Following four-and-a-half hours of testimony from New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency Chief of Staff Katie Brennan, what do you think the final conclusion will be after the special committee hearings are complete?Â
Brennan alleged in October that she was raped by Albert Alvarez, a top campaign staffer to then-Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy, at her Jersey City home back in April 2017 – when she was a campaign volunteer for Murphy.
At yesterday’s hearing, the first of which where the special legislative committee is investigating the governor’s hiring practices (Alvarez is the former chief of the state Schools Development Authority).
“Somehow, it wasn’t a priority to address my sexual assault … until it impacted them,†Brennan testified under oath.
Her sworn statements revealed that she told Justin Braz, a friend who ended up becoming Murphy’s deputy chief of staff, who months later spoke to counsel for Murphy’s transition team without mentioning Brennan’s name.
Another friend, Matt Platkin, now the governor’s chief counsel, was informed about the incident in March and seemingly led to Alvarez’s ouster from state government, Brennan testified, though she still felt justice was eluding her.
More details can be found in this report from NJ Politico.
Moving past the political posturing here, there are three real questions that need to be asked and answered:
1. Did anybody associated with the Murphy transition team have any contact with the HCPO about this case prior to the decision not to prosecute? It seems unlikely that the timing of the decision not to prosecute was purely coincidental.
2. Who made the decision that the failure to prosecute put the matter to bed for hiring purposes, without the need for any further investigation on their part?
3. Was Alvarez’s hiring promoted by any NJ politicos making this hiring a political priority, and if so by who?
It will be interesting to see if these questions are even asked, much less answered.
That guy was the Muslim outreach for the campaign so you know, diversity.
where’s Spartacus….aka Corey Booker & the other democrats….
You would think it’s late Christmas Eve. Not even a Regressive mouse is stirring. They are all in coverup mode protecting the rapist and each other.
Listen to their howls for Kavanaugh, a man completely innocent of spurious 30-year-old fake allegations and now, listen to their silence. Steve Fulop, Suarez, Grewal, Ravi Bhalla and shoot, nothing from Phil Murphy’s pal Dawn Zimmer either. Speaks volumes.