Pooh-pooh the degree to which the George Washington Bridge scandal is affecting New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s presidential chances, but consider this: One of Washington’s most storied law firms has been retained to deal with the fallout.

“Patton Boggs has been retained to represent the Christie for Governor re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican State Committee in connection with investigations being conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the legislative committee. We can confirm that the Christie for Governor re-election campaign and the New Jersey Republican State Committee received subpoenas for documents from the U.S. Attorney’s office, in addition to the subpoena the campaign previously received from the state legislative committee.  All three subpoenas focus on the closure of lanes on the George Washington Bridge.  The campaign and the state party intend to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s office and the state legislative committee and will respond to the subpoenas accordingly,” said a statement from Patton Boggs today.

File this into the “Taking No Chances” lane, at a minimum.