Christie phone can't be accessed in bridge case

A judge in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing case has ruled Republican Gov. Chris Christie's former allies cannot get access to his cellphone as part of pretrial preparation.

Thursday, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton granted a motion by the law firm representing Christie's office to quash a subpoena by former allies Bill Baroni and Bridget Kelly, who face trial in the fall.

Baroni and Kelly claim the phone records are relevant because Christie texted with a former aide during testimony by bridge officials to a legislative committee in 2014. The texts were deleted.

Baroni's attorney said afterward he might issue separate subpoenas for the aide's and Christie's cellphones when the trial begins.

Baroni and Kelly are charged with closing the lanes to create traffic jams in 2013 to punish a Democratic mayor for not endorsing Christie.