Fired Christie Aide Refuses Subpoena, Pleads Fifth

A former Chris Christie aide at the center of the Fort Lee traffic scandal has refused to surrender subpoenaed documents; Bridget Anne Kelly is invoking the Fifth Amendment, protecting her from self-incrimination. Kelly, who penned the infamous email calling for "traffic problems in Fort Lee," is also pointing to the Fourth Amendment's privacy protections. Allowing an investigative panel to view her private documents could "potentially reveal highly personal confidential communications" not connected to the scandal, says a letter from her lawyer. The letter also notes that the subpoena "directly overlaps with a parallel federal grand jury investigation," the New York Times reports.

The heads of the panel are "considering our legal options with respect to enforcing the subpoena," they say in a statement. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Chris Christie's own office, the Record reports. In a radio interview last night, Christie discussed the scandal with New Jersey 101.5. "I didn’t plan it. I didn’t authorize it. I didn’t approve it. I knew nothing about it," he said, per the Record. He said his office was providing subpoenaed documents and he was working to "fix" what had gone wrong. "All this other stuff is just a game of gotcha—when did I first learn about this or that," he said. Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, for his part, tells CNN he takes Christie "at his word, but it would appear from the polls that a lot of folks don't." (More Bridget Anne Kelly stories.)