Chris Christie's cellphone is apparently found after Bridgegate defendants lose bid to obtain it
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. L.E.MORMILE / Shutterstock.com
Questions about Chris Christie’s missing cellphone were resolved Thursday evening when a spokesman for the governor said a King & Spalding partner had the device.
A federal judge in New Jersey on Thursday quashed a subpoena seeking to obtain the phone filed by defendants William Baroni Jr. and Bridget Anne Kelly, who are accused of conspiring to close lanes to the George Washington Bridge to punish a mayor who didn’t support the governor’s re-election. The subpoena had sought texts and other electronic devices used by Christie staffers in addition to the phone. The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), the New Jersey Law Journal (sub. req.), NJ.com and the Associated Press have stories on the ruling by U.S District Judge Susan Wigenton of Newark, while the New York Times has news of the phone’s location.
According to the Times, the phone is in the possession of King & Spalding partner Christopher Wray, who represented Christie during an internal investigation that found he played no part in the traffic scheme. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher conducted the probe.
Wigenton said the subpoena was too broad and there was no showing the items sought would be relevant at trial.
Gibson Dunn lawyer Randy Mastro said during the hearing on Thursday that Christie’s phone had been searched “in coordination with a forensic firm.” He argued the defendants seeking the electronic devices were on “a general fishing expedition” and they were trying to turn the case into a referendum on its handling of the investigation.
Kelly’s lawyer, Michael Critchley, argued at the hearing that defense lawyers were at the mercy of Gibson Dunn’s determination of relevance, according to the New Jersey Law Journal account.
