A Connecticut judge has ruled that ex-WCBS anchor Rob Morrison can legally contact his wife, CBS Money Watch anchor Ashley Morrison. Morrison is accused of choking his wife in a domestic dispute last month. The New York Daily News has details:

A Connecticut judge, in response to a joint request by the Darien couple, modified a protective order Tuesday to allow the accused wife-choker to phone, text or email Ashley Morrison — but only to discuss their young son, Jack, court papers show.

Rob, 44, is still banned from his own million-dollar home and can only initiate communication with his wife once a day, except in the event of an emergency, Judge David Tobin ruled.

Morrison still can’t go near her and can’t drive with Jack in the car — which could be because police said he had been drinking during the Feb. 17 choking incident, a source with knowledge of the case speculated. But the source said the ex-anchor still considers the move “a step forward.”

Morrison’s lawyer, Rob Skovgaard, declined to comment except to call the allegations “extremely exaggerated” in a release.

Rob Morrison says he has no intention of writing a tell-all book to address allegations that he choked his wife, CBS Money Watch anchor Ashley Morrison. The former WCBS anchor talks to our sister site FishbowlNY to refute a New York Daily News report about the proposed book:

“I have no plans to write a tell-all,” Morrison says. “And I have no idea where that story came from… I swear to God.”

A close friend of Morrison tells the Daily News, “Rob isn’t the sort of guy that gives in and goes away. He’s a fighter.”

“This is his chance to tell his side of the story firsthand. He’s already started writing,” the friend adds.

Morrison, though, refutes the quote.

“Definitely, not a good friend… [giving] that kind of trash,” Morrison says.

Rob Morrison, the former WCBS anchor facing strangulation charges stemming from a weekend dispute with his wife, CBS MoneyWatch anchor Ashley Morrison, was nearly arrested on similar charges in January, according to a report from DarienPatch.com.

DarienPatch.com, working from an incident report, said police in Darien, CT, were called by Rob Morrison on January 19 about a domestic violence incident that happened five days earlier.

The incident report details Morrison throwing his wife to the ground, physically preventing her from calling police and using his arm to choke her from behind after she asked him to stop videotaping her with his cellphone. Read more

In the wake of his resignation from WCBS, Rob Morrison maintains his innocence in the strangulation charges he faces stemming from a domestic dispute with his wife, CBS MoneyWatch anchor Ashley Morrison. The New York Post caught up with Morrison Wednesday at a bar in Stamford, Conn.:

As he sat with The Post yesterday, the handsome, longtime local newsman blamed Ashley, a “CBS Money” anchor, for allegedly striking the first blow during an argument early Sunday morning after they watched “Mystic Pizza.”

He said Ashley, a petite, 115-pound blonde, bashed him in the face with a remote control — giving him a bloody nose and lip.

The 180-pound former Marine suggested she has abused him for years, and he denied choking her with both hands on the couch, as she told cops. When asked about the noticeable red marks on her neck indicated in the police report, he said, “What marks?”

Morrison denied ever threatening to harm their 7-year-old son, Jack, even though in a police report Ashley’s brother said Morrison warned that “he would shoot their son in front of her and then shoot her” if she ever left him.

Morrison, who drank three beers during the interview, declined comment on reports he has attended AA meetings.

Our sister site FishbowlNY talks to attorney Paul Callan, who represented former WABC weathercaster Heidi Jones last year, about Morrison’s future in the television business.

That was fast. A few minutes after we published a story about how Rob Morrison expected to remain employed with WCBS, we’ve learned the morning anchor has resigned. We’re awaiting word from WCBS.

Morrison is facing charges of strangulation stemming from a fight with his wife, CBS MoneyWatch anchor Ashley Morrison in the couple’s Darien, CT home over the weekend.

>Update: WCBS has confirmed that Morrison has resigned, effective immediately.

“My family is my first and only priority right now and I have informed CBS 2 management that I need to put all of my time and energy into making sure that I do what’s best for my wife and my son. I very much appreciate the opportunity that CBS 2 has given me and I thank them for accepting my decision,” he said in a statement.

>More: Our sister site, FishbowlNY, interviews Morrison about the accusations and his departure.

