A New Jersey legislative committee will have to wait a while before getting its hands on emails and text messages from two central figures in the investigation into why allies of Governor Chris Christie ordered lanes closed at the George Washington Bridge, according to the Associated Press.
A judge heard arguments for three hours Tuesday but did not rule on whether to enforce subpoenas against the two figures, former deputy chief of staff Bridget Kelly and former Christie campaign manager Bill Stepien, the AP reported.
Kelly and Stepien invoked their Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination and went to court to argue that the subpoenas are too broad, according to the AP.
Reid Schar, a lawyer for the legislative committee, told the judge that the subpoenas "are not fishing expeditions of any sort," the AP reported.
Judge Mary Jacobson of state court there were "very important issues of constitutional significance and significance to our democratic process" to consider, and that it would take a while, according to the AP.
Federal prosecutors are also investigating whether the lane closings, which swamped the city of Fort Lee with traffic for four days in September, broke the law, the AP reported.
The governor fired Kelly and Stepien in January, when documents surfaced showing that Christie allies, in his administration and at the bridge-controlling Port Authority, engineered the lane closings, according to the AP.
Those documents included an infamous email from Kelly to a Port Authority executive in August: "Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee," the AP reported.
The committee wants more emails and text messages from Kelly and Stepien to determine what came before, according to the AP.
"It didn't come out of thin air," Judge Mary Jacobson said of the emails in question, the AP reported.
Kelly's attorney, Michael Critchley, wouldn't even concede in court that Kelly sent the email, or that it was referring to the George Washington Bridge, according to the AP. To do so, he said, would be to incriminate his client.
Almost 50 protesters gathered outside the courthouse, chanting and carrying anti-Christie signs, as Kelly arrived, the AP reported. Kelly did not speak to reporters as she walked into the courthouse.
