There's a battle brewing in the court cases stemming from the lane closures at the George Washington Bridge in 2013.

Three former allies of Gov. Chris Christie have been charged with federal crimes, and one has pleaded guilty. All three also are named, along with others, in a civil lawsuit filed by people and businesses that were inconvenienced by the delays.

The U.S. attorney's office is seeking to have the civil case delayed until after the criminal case is settled. They say the defendants shouldn't be able to get access to some evidence under less restrictive rules governing civil lawsuits.

In motions filed this week, the defendants say they government is trying to stop them from seeing evidence that could potentially exonerate them.

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