NJ Legislatures Question Murphy Staffers Over Hiring of Accused Aide

Members of NJ Gov. Phil Murphy's inner circle pointed fingers and dodged blame on Tuesday as they testified before a legislative oversight committee that is looking into how the Administration managed to hire a campaign worker that had been accused of rape.

In a seven-hour hearing, Deputy Chief Counsel Parimal Garg, and Jonathan Berkon - a Washington, D.C. attorney who represents Murphy's campaign - both testified they were aware of Katie Brennan's claim that Al Alvarez raped her in April of 2017, when the two were working on Murphy's gubernatorial campaign. But neither Garg nor Berkon called for an investigation.

Garg described Brennan as a friend and said he was shocked when Brennan told him in March of 2018 of the alleged assault. But he said he told his boss, Murphy's chief counsel, Matt Platkin, and that Platkin told him he didn't need to do anything else.

Testimony before the New Jersey Legislative Oversight Committee also revealed that there were several different dates Alvarez was supposed to leave his job as Chief of Staff for the Schools Development Authority, including in March of 2018, and that members of Murphy's staff expressed concern that the media would find out about the claims.

When no one investigated, Brennan told her story to the Wall Street Journal. Alvarez left his job with the administration in October, after the newspaper contacted him. Berkon said he was told by Platkin in June that Alvarez would be leaving, and was shocked to learn Alvarez remained on staff in October. Berkon said he did not know whether Alvarez resigned or was terminated.

Another witness testified that Alvarez told her he was being wrongly accused for rape, and that he and Brennan had engaged in consensual sex.

Murphy has maintained that he was unaware of Brennan's allegations, even though more than half a dozen lawyers associated with his transition team and his campaign had talked to Brennan directly about her accusations. His administration now appears to be in crisis as the probe continues. Last week, Allison Kopicki, a senior policy advisor with the Economic Development Authority, resigned, saying she faced retaliation after complaining about a toxic work environment in the administration.