The high-profile hearing comes two weeks after lawmakers took hours of testimony from Katie Brennan, a Murphy administration official who says she was sexually assaulted last year by Alvarez, then a top campaign aide. | Mel Evans/AP Photo Top Murphy aides set to testify about Alvarez rape allegations

TRENTON — Four top aides to Gov. Phil Murphy are scheduled to testify Tuesday before the legislative committee investigating the hiring of Al Alvarez, a former campaign staffer who was given a state job despite facing a sexual assault allegation.

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, co-chair of the Legislative Select Oversight Committee, said Murphy Chief of Staff Pete Cammarano, Chief Ethics Counsel Heather Taylor, Deputy Chief of Staff Justin Braz and Deputy Chief Counsel Parimal Garg have all agreed to be ready to answer questions from lawmakers when the panel meets. Braz will speak first.


Charlie McKenna, a former Chris Christie aide who served as executive director of the Schools Development Authority, is also on the witness list, Weinberg said.

It’s unclear if the committee will be able to hear from all of the witnesses on Tuesday. Chief counsel Matt Platkin is also expected to testify at a later date.

“I don’t know. We’ll see,” Weinberg told reporters at the Statehouse on Monday. “But they all work here, so it’s not like we’re pulling them out. They can be in their offices.”

The high-profile hearing comes two weeks after lawmakers took hours of testimony from Katie Brennan, a Murphy administration official who says she was sexually assaulted last year by Alvarez, then a top campaign aide. Even though top transition officials were made aware Alvarez had faced an allegation, he was hired as chief of staff at the SDA.

Brennan, who was a campaign volunteer and currently works as chief of staff at the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, told Braz — a personal friend — about the allegation just a day after the alleged assault. She said she later authorized him to tell the governor’s transition team that Alvarez faced an allegation, but not to reveal her name. Cammarano was among those to learn of the allegation.

After Alvarez was hired, Brennan reached out in March to Platkin and Garg and told them Alvarez raped her. She later spoke to Taylor, who ultimately said there was nothing they could do since the incident occurred during the campaign.

Weinberg said she’s not sure what to expect from the testimony.

“I really don’t know. I think we’ll get some issues around the testimony that she raised and what part each played in that,” she said. “I know I have some specific questions for Heather Taylor in terms of policies and procedures. I don’t know if we’ll get to her tomorrow, but we’ll see.”