By . David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 15:39 EST, 23 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 15:44 EST, 23 January 2014 . An attorney for two political organizations tied closely to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that the U.S. Attorney's office has issued subpoenas for documents related to the September 2013 'Bridgegate' scandal. Mark Sheridan, an attorney at the Patton Boggs law firm, represents both Christie for Governor and the New Jersey Republican Committee. He told reporters that his clients 'intend to cooperate' with U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman's office, and with the Democrat-led state legislative panel that has already issued similar subpoenas. Lawmakers in Trenton also subpoenaed 18 officials tied to Christie, including some in his governing inner circle and others in his political organization. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman is no stranger to high-profile cases, and now he's embarking on an investigation into a corruption-tinted political story that has gripped the whole nation . New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie is fighting a tide of scandals that threaten to replace his populist popularity with something more Nixonian . BRIDGEGATE: Christie aide Bridget Kelly kicked off the traffic shenanigans with a gleeful email to Port Authority official David Wildstein on August 13, subpoenaed documents show . The Newark Star-Ledger was first to report the latest development in the Christie soap opera. The scandal is accelerating at a quickening pace as Christie begins his second term in office, creating new levels of pressure as he considers whether to enter the 2016 presidential race. He has fought off accusations of corruption since State Assembly Democrats released a trove of emails and text messages indicating that his then-deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, conspired with Port Authority official David Wildstein, a Christie appointee, to snarl traffic leading from Fort Lee, N.J. to the iconic George Washington Bridge. The scheme is believed to have been a form of political payback directed at Fort Lee's Democratic Mayor Mark Sokolich, who declined to endorse Christie's 2013 re-election run. WIldstein and another Christie appointee resigned in December. The governor publicly fired Kelly this month and pledged that he had no advance knowledge of the plot or any involvement with it. State Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski is leading a Special Committee on Investigations that has issued its own subpoenas -- 20 in all -- targeting the same information now sought by the feds . Christie seems determined to ride out the storm as the 2016 run for the White House beckons . But in the weeks since then, other Democrats have claimed Christie played a part in political dirty-tricks episodes. Hoboken mayor Dawn Zimmer said Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno threatened, at Christie's urging, to withhold federal disaster relief funds after Hurricane Sandy struck, unless she agreed to green-light a commercial development proposal favored by the governor. Scandal 2.0: Elizabeth, N.J. Mayor Christian Bollwage says Christie shut down his city's DMV as political payback . Olympic track and field legend Carl Lewis claimed Guadagno torpedoed his political aspirations when she was New Jersey's attorney general, striking him off an election ballot because he wanted to run against a longtime Christie friend and ally. And three Democratic politicians said Christie's administration closed down a DMV in Elizabeth, N.J., the state's fourth-largest city, because they â€“ the city's mayor and two state legislative representatives â€“ supported his election opponent and opposed his tax policies. Fishman, the federal prosecutor pursuing information in the bridge case, was appointed by Barack Obama in 2009. He succeeded Christie in the job after he left to run for governor. The Star-Ledger reported Thursday that his team, which may include FBI agents, has been busily interviewing witnesses to see which complaints merit full-blown investigations.
An attorney confirm that federal prosecutors are demanding documents related to the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September .
The demands went to Gov. Chris Christie's re-election campaign organization, and to the New Jersey Republican Committee .
New Jersey lawmakers have already issued their own subpoenas, but now an Obama-appointed U.S. Attorney is firmly involved in the probe .
Prosecutor Paul Fishman is a former top assistant to Clinton-era Attorney General Janet Reno and got the DOJ's top NJ job in 2009 .
The 'Bridgegate' closures affected commuters in Fort Lee, NJ, possibly as punishment for their mayor's failure to endorse Christie .
By . David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor . PUBLISHED: . 15:39 EST, 23 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 15:44 EST, 23 January 2014 . An attorney for two political organizations tied closely to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday that the U.S. Attorney's office has issued subpoenas for documents related to the September 2013 'Bridgegate' scandal. Mark Sheridan, an attorney at the Patton Boggs law firm, represents both Christie for Governor and the New Jersey Republican Committee. He told reporters that his clients 'intend to cooperate' with U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman's office, and with the Democrat-led state legislative panel that has already issued similar subpoenas. Lawmakers in Trenton also subpoenaed 18 officials tied to Christie, including some in his governing inner circle and others in his political organization. U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman is no stranger to high-profile cases, and now he's embarking on an investigation into a corruption-tinted political story that has gripped the whole nation . New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie is fighting a tide of scandals that threaten to replace his populist popularity with something more Nixonian . BRIDGEGATE: Christie aide Bridget Kelly kicked off the traffic shenanigans with a gleeful email to Port Authority official David Wildstein on August 13, subpoenaed documents show . The Newark Star-Ledger was first to report the latest development in the Christie soap opera. The scandal is accelerating at a quickening pace as Christie begins his second term in office, creating new levels of pressure as he considers whether to enter the 2016 presidential race. He has fought off accusations of corruption since State Assembly Democrats released a trove of emails and text messages indicating that his then-deputy chief of staff, Bridget Kelly, conspired with Port Authority official David Wildstein, a Christie appointee, to snarl traffic leading from Fort Lee, N.J. to the iconic George Washington Bridge. The scheme is believed to have been a form of political payback directed at Fort Lee's Democratic Mayor Mark Sokolich, who declined to endorse Christie's 2013 re-election run. WIldstein and another Christie appointee resigned in December. The governor publicly fired Kelly this month and pledged that he had no advance knowledge of the plot or any involvement with it. State Assembly Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski is leading a Special Committee on Investigations that has issued its own subpoenas -- 20 in all -- targeting the same information now sought by the feds . Christie seems determined to ride out the storm as the 2016 run for the White House beckons . But in the weeks since then, other Democrats have claimed Christie played a part in political dirty-tricks episodes. Hoboken mayor Dawn Zimmer said Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno threatened, at Christie's urging, to withhold federal disaster relief funds after Hurricane Sandy struck, unless she agreed to green-light a commercial development proposal favored by the governor. Scandal 2.0: Elizabeth, N.J. Mayor Christian Bollwage says Christie shut down his city's DMV as political payback . Olympic track and field legend Carl Lewis claimed Guadagno torpedoed his political aspirations when she was New Jersey's attorney general, striking him off an election ballot because he wanted to run against a longtime Christie friend and ally. And three Democratic politicians said Christie's administration closed down a DMV in Elizabeth, N.J., the state's fourth-largest city, because they â€“ the city's mayor and two state legislative representatives â€“ supported his election opponent and opposed his tax policies. Fishman, the federal prosecutor pursuing information in the bridge case, was appointed by Barack Obama in 2009. He succeeded Christie in the job after he left to run for governor. The Star-Ledger reported Thursday that his team, which may include FBI agents, has been busily interviewing witnesses to see which complaints merit full-blown investigations.
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