EAST NEWARK – Gov. Chris Christie refused Thursday to weigh in on allegations swirling around U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez.

The governor said during a campaign event that his years as a prosecutor have taught him not to speak publically on issues until evidence is produced. Allegations have been swirling that Menendez solicited underage prostitutes during trips to the Dominican Republic.

“You never know what the real story is until the prosecutors have the opportunity to lay out their evidence,” Christie said. “The fact is that all we have right now is the search warrant.”

The governor said he “knows how complex these things are because [he’s] worked the inside of them for seven years” and would defer commenting on the subject.

“I think it would be inappropriate for anybody to start giving opinions about that right now. I’m certainly not going to be one of those people,” he said.

“I think the fact is Sen. Menendez will deal with these issues as he sees fit moving forward and the prosecutors who are investigating this will do that as well and then we’ll see where the chips fall,” Christie said.