Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez received four “routine” emails laying out accusations of sexual assault involving members of Gov. Phil Murphy’s election campaign, but “did not read the substance of them,” according to the state Attorney General’s Office.

In a letter obtained by NJ Advance Media sent to a legislative committee looking into what Suarez may or may not have known about the controversial case, state investigators said they also determined that Suarez did not reply to the emails or forward them to anyone. Suarez has consistently denied knowing her office was investigating the alleged sexual assault.

At the same time, the Attorney General’s Office also said it will not release the emails to the state Legislature. In its letter, the office outlines their own internal review going into unusual detail about typically confidential investigations.

“The law enforcement professionals that make up or county prosecutor’s offices would not be able to operate effectively — and conduct their important public safety responsibilities — if their internal deliberative communications were subject to routine public disclosure,” wrote Matthew Beck, who serves as outside counsel for the Attorney General. “These privileged and confidential records would not be subject to production either in civil litigation or as discovery in a criminal prosecution and they should not be produced pursuant to the current request.”

State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, the co-chair of the special legislative committee looking into the investigations by state and county prosecutors, was not surprised by the refusal to turn over the emails.

“I expected it,” Weinberg, D-Bergen, said.

The committee is scheduled to meet again next week, she said, and the matter will be discussed then.

NJ Advance Media first reported on Tuesday that Suarez’s name was on the emails. The news organization independently obtained copies of two of the emails, which revealed that prosecutor had been included on a chain of messages laying out the accusations, three days after the April 2017 alleged rape of campaign supporter Katie Brennan by Albert J. Alvarez, who was then the campaign’s outreach director for Muslim and Latino communities.

The letter to the Legislature confirmed those emails had been sent by a Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office sergeant overseeing the offices Special Victims Unit. He said the prosecutor was routinely included in such emails. Beck said such emails generally included details about case openings and developments in various criminal investigations.

He said Suarez was asked specifically about the emails in the Alvarez case and she told investigators for the Attorney General’s Office of Public Integrity & Accountability, or OPIA, that like most routine case updates, “she did not read the substance of them.”

The Legislature was told that OPIA determined Suarez “did not reply to the emails or forward them to anyone.” In addition, investigators concluded that Suarez did not send any other emails regarding the investigation prior to October 2018.

Suarez has denied attempting to influence the investigation in any way and state investigators interviewed the detectives and prosecutors in the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, who all denied being contacted by Suarez in connection with the matter.

“This review uncovered no evidence of impropriety by Prosecutor Suarez or anyone else,” said Beck.

The Attorney General’s Office did a review of the case after Suarez determined she had a conflict of interest.

Neither Suarez or her attorney returned phone calls.

In the wake of the letter, attorney Alan Zegas, who represents Brennan, called on officials to make the emails public, saying their release wouldn’t interfere with any ongoing investigations and they are “pertinent to what the legislature is looking into.”

“In the interest of a fair and just hearing, they should be turned over,” he said.

The case has shaken the Murphy administration, with lawmakers from his own party questioning how the case was handled by Suarez, and whether Brennan’s requests for help were addressed by the governor’s office. It has also put pressure on state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, whose office cleared Suarez of any wrongdoing in October.

Grewal assigned the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office to independently review the allegations. Last week, that agency announced it would not bring charges against Alvarez, reaffirming the Hudson County decision.

Alvarez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said that what happened that night after a campaign event in Jersey City was consensual.

One of the internal emails that shows Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez was among those notified about the ongoing investigation.

In the emails obtained by NJ Advance Media, investigators summarized Brennan’s allegations claiming that Alvarez drove her home from a campaign event for Murphy in Jersey City and asked if he could use her bathroom. Once in the apartment, Brennan said, Alvarez allegedly forced her down on the couch and forced himself on her.

She went to the police the following day. Brennan, 31, who is currently chief of staff to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, alerted the Murphy transition team on Dec. 1, 2017, of the alleged assault, telling them that Alvarez could soon face charges. Later that day