Enough probable cause exists for a citizen's official misconduct complaint against Gov. Chris Christie to move forward in connection with the governor's alleged failure to stop politically-motivated lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013, a judge in Bergen County ruled Thursday. 
 
 The complaint by Bill Brennan, a retired Teaneck firefighter and citizen activist, alleges that Christie knew of the closures while they were happening and should have halted them. He alleges that the governor's inaction constitutes second-degree official misconduct, a charge punishable by five to 10 years in prison. 
 
 The lane closures caused significant traffic problems over a four-day span in Fort Lee and sparked a 16-month investigation that resulted in charges against two former members of Christie's inner circle, who are currently on trial in federal court in Newark. The trial is in its third week. 
 
 "I'm satisfied that there's probable cause to believe that an event of official misconduct was caused by Gov. Christie," Municipal Presiding Judge Roy McGeady said. "I'm going to issue the summons." 
 
 The governor's office vowed to "immediately appeal" the ruling. Christie's first appearance was scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 24. 
 
 "This is a dishonorable complaint filed by a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system," Christie spokesman Brian Murray said. "The simple fact is the governor had no knowledge of the lane realignments either before they happened or while they were happening. This matter has already been thoroughly investigated by three separate independent investigations." 
 
 Brennan said he based the complaint on testimony from David Wildstein, a Christie appointee at the Port Authority who pleaded guilty to his role in the scandal. Wildstein is the government's key witness in its conspiracy and fraud case against William Baroni, who served as deputy executive director of the Port Authority, and Bridget Anne Kelly, who was the governor's deputy chief of staff. 
 
 The latest on the Bridgegate trial 
 
 Though Christie was never charged in connection with the lane closures, the scandal is seen as contributing to his failed bid for the Republican nomination for President. 
 
 Wildstein has said in his testimony that he discussed the plot with multiple members of Christie's senior staff before and during the lane closures, which he said was political retribution against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich for not endorsing the governor in his reelection campaign. 
 
 Wildstein also testified that Christie was told about the gridlock at a 9/11 memorial service, as the lanes remained closed in Fort Lee. Brennan says Christie had a legal obligation to stop the lane closures at that point. 
 
 McGeady asked Brennan why he filed in Bergen County, not Mercer County, where the governor's office is located. Brennan said that it was because the lane closures took place in Fort Lee, which McGeady said was a satisfactory answer. 
 
 "It's been dumped in this court's lap so this court is going to deal with it," McGeady said. 
 
 Craig Carpenito, an attorney at the law firm Alston & Bird who appeared on behalf of the governor, told McGeady that Brennan's claim was "intentionally misleading" and that the governor's knowledge of the lane closures had already been thoroughly investigated. 
 
 The audience in McGeady's courtroom, mostly there for minor criminal violations, applauded after he ruled. 
 
 "Anything short of probable cause today would have been official misconduct on the part of the judge," said Brennan, a graduate of the Seton Hall University School of Law. "The standard is low, the evidence is heavy." 
 
 McGeady said the case would now go to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, which would decide whether to bring an indictment against Christie. The prosecutor, Gurbir S. Grewal, a Christie appointee, would likely recuse himself, McGeady said. 
 
 The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment. 
 
 In New Jersey's criminal code, a charge of official misconduct pertains mostly to public officials. 
 
 "You're someone who either exercised their official function, knowing that it's unauthorized," explained James Pomaco, a former prosecutor in Passaic County who's now a criminal defense attorney. "Or you're someone who knowingly 'refrained from performing a duty which is imposed upon him by law or is clearly inherent in the nature of his office'." 
 
 Pomaco said that "from a prima facie standpoint, there's enough for a charge" of official misconduct based on Wildstein's testimony that Christie was informed of the lane closures as they were occurring on Sept. 11, 2013. 
 
 At the start of the Bridgegate scandal, some experts argued that state was better suited to prosecute the case overall because violations of state law were more apparent. 
 
 Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), who along with state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), co-chaired the legislative committee that looked into Bridgegate, said "it was a very interesting development, certainly not something that I expected today." 
 
