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Chris Christie (Christie for Governor)

New Jersey Gov.-elect Chris Christie will not have to testify in the trial of North Bergen Internet radio host and blogger Hal Turner, The Associated Press reports.

The defense subpoenaed the former U.S. Attorney to testify on behalf of Turner, who is charged with threatening federal judges in Chicago by posting an entry on his Web site saying three federal judges there “deserved to be killed” for a ruling they made in a lawsuit.

Turner has expressed anti-semitic and anti-black sentiment on his Web site and radio show. In 2007, he said: “I am looking for volunteers from the Klan, Aryan Nations, Nazis and Skinheads to join me in Baltimore this weekend for some good old vigilante justice,” according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Turner maintains he was trained by the FBI and worked with them for six years to flush out radicals in an effort to prevent terrorism. However, according to Turner’s attorney, Michael Orozco, the stint ended in 2008 when hackers broke into Turner’s radio show Web site server and accessed e-mail exchanges between Turner and the FBI.

In the affidavit supporting the subpoena, Orozco claims that Christie knew that Turner was working with the FBI, gave legal advice to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force regarding Turner and issued a “Blanket Letter of Declination,” refusing to prosecute Turner.

Hal Turner

Although the defense had subpoenaed Christie, it later decided not to call any witnesses in the case. The trial was moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., following a change-of-venue request, The AP reports. Closing arguments were scheduled for Friday. If convicted, Turner could be sentenced with up to 10 years in prison, according to The AP.

Neither Christie nor federal authorities commented on whether Turner was an FBI informant, The AP reports.