run for the Republican presidential nomination, has told a federal judge that he intends to plead guilty to charges stemming from the "Bridgegate" case, according to the Associated Press.
David Wildstein, a former executive of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, was a close associate of Mr Christie until scrutiny of a traffic jam on the George Washington Bridge, thought to have been politically motivated, forced him to resign.
It is not yet clear what the charges against Mr Wildstein are. A federal prosecutor is expected to announce the plea later today.
Mr Wildstein is the first person to be charged for involvement in the “Bridgegate” scandal, which resulted in a 16-month investigation by federal prosecutors into the allegations.
Despite Mr Wildstein’s expected guilty plea in the Newark court, Mr Christie said he is unconcerned.
"I don't expect that anything's going to be different than what I said on January 9th," Bloomberg quoted Mr Christie as saying on Wednesday, in the first time the governor had taken questions from the press in six months.
“But I know what the truth is, so I’m not the least bit concerned about it.”
Mr Christie said the indictment won’t affect “his political future or ability to get things done in the state”.
Republican nomination
It is widely believed that Mr Christie’s chances of obtaining the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election were damaged by the controversy, though many pollsters still believe he is among the top four candidates, FiveThirtyEight reports.
The Christie administration became the focus of the so-called “Bridgegate” scandal after a political appointee who ran the Port Authority apparently orchestrated a multi-lane closure of the George Washington Bridge.
The crossing from Fort Lee, New Jersey, to Manhattan is the most travelled bridge in the world.
What was first described as a “traffic study” is now believed to have been a plan for political payback, punishing the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for refusing to endorse Mr Christie during his gubernatorial run.
The traffic jam backed cars through the small city of Fort Lee, where the bridge is footed, causing public safety hazards and an hours-long nightmare for commuters.
Since that time, in September 2013, Democrats in the New Jersey Legislature have spent considerable time investigating Christie’s administration, searching for evidence that the governor knew about the plan.
To date, the most incriminating evidence came from Mr Christie's former deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, who sent an email calling for some "traffic problems in Fort Lee".
Ms Kelly allegedly gave the “go-ahead” to Mr Wildstein, according to Randy Mastro, an attorney hired by Mr Christie.
Guardian service