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TRENTON -- As an early supporter of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, Gov. Chris Christie has hammered Democratic 2016 rival Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server when she was secretary of state.

But a lawyer working on behalf of a New Jersey newspaper seeking public records from the governor recently argued Christie engaged in somewhat similar behavior.

Samuel Samaro, who represented North Jersey Media Group in a Open Public Records Act lawsuit, invoked criticism against Clinton in court arguments over whether Christie's personal email is off limits to the public.

"It's national news. It's what Hillary Clinton is beaten up about every day -- same thing and, by the way, same motive, as far as I can tell. It's not national implications but it's the same thing," Samaro told a Superior Court judge, according to The Record, the newspaper seeking the records.

"(It's) fair game because he used it for public business," Samaro said.

And the court agreed.

Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson ruled Friday that Christie's office must search his personal email account or prove that it already has for the requested documents.

The ruling comes after months of Christie attacking Clinton for using a private server and private email when she was secretary of state.

The attacks hit fever pitch when Christie, a former federal prosecutor, mock prosecuted Clinton at the Republican National Convention in July.

"Let's face the facts: Hillary Clinton cared more about protecting her own secrets than she cared about protecting America's secrets," Christie said at the time.

North Jersey Media Group, the publisher of The Record, pushed the issue of Christie's personal emails when it didn't get what it believes to be the complete response to its request under the state's public record act.

It was seeking correspondence among Christie and his aides pertaining to a 2013 meeting between Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Follow NJ.com Politics on Facebook.