Judge: Release All The Names of the Bridgegate Co-Conspirators. And Do It Now.

A federal judge Tuesday ruled that prosecutors must release the names of all those they believe participated in politically-motivated lane closures of the George Washington Bridge, not just the names of the three individuals already charged with federal crimes, one of whom has pleaded guilty.

The U.S. Attorney for New Jersey had argued that such a release could violate privacy rights of those not charged. But the judge disagreed. There's no word yet on whether federal prosecutors will appeal, or when exactly the list will be released.

A group of news organizations, including New York Public Radio, sued to make the list public, citing the public interest in understanding government, the judicial system and the public's right to access.

To state the obvious, we don't know if Gov. Chris Christie's name is on the unindicted co-conspirator list. He may well not be on it, since the list only includes those individuals about whom federal prosecutors have "sufficient evidence to designate as having joined the conspiracy" — i.e. not those who might have simply known about it.

But federal Judge Susan Wigenton's order Tuesday morning that disclosure of the list is "appropriate" based on the "public's right of access," is nevertheless a blow for Christie, who was just named the head of Donald Trump's White House transition team. That puts Christie at the head of a team selecting top staff for the possible next president. As governor, of course, he made a number of appointments — three top ones have already been charged with federal crimes.

The unindicted co-conspirator list, even if it doesn't include Christie, will likely include more names of top Christie appointees who the federal government believes engaged in a plot to shut down the world's busiest bridge, in order to retaliate against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, NJ, who had not endorsed Christie for re-election. 

In her ruling, Wigenton hinted that the names will likely not be a surprise. "There is very little that is private about the lane closures or the lives of people allegedly connected to them," Judge Wigenton wrote in her opinion. "Further, individuals thus far identified as being involved in the lane closings have been public employees and/or elected or appointed officials, and anyone named in the Conspirator Letter is likely to have held a similar position."

Irony of ironies, Wigenton cited as precedent a ruling in the case United States v. Kushner.  The United States, in that case, was U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who held that office until running for governor in 2009. And Kushner is Charles Kushner, the father of Trump son-in-law (and key transition advisor) Jared Kushner. 

"The public has a strong interest in the use officials make of their public trust," Wigenton wrote, citing that case.

In that case, Christie prosecuted Charles Kushner for, among other things, setting up his brother-in-law with a prostitute and sending the video to his sister, to retaliate against her participation in the federal investigation.

The Bridgegate ruling came after defendants in the case, including former Christie appointees Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly, argued that the government needed to turn over the "conspirators list" to them.

Bruce Rosen, who represents the group of news organizations, argued that the list of unindicted co-conspirators should be made public immediately.

"We are hopeful that U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman will heed Judge Wigenton’s findings and agree that the public’s right of access to this list must prevail, rather than prolonging the lack of transparency in this matter by seeking a stay and appealing to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals," Rosen said in a statement.