 "It is a black eye for the state of New Jersey to have a judge find probable cause that the governor's actions were malfeasance in office," Wisniewski said. "Look, the testimony of David Wildstein corroborated a lot of the suspicions that the committee had during our process, that lot of people have statewide. It remains to be seen exactly what happens now that a finding of probable cause has been reached, because we know that the prosecutor has a discretion to act on that. We don't know exactly what they'll do." 
 
 Weinberg said the Bridgegate panel may have to reconvene. 
 
 "I believe that there are people who came before the joint committee under oath and were not exactly forthcoming, which is the kindest way I can describe. There were texts apparently that they never told us about, there were meetings that they never offered," she said. 
 
 Brennan unsuccessfully sued the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office in 2014 in an effort to reveal the names of bidders at an auction for baseball memorabilia seized in a drug arrest. He has filed numerous suits against public officials in Bergen County over the years. 
 
 Staff Writers Craig McCarthy, Claude Brodesser-Akner and Samantha Marcus contributed to this story. 
 
 Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook. ||||| An ex-Teaneck firefighter with a law degree decided that if the feds weren’t going to take Chris Christie to court over Bridgegate — he’d do it himself. 
 
 And on Thursday, a Hackensack municipal judge allowed his complaint to proceed — meaning the New Jersey governor could face criminal charges over the four-day closure of lanes feeding the George Washington Bridge from Fort Lee in 2013. 
 
 Prompting applause from a courtroom full of low-level criminal defendants, Judge Roy McGeady approved the citizen’s summons filed two weeks ago by William Brennan. 
 
 The gadfly’s efforts were sparked by recent trial testimony, in which the star prosecution witness told Newark federal jurors that Christie knew about the politically-vindictive lane closings and did nothing to stop them. 
 
 The feds declined to prosecute Christie and instead put two of his former cronies on trial — ex-Port Authority exec Bill Baroni and ex-Christie deputy Bridget Anne Kelly. Prosecutors, as well as both defense attorneys, have made a point of showing at trial that Christie approved of the closures. 
 
 Brennan alleges that Christie’s failure to end the closures constitutes second-degree official misconduct, a charge punishable by five to 10 years in prison. 
 
 Thursday’s ruling now forwards Brennan’s summons — which calls Bridgegate an “intentional evil minded act” — to Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal, who will decide whether to charge the governor. 
 
 But Grewal is a Christie appointee, and may wind up recusing himself in favor of an independent prosecutor. 
 
 “There’s something wrong with a government that turns its power against its citizens,” Brennan told The Post, explaining the summons he originally filed in a Fort Lee municipal court. 
 
 Christie spokesman Brian Murray dismissed the complaint and the ruling as “dishonorable” and “filed by a known serial complainant and political activist.” 
 
 Meanwhile, in the federal trial, the government rested its case after 15 days and 18 witnesses. 
 
 The government’s final witness Thursday was FBI agent Michelle Pickels, who testified that she was unable to recover some of Kelly’s emails, including the infamous “time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” from Kelly’s Yahoo account, suggesting they were deleted. 
 
 Baroni then began presenting his defense. 
 
 His first witness was Christie’s former general counsel Charlie McKenna, who doubled down on the notion that he believed the lane closures were part of a traffic study until emails suggesting otherwise emerged in Jan. 2014. 
 
 McKenna claimed he didn’t find it odd that New Jersey residents were kept in the dark about the lane closures, which slowed emergency vehicles in Fort Lee, because it was all done for the sake of science. 
 
 “It would strike me from a common sense standpoint that if you gave notice to people that you are going to shift lanes they would act differently, and that would skew the results,” McKenna said. 
 
 McKenna was called to the stand because he participated in a conference call with Baroni in preparation for Baroni’s Nov. 2013 testimony before a NJ legislative committee about the lane closures, which were drawing scrutiny. 
 
 McKenna said that throughout the 10-minute call, Baroni referred to the closures as part of a traffic study — a since-debunked cover story. 
 
 When asked whether the governor ever asked him to look into allegations surrounding the lane closures, he said yes. 
 
 “The governor at one point asked me, ‘What’s going on with this situation,’” McKenna. “I reported back to him that they were doing a traffic study and that I talked to Bill Baroni.” 
 
