The One Line in the Supreme Court “Bridgegate” Decision That Sums Up Now

There’s a reason why the petty actions of Christie’s aides feel at once jarring and instantly recognizable.

Alex Edelman/ZUMA

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On Thursday, the Supreme Court threw out the convictions of key allies to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the notorious scandal known as “Bridgegate.”

The unanimous decision was at once a jarring throwback—who can properly recall anything before Donald Trump—and instantly recognizable. After all, two political aides emerging essentially unscathed despite overwhelming evidence of public corruption seems entirely appropriate, even expected, for this current moment. 

One line in the ruling all but admitted as much. Here’s Justice Elena Kagan writing for the court:

The evidence the jury heard no doubt shows wrongdoing—deception, corruption, abuse of power. But the federal fraud statutes at issue do not criminalize all such conduct.

A similar legal calculus could be applied to countless acts of malfeasance we’ve seen from the Trump administration, including the events that sparked Trump’s impeachment. (Recall the president’s lawyers claiming that abuse of power isn’t necessarily an impeachable offense.) Moreover, creating a traffic jam as a form of political retribution, as Christie’s aides did in 2013, is exactly the kind of petty criminal behavior that fuels Trumpworld.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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