Christie out-of-state travel records private, court rules

A New Jersey court has ruled in favor of Gov. Chris Christie’s office in a dispute over a reporter’s request for his out-of-state travel expense records.

The appeals court decision published Thursday held reporter Mark Lagerkvist’s request exceeded the limits of state open public records laws.

Last year, Lagerkvist requested records of Christie’s travel to third-party-funded events, including who paid for his travel.

The records’ custodian denied the request, saying it was not specific enough. A lower court sided with the government.

Lagerkvist contended on appeal that the custodian had an obligation to give more specific reasons for the denial so that the request could be modified.

Thursday’s ruling disagreed, and concluded the custodian would have had to conduct extensive research, which is not required by the open records laws.