 He confirmed that he told Bridgegate mastermind David Wildstein that he was still a “part of the team” after he fired him in Dec. 2013 because he still believed it was all a traffic study gone awry. 
 
 “He was afraid he was going to be ostracized from the Christie administration. I said this is a bad situation. You are going to have to resign but you are still on the team.” 
 
 “I meant the bigger Christie team. The governor wasn’t upset with him — the people around the governor were,” he said. 
 
 “I believed it was a traffic study so there’s nothing nefarious about a traffic study,” McKenna said when asked why he didn’t question Wildstein when he fired them in December 2013 over the lane closures. 
 
 Asked outside of court whether his job as a public official was to ensure residents’ safety or treat them as lab rats, McKenna said he was instructed by the judge not to comment. 
 
 McKenna’s testimony continues Friday, followed by a string of Baroni character witnesses, including Jose Rivera, a traffic engineer for the Port Authority. ||||| As testimony in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial continues past its first week, New... 
 
 As testimony in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial continues past its first week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie faces a new problem: a citizen's criminal complaint filed against him in Fort Lee Municipal Court. Brian Thompson reports. (Published Thursday, Sep 29, 2016) 
 
 As testimony in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial continues past its first week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie faces a new problem: a citizen's criminal complaint filed against him in Fort Lee Municipal Court. Brian Thompson reports. (Published Thursday, Sep 29, 2016) 
 
 What to Know David Wildstein has pleaded guilty in the scheme to tie up traffic at the bridge 
 
 Ex-Christie staffers Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni face fraud, conspiracy and civil rights charges in the case 
 
 Christie has repeatedly denied knowing anything about the scheme until long after it was carried out 
 
 As testimony in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing trial continues past its first week, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie faces a new problem: a citizen's criminal complaint filed against him in Fort Lee Municipal Court. 
 
 Bergen County activist Bill Brennan told NBC 4 New York that he filed the complaint of official misconduct in the second degree on Wednesday. A court official confirmed the filing. 
 
 Brennan said the case has cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars and added of the main players in the case: "When listening to the nonchalant manner in which these people are discussing, the magnitude of the pettiness, is just absurd." 
 
 Brennan said his criminal complaint of the governor was over the government's star witness David Wildstein's accusation that the governor knew by midweek about the lane shutdowns for political retaliation against Fort Lee's mayor, as well as the governor's subsequent failure to seek criminal prosecution of his staffers once he found out. 
 
 Witness: Christie Knew About GWB Lane Closures 
 
 A former official at the Port Authority says Governor Christie knew the GWB lane closures were happening. Brian Thompson reports. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016) 
 
 The governor is on record repeatedly, and as late as Tuesday, denying he was told about the closures the week of the shutdown. 
 
 The citizen's complaint was sent to the Superior Court in Hackensack, per state law, according to the court official in Fort Lee. 
 
 According to a legal expert, if a superior court judge determines a probable cause, the case would go to a county prosecutor, and then if that office moves forward, to a grand jury. 
 
 Copyright Associated Press / NBC New York
– A citizen's official misconduct complaint against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie can move forward, a judge in the state ruled Thursday. Bill Brennan, whom the Star-Ledger describes as a "citizen activist" and Christie's office describes as "a known serial complainant and political activist with a history of abusing the judicial system," filed the complaint last month over the 2013 BridgeGate scandal. Per Brennan's complaint, Christie knew lane closures were happening and could have put a stop to the whole thing. The complaint is based on testimony from the trial against former Christie aide Bridget Anne Kelly and former Port Authority executive Bill Baroni. During the trial, a man Christie appointed to Port Authority testified that both he and Baroni told Christie about the lane closures during a 9/11 ceremony (the lanes were closed from Sept. 9 to Sept. 13, 2013). Now that the judge has ruled the complaint can move forward, it will go to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office so a decision can be made as to whether Christie should be indicted. Christie's office, which insists the governor had no knowledge of the lane closures while they were ongoing, said it would appeal the judge's ruling. The Star-Ledger reports that the courtroom audience, "mostly there for minor criminal violations," applauded the judge's ruling. The judge issued a criminal summons for Christie, the New York Post reports.