Bridgegate names to remain secret for now

TRENTON - A federal appeals court judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the disclosure of a list of individuals prosecutors believe joined the alleged criminal conspiracy in the George Washington Bridge lane-closure case but whom the government did not charge.

The ruling was a victory for a person identified in court papers as John Doe, who says he is one of the so-called unindicted coconspirators. A group of news organizations - including the company that publishes the Inquirer - is appealing part of the judge's order, requesting access to the list of coconspirators redacting Doe's identity.

Just hours before prosecutors last Friday were to provide the news media access to the list of unindicted coconspirators, Doe moved to intervene, arguing the disclosure would cause irreparable harm to his reputation.

The district judge rejected Doe's arguments and ordered the government to release the list by noon Tuesday. But Judge Thomas L. Ambro of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia granted Doe's request to temporarily suspend the district judge's ruling.

Doe's request "is granted temporarily to allow a full panel of this court the opportunity to consider the merits of the case," Ambro wrote in an order Tuesday.

Oral arguments are scheduled for June 6. Ambro directed Doe and the news organizations to address "whether oral argument on this matter should be open or closed to the public."

Ambro also ordered that court briefings must be filed under seal, meaning the public cannot read them.

Bruce S. Rosen, an attorney for the news organizations, said the coalition filed an emergent motion seeking reconsideration of the portions of the order "sealing briefing and potentially sealing argument of this matter, as well as requesting that the court in the interim order release of the unindicted coconspirator list redacting John Doe's identity."

The appeal would be heard by a panel of the Third Circuit.

Jenny Kramer, Doe's attorney, did not respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday.

Doe's intervention came after the group of news organizations in January sued the government to gain access to the list of unindicted coconspirators.

U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton ruled May 10 in favor of the media on First Amendment grounds, writing that although "privacy for third-parties is indeed important, this court is satisfied that the privacy interests of uncharged third parties are insufficiently compelling to outweigh the public's right of access."

Two days after Wigenton issued her ruling, Doe asked Wigenton to temporarily suspend her order, arguing that disclosure would violate the unindicted coconspirators' constitutional right "not to be branded criminals without due process of law."

Wigenton rejected Doe's motion, ruling that she had "given Doe notice and an opportunity to be heard," and had "thoroughly considered his privacy interests in determining that the conspirator letter should be made public."

Doe appealed to the Third Circuit, where Maryanne Trump Barry, Donald Trump's sister, is a judge. Gov. Christie, who has been dogged by the bridge scandal but has not been accused of wrongdoing, is heading the presumptive GOP presidential nominee's transition team.

The names of the judges who will sit on the three-member panel will be made public at least 10 days before oral argument, court spokesman Joel McHugh said. They will be randomly chosen from a pool of 24 judges, factoring in potential recusals.

The news organizations argued that Doe had not met the legal thresholds required to block the release of the conspirator list.

For example, the media companies argued, disclosure would not cause Doe irreparable harm because Doe could fight any "stigma" associated with being named a coconspirator in public. Moreover, the companies said, keeping the names secret would result in even greater harm to the public by frustrating its "established First Amendment right to access the conspirator letter."

Ambro did not address the arguments in his order Tuesday.

Prosecutors have said in court filings that the list of unindicted coconspirators includes "any other individual about whom the government has sufficient evidence to designate as having joined the conspiracy."

A federal grand jury last year indicted Bridget Anne Kelly, Christie's former deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, a top Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Also charged was David Wildstein, who was Baroni's chief of staff, according to prosecutors. Wildstein pleaded guilty and is cooperating with the government; Kelly and Baroni pleaded not guilty and face trial in September.

The indictment, unsealed a year ago this month, alleges that Kelly, Baroni, Wildstein, and "others" conspired to "punish" Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for refusing to endorse Christie's reelection "by deliberately causing significant traffic problems" in the borough in September 2013, "all under the false pretense of a traffic study."

The list of unindicted coconspirators is expected to reveal the names of the "others" referred to in the indictment.

aseidman@phillynews.com

856-779-3846

@AndrewSeidman