Bridgegate defendant intimates that Christie knew more

fic problems” to David Wildstein, the self-described mastermind of the plot.

Kelly is accused of plotting with Wildstein and another former Christie ally to close lanes on the bridge, which connects Fort Lee and New York, as revenge against Fort Lee’s Democratic mayor, who wouldn’t endorse Christie’s re-election effort in 2013.

Her comments at trial that Christie signed off on the traffic study in August 2013, a month before the closures began, are the latest testi- mony indicating Christie knew more about the closures than he let on in the months afterward.

Christie’s spokesman said in a statement Friday night that he had “no knowledge prior to or during these lane realignments” and “no role in authorizing them.”

The scandal developed just after Christie won re-election handily. It ultimately weighed down his presidential campaign, which ended with a fizzle in the primary season after a poor showing in New Hampshire.

Wildstein pleaded guilty in the case and is the prosecution’s key witness. Wildstein has said the traffic study was just a cover story.

Kelly maintained Friday that she believed the lane closings, on one of the world’s busiest bridges, to be part of a Port Authority traffic study and said they weren’t done for political retribution. She’s on trial along with former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni. They have pleaded not guilty and have said the government has twisted federal law to turn their actions into crimes.