Bridgegate Lawyer to Lead Inquiry on Murphy Aide Assault Claim

(Bloomberg) -- A veteran defense attorney in the George Washington Bridge conspiracy trial will serve as counsel to New Jersey senators investigating a sex-assault complaint against an aide to Governor Phil Murphy.

Michael Critchley represented Bridget Anne Kelly and Bill Baroni, onetime confidantes of former Governor Chris Christie who are appealing their federal criminal convictions in a 2013 political-revenge plot to tie up traffic at the world’s busiest motor-vehicle bridge linking Fort Lee, New Jersey, and New York City.

Critchley, a former prosecutor, was hired by a bipartisan legislative committee to review the handling of the allegation, involving a female aide and a former high-ranking state official, and evaluate how the criminal-justice system responds in similar instances, according to an announcement by Senate President Steve Sweeney, a Democrat from West Deptford.

Critchley’s Livingston-based firm will be paid $125 to $350 per hour for its work.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elise Young in Trenton at eyoung30@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Flynn McRoberts at fmcroberts1@bloomberg.net, Stacie Sherman

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