A lawyer for Chris Christie’s former campaign manager, Bill Stepien, again rejected the New Jersey legislative committee’s renewed request to release documents and records.
Kevin Marino, Stepien’s lawyer, wrote a letter to the panel’s counsel Tuesday, that Stepien will not comply with the subpoena and suggested the panel take the issue to court if they do not withdraw their request.
“I can think of no lawful way the committee can obtain documents responsive to its subpoena from Mr. Stepien,” Marino wrote in the letter. “Stated simply, his principled objections to the subpoena raise significant legal issues that are no less valid because they here arise in the context of a politically-charged investigation.”
Legislators on the committee are investigating the lane closures of the George Washington Bridge and set a Tuesday deadline for Stepien and former aide Bridget Anne Kelly to release documents after both political figures pled the fifth in response to the original request.
“Hence, I respectfully suggest that if the committee persists in its refusal to withdraw the subpoena, we confer on an orderly process and schedule for seeking a judicial determination as to the validity of those objections,” wrote Stepien’s lawyer.
Assemblyman John Wisniewski and Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, released a statement saying they’ve received Stepien’s letter. “We will review it and continue our efforts to enforce the subpoena served on William Stepien,” their letter stated. Stepien was preparing to take over the New Jersey Republican Party after being nominated by the governor, but Christie later said in a news conference on January 9 that he was withdrawing his support for Stepien as his pick.
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