Bridgegate: Christie aides Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly jailed

Two former associates of New Jersey Governor Chris
 Christie have been jailed for their role in a political revenge plot dubbed Bridgegate.

Ex-Port Authority executive Bill Baroni was sentenced to
 two years for closing lanes on a busy New York City bridge.

Former Christie aide Bridget Kelly was handed a prison sentence of 18 months for her role in the 2013 scandal.

The traffic jam was arranged to target a local mayor who decided not to endorse Mr Christie's re-election bid.

Kelly and Baroni were convicted in November on counts including wire fraud, conspiracy and misusing the bridge
 for improper purposes.

On Wednesday, Baroni told the judge he regretted his actions and that he had "failed".

"I regret more than anything that I allowed myself to get caught
up in this and fail to help those who need it," Baroni said.

Baroni, 45, was the former deputy executive director of the Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees airports,
tunnels and bridges in the New York area.

Christie aides initially tried to explain the four days of gridlock in
September 2013 on the George Washington Bridge between New
Jersey and New York City as a legitimate traffic study.

Both Kelly and Baroni testified in court that Mr Christie had known
in advance about the lane closures on the country's busiest span.
Kelly, the governor's 44-year-old former chief of staff, provided
one of the most damning pieces of evidence in an email she
wrote saying: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee."

But Mr Christie denied any knowledge of the political plot and was
not charged.

A third aide who has already pleaded guilty, David Wildstein,
testified that Mr Christie had laughed about the traffic jam during
a 9/11 memorial service two days after the lanes were blocked.
Baroni's defence lawyers argued that his long career in public
service warranted leniency.

But Assistant US Attorney Lee Cortes said Baroni should have
known better and alerted authorities to the plot instead of helping
to cover it up.

US District Court Judge Susan Wigenton said Baroni deserved
some prison time for what she called "an outrageous display of
abuse of power".

Baroni will be allowed out on bail while he appeals his conviction.

He was also sentenced to 500 hours of community service.

The scandal was widely perceived to have contributed to Mr
Christie's failure in his 2016 bid for the White House.

On the same day his aides were sentenced, Mr Christie was
appointed by President Donald Trump to lead a federal task force
on the opioid crisis in America.

When asked on Wednesday before the sentencing whether Baroni
and Kelly should go to jail, Mr Christie said: "The judge will do
what the judge believes is appropriate."