Chris Christie campaign subpoenaed over bridgegate

Federal investigators looking into the scandal that began as "Bridgegate" are widening their net.

The U.S. Attorney's office subpoenaed staffers from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's gubernatorial campaign, in addition to his regular staff, in an effort to get to the bottom of who made the decision to close several lanes of the George Washington bridge.

Twenty staffers in his governor's office were subpoenaed by the state legislature on January 17.

"The campaign and the state party intend to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's office and the state legislative committee and will respond to the subpoenas accordingly," Mark Sheridan, the group's attorney, said in a statement Thursday.

Investigators are trying to determine if Christie or his aides used the bridge closure to enact political retribution, either aimed at the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich, or state lawmakers who had blocked Christie's State Supreme Court appointees.

The investigation has also expanded to include a potential misuse of emergency funds allocated in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and Christie's administration is facing accusations from the mayor of Hoboken, Dawn Dimmer, who said the state held up requested Sandy recovery funds when the city refused to green-light a Christie-approved development.

Christie has denied any knowledge of his aides' orders to shut down the lanes of the bridge, which resulted in hours of backed-up traffic, and denies the Hoboken allegations.

[US News and World Report]