"John Doe," went to court late Saturday seeking an emergency order to halt the release of the names of others allegedly tied to the political conspiracy to shut down toll lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2013.
NEWARK--With a Tuesday deadline fast approaching, the unnamed "John Doe" who seeks to keep the names of others who have been tied to the Bridgegate political scandal from being publicly identified asked a federal appeals court Saturday night to stop the clock.
In papers filed with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, an attorney for the still anonymous individual requested a stay of last week's order by U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton requiring prosecutors to release a list of "unindicted co-conspirators" involved in the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane shutdowns--a scheme allegedly orchestrated by former associates of Gov. Chris Christie to boost his re-election campaign.
"It is a due process violation for the government to label someone an unindicted co-conspirator," said attorney Jenny Kramer of Chadbourne & Parke in New York. "Here, the district court ordered the government to disseminate a letter so labeling Doe."
In her Saturday night filing, Kramer said the appellate court should stay Wigenton's order until it can address whether John Doe's rights have been violated.
"Because Doe was not given the opportunity to establish that he is not a co-conspirator, he was not given the process due him before he could permissibly be so labelled," she wrote. "Doe will suffer irreparable harm absent the relief sought because once he is named as an unindicted co-conspirator at noon on May 17, the stigma that the government believes there is evidence that he entered an agreement to shut down traffic at the George Washington Bridge to retaliate against Mayor Sokolich can never be removed.
A consortium of news organizations--including NJ Advance Media--has been waging a court battle to force the U.S. Attorney's office to reveal the list of names of those who federal prosecutors said had conspired in the bridge plot, or in the subsequent cover-up, but had not been charged.
"We are confident the court will agree with Judge Wigenton and deny this stay request," said Bruce Rosen, of McCusker, Anselmi, Rosen & Carvelli in Florham Park, the lead attorney for the media groups.
Judge slams internal Bridgegate investigation
Two people--William Baroni, the former deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and Bridget Anne Kelly, the governor's former deputy chief of staff--are awaiting trial in the so-called Bridgegate scandal. They are accused of deliberately closing down local toll lanes at the George Washington Bridge in an effort to cause massive tie-ups in Fort Lee to punish Mayor Mark Sokolich, after he declined to endorse Christie for re-election.
David Wildstein, another former Port Authority official and political appointee, has already pleaded guilty for his role in the lane closures and is cooperating with prosecutors.
The efforts by John Doe come after Wigenton last Tuesday ordered prosecutors to release a list of other individuals who allegedly played a role in the conspiracy, but were not been charged in the case.
Wigenton agreed that the public had a right to know who the unindicted co-conspirators were, noting in court filings that all of those on the list were public employees, or elected or public officials.
Kramer, a former federal prosecutor, sought unsuccessfully to get Wigenton to keep the list of names confidential, arguing that the release of John Doe's name "brands him as a criminal."
But Wigenton, who had agreed to temporarily delay the disclosure deadline until Tuesday, denied Kramer's request.
"This court does not take the identification of unindicted co-conspirators lightly, recognizing the possible reputational consequences of such a revelation. However, here, this court has given Doe notice and an opportunity to be heard and has thoroughly considered his privacy interests."
Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.