TRENTON — A New Jersey Superior Court judge says Gov. Chris Christie's disclosure of the particulars of his security detail to a Cub Scout at a recent town hall meeting seriously calls into question the reasons he's given for keeping his security spending secret, according to a published report.

Speaking from the bench last Thursday, Judge Mary C. Jacobson said she was "very troubled" that the governor's legal team's efforts to suppress records of what the Executive Protection Unit spends on its state-issued American Express cards was in such stark contrast to the governor's own "openness" about the details of his protection team, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.

She added that she may order the administration to release a log of all the food, travel and lodging expenses charged by his security guards.

"Maybe his security force was uncomfortable when he made those statements, but then apparently, the statements were put up on YouTube through the governor's office and remain on YouTube," she said, according to the report.

Since Christie took office, the executive protection unit has spent just shy of $1 million on food, lodging and other travel-related expenses, far more than previous Gov. Jon Corzine or any past holder of the office.

The Christie administration has blocked the release of the security detail's credit card statements, claiming that disclosing the specifics of prior executive protection charges would needlessly increase the security risks faced by the governor in future.

However, without the records, the public can never know which costs are the result of conducting state business and which were personal or political trips associated with the governor's duties as chairman of the Republican Governors Association or his 2016 ambitions.

At an April town hall in Hasbrouck Heights, Christie answered a question from Christopher Tartaglia, a seven-year old Cub Scout, who asked how many body guards the governor had in extensive detail: The executive protection unit had 30 members, Christie answered, and at any given time when he traveled, two to three members traveled with him. He explained where they were posted at his home, and when and how closely they monitored him.

Prior to the Hasbrouck Heights exchange, investigative site New Jersey Watchdog had filed an Open Public Records Act request with the governor's office seeking a detailed accounting of the EPU's food, travel and lodging expenses charged by the troopers. When it was denied by Christie's team under an exemption that relieves them of such disclosures if they would jeopardize the safety of the governor, New Jersey Watchdog sued.

"The governor speaks so freely about this, how can I conclude that releasing these details on amount of food and so forth could really in any significant way undermine the governor's security?" said Jacobson, according to the NorthJersey.com report.

The judge has ordered the head of Christie's security detail to testify in private before June 12 about why the records should be kept secret, but she added that she had "skepticism" about the governor's arguments for the need to keep such an accounting secret.

Other possible 2016 candidates have not taken the same approach as Christie. For example, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker releases the individual names, salaries and overtime costs for troopers in the governor's security team. Walker's political action committee also reimburses his state for any security detail costs if they are accompanying him on purely political trips, like his expected 2016 run.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @claudebrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.