NEWSREADER:
In the meantime, the US attorney for New Jersey, as we’ve mentioned, is looking into whether the George Washington Bridge lane closures actually violated any federal laws and there’s the question of: “What if any criminal charges could be filed as well?” So, defense attorney Enrique Latoison is here now with us in our digital operations center to help give us his expert opinion. Thanks so much for joining us, Enrique.
ENRIQUE:
No problem.
NEWSREADER:
First of all, is there a chance we could see criminal charges in this case and, if so, what type of charges would they be?
ENRIQUE:
Well, I mean, first, they’re gonna look and investigate and find out whether or not anyone was hurt. Was anyone injured due to these lane closures? I mean, there could be constitutional violations. We, as Americans, have a right to interstate travel and anyone that was stuck there because of these lane closures would have had those rights violated. You were not able to travel. Now, in order to be a federal crime, there has to be some sort of hatred or animosity or malice along with those constitutional violations. I mean, the federal government has to be careful to make sure that they’re not turning a political case into a federal case when it may not actually qualify as a federal case.
NEWSREADER:
I know we’re asking you to speculate at this point. We would be talking potentially about the governor’s deputy chief of staff and one of the top executives at the port authority. If they were charged, would that also mean the governor could be charged as well?
ENRIQUE:
Well, what you find usually in these kinds of cases, the act itself isn’t really the crime. It’s what takes place after the act is uncovered. Is there any kind of cover-up? Did anyone destroy anything? Was there any kind of conspiracy to any kind of obstruction of justice? That’s normally the kind of big charge that comes out of a situation like this. I do not think the governor would have spent two hours going on TV and saying he had nothing to do with it. That wouldn’t have been a wise move on his part if he was somehow involved with this, but yet, that will come out. I mean, the investigations are being done and they’re making sure to see if anyone did any kind of cover-up or if anyone destroyed anything. Did anyone act in a way to try to obstruct justice in this case?
NEWSREADER:
All right, Enrique Latoison, thanks for your insights this afternoon. We appreciate it.
ENRIQUE:
Thank you.
NEWSREADER:
And you can follow our continuing coverage of the Jersey Jam and its connection with Governor Christie’s administration. For the latest information, log on to NBC10.com.
Contact Enrique Latoison
(610) 999-1439