WCBS anchor Rob Morrison has been ordered to stay 100 yards from his wife, CBS MoneyWatch anchor Ashley Morrison, except when they’re both at work. Both Morrisons work in the same building, CBS’s West 57th St. facility on Manhattan’s West Side.

As for his status at WCBS, Morrison tells FishbowlNY’s Jerry Barmash, “When everything comes out in the wash, there will be no reason for me not to be there.”

Morrison was in a Connecticut court yesterday facing charges he choked his wife during a fight Saturday night, which resulted in him getting a fat lip.

The Daily News reports Ashley Morrison had hired a private investigator several years ago after discovering a mistress spent time in their Long Island home. Morrison faces five years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge: strangulation.

(Photo: David Handschuh/AP)

WCBS morning anchor Rob Morrison appeared at a Connecticut courthouse this morning to face charges that he choked his wife, CBS MoneyWatch anchor Ashley Morrison. Morrison, talking to reporters outside the courthouse, denied the charges but said he regretted his behavior toward officers who responded to the domestic dispute, the New York Post reports:

“I did not choke my wife. I have never laid my hands on my wife,” [Morrison] told reporters outside Stamford [Conn.] Superior Court before his arraignment. “I was just as surprised by that particular charge as probably was everyone else whose heard about this story.”

“I regret deeply how I acted toward the Darien Police department Saturday night,” Morrison said. “I did not show them the respect they deserved. They were there to do a job, they’re a fine department, they do a good job protecting the town in which I live and I sincerely apologize to them.

But Morrison — still sporting marks on his nose and upper lip from the fracas with his wife — would not answer questions about where he got his bruises, why his wife had marks on her throat or why cops have been called to his house. He walked off when reporters asked those questions.

The Post reports Darien police also responded to a domestic incident at the Morrisons’ home several weeks ago. New York police said they responded to verbal disputes at the Morrisons’ Upper West Side apartment seven times between 2003-09.

WCBS anchor Rob Morrison and his wife, CBS MoneyWatch anchor Ashley Morrison, are speaking out about the alleged domestic dispute they were involved in Sunday.

The Morrisons’ attorney, Robert Skovgaard, released a joint statement on behalf of the couple. “Rob and Ashley Morrison are cooperating fully with the authorities to insure that all of the information necessary to properly evaluate this unfortunate incident is made available,” the statement reads. “The Morrisons are confident that a full review of this matter will show that the allegations have been greatly exaggerated.”

Morrison was arrested Sunday at the couple’s home in Darien, Conn., after police responded to a 911 call placed by his mother-in-law. Darien police said Morrison was “increasingly belligerent toward his wife during the course of the evening, culminating in his choking her by the neck with both hands.”

• Related, FishbowlNY: Anchor Rob Morrison ‘Lied to the Station’ About Injured Face

Morrison will appear in court Tuesday on charges of second-degree strangulation, second-degree threatening and disorderly conduct.

WCBS declined to comment on the incident. Skovgaard has yet to respond to TVSpy’s request for comment.

WCBS anchor Rob Morrison will be in a Connecticut courtroom tomorrow facing domestic abuse charges. NBCConnecticut, where Morrison once worked, reports Darien, CT authorities responded to the couple’s home at 1:30 a.m. Sunday after Morrison’s mother-in-law called police.

Morrison is accused of choking his wife, Ashley Morrison, a CBS MoneyWatch anchor. Police said he became “increasingly belligerent” over the evening and used both hands to choke her. He is charged with second-degree strangulation, second-degree threatening and disorderly conduct. He posted the $100,000 bail.

WCBS reported the news in the first block of Monday’s 5pm newscast. Anchor Maurice DuBois said the Morrisons released a statement saying they are cooperating with the police and “are confident a physical investigation will show the allegations have been greatly exaggerated.”

Morrison, 44, joined WCBS in 2009 and began anchoring the morning show in 2010. Before that, he’d spent nearly 10 years at WNBC including reporting for NBC News during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Morrison is a Marine Corps veteran.

>Update: a WCBS spokesperson said the issue is a “personal matter” and declined to comment.

WCBS anchor Rob Morrison had an unfortunate slip of the tongue during the CBS O&O’s noon newscast Wednesday.

“The reason why the latest royal visit was extra special for the douche — Duke — and Dutchess of Cambridge,” Morrison said during a tease (video above). [h/t Mediaite]