Bridgegate : Kelly dumps/is dumped by lawyer. Now with Updates.
News coming out overnight is that Bridget Kelly and her lawyer Walter Timpone have parted ways. Timpone has confirmed this, and says it is due to a "conflict of interest"
According to the Daily Mail (UK)
I'm not representing her,' Timpone told MailOnline on Monday when asked about his now-former client Bridget Kelly.
'I have a conflict. I’m an elected commissioner. That's where we are.'
Timpone, a partner at the venerable law firm McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter, was handpicked by Gov. Chris Christie in 2010 to help lead the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC).
Now I may be a touch cynical, but the only thing that has changed since he agreed to be her lawyer is that a) she received a subpeona and b) he learnt what she has to hand over and what she intends to say.
Timpone is firmly in Christie's camp, not only with his current position (under Christe's patronage) but going back to Christie's days as US Attorney, where he ended up losing his promotion prospects after taking a fall for interference with an FBI sting.
For my money - pure speculation of course - I think that Kelly was offered Timpone on a sweetheart deal if she helped to protect Christie, but now she is looking at potential jail time, and with Wildstein offering to give "Queen's Evidence" in return for immunity, Bridget has decided to put her own interests first. Since Timpone is unable to provide the shelter his masters' require, he is putting as much space between his erstwhile client and himself as possible.
It is becoming more obvious that the US Attorneys office under Christie was a nest of vipers - Christie, Gaudagno, Samson and others were learning the tricks of their trade,
2:45 AM PT: Rec List - thanks to all three of you. Is this a record?
5:45 AM PT: I was just checking to see if this story was getting any traction in MSM, but so far the only story I have found is the one referenced in Mail Online.
However, the Mail says they spoke directly with Timpone who confirmed it, as noted in the Blockquote above.
6:21 AM PT: Still wondering how the Mail got the scoop. I'm guessing that they called Timpone for a clarification of a point about Bridget Kelly, and got the comments quoted above. Everyone else may be waiting to get confirmation from Kelly or Timpone, who might not be answering phones/emails, hence holding back on publishing.
7:10 AM PT: Update 4. Apparently Timpone has form for lying to the feds. From the NYT in 2002..
Quote
Mr. Timpone reportedly assured prosecutors that he had no conflict because he did not have a close relationship with the senator. But F.B.I. agents conducting surveillance on Mr. Torricelli's Englewood home later saw Mr. Timpone visit the senator there.
Prosecutors in the United States attorney's office in Manhattan, who were running the Torricelli investigation, asked Mr. Timpone again about his dealings with the senator, and he denied a relationship with Mr. Torricelli, three officials familiar with the case said. When he was confronted with evidence that he had been seen at Mr. Torricelli's house, Mr. Timpone reportedly assured them that he never mentioned that his client was being asked to gather evidence against him.
Prosecutors conducting the Torricelli investigation were so incensed by Mr. Timpone's actions that they considered filing criminal or ethical charges against him for impeding a federal investigation, several Justice Department officials familiar with the case said. But after conversations with Mr. Timpone's former colleagues at the United States attorney's office in Newark and supervisors at the Manhattan office, no action was taken.
Unquote
Who was US attorney in NJ in 2002 - you guessed it.
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