A #MeToo scandal roils Trenton

In early October, The Wall Street Journal reported that a top Murphy administration official, Albert J. Alvarez, had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman, Katie Brennan, during last year’s campaign.

Ms. Brennan, who also works for the administration, said she made repeated attempts to tell senior administration officials about the assault, including Mr. Murphy.

But she said she became frustrated that Mr. Alvarez continued to hold a high-paying job despite repeated promises from top aides that they were investigating and addressing the incident.

The accusation rocked Trenton, which led to the formation of a bipartisan investigative committee. In several hours of testimony at a hearing in early December, Ms. Brennan described what happened to her and how people close to Mr. Murphy did not deliver on promises made to her. In a hearing a few weeks later, members of the governor’s inner circle testified that they did not fire Mr. Alvarez despite knowing about the accusation for months.

Mr. Alvarez eventually resigned in October after he was contacted by a reporter from The Journal.

Mr. Murphy has said that he was not aware of the accusations until he was contacted by the same reporter from The Journal. While no evidence or testimony has emerged to contradict that claim, the investigation risks tarnishing his image.

“The concerning thing for Murphy right now, especially as we keep hearing about these legislative hearings regarding Katie Brennan, is that his reputation is still malleable right now,” said Ashley Koning, the director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling at Rutgers University.