On donor disclosure, Sweeney says buck stops with Murphy

Says governor can overturn advisors decision not to release contributors to non-profit group

Senate President Steve Sweeney on Wednesday said a decision made by a non-profit group aligned with Gov. Phil Murphy to not disclose its donors was the governor’s to overturn.

“It’s really for the governor to decide,” Sweeney said. “It’s an organization that obviously supports him, and I’ve read the articles where he says he doesn’t question, that he expects them to report. So, that’s really a question for the governor, not me.”

The group, New Direction New Jersey, is a 501(c)(4) non-profit formed by former Murphy campaign aides Brendan Gill, Steve DeMicco and Brad Lawrence and is not required by law to disclose its donors.

The governor is legally barred from coordinating with the group, including on decisions related to donor disclosure, but he previously said he expected New Direction New Jersey to follow through on a promise to disclose their donors at the end of 2018.

“I take them at their word. I’m sure they will. I’m not sure the timing, but I’m sure they will. I don’t want to speak for them,” Murphy said in May.

To justify its reversal, Phil Swibinski, a spokesman for the non-profit, said the group had been subjected to a “toxic political environment.”

“I don’t know any political environment that’s pleasant,” Sweeney said. “Ever.”