Sweeney, Coughlin won’t say if they’ll push dark money groups to disclose

Senate President Steve Sweeney declined to say if he would push political advocacy groups run by his allies to retroactively disclose their donors Thursday.

“I don’t have a group. I never solicited one nickel from anyone for that group, so I don’t have a group,” Sweeney said, referring to the General Growth Fund, a dark money group run by allies of South Jersey powerbroker George Norcross, a childhood friend and close ally of Sweeney’s.

Later, Sweeney said another since-defunct dark money group, New Jerseyans for a Better Tomorrow, with which he was affiliated disclosed its donors before shuttering its doors.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin also demurred on whether he would push his affiliated outside spending organizations to release a list of their donors.

“I would be in support of releasing the names,” Coughlin said.