One takeaway on Katie Brennan’s testimony today before the Joint Legislative Oversight committee: how did Phil Murphy’s campaign lawyer know about a confidential human resources issue involving the New Jersey Schools Development Authority?
Brennan testified that after reaching out to the governor with a request for a one-on-one meeting, she was contacted by Jonathan Berkon, a partner at a Washington, D.C. law firm that represented the Murphy for Governor campaign.
According to Brennan, Berkon told her that the man she has accused of raping her, Al Alvarez, would no longer be working in state government. When pressed for details, Berkon said he could not discuss it because it was an HR issue, Brennan said.
Who told Berkon?
If called before the legislative committee, Berkon would likely claim attorney-client privilege and decline to answer questions about that conversation. But he may be pushed to identify who his client is.
If he was only representing the campaign committee, there may be questions about why personnel issues related to state government were being shared with the campaign.
Berkon is also the counsel to the Democratic Governor’s Association, the group which Murphy will be leading in 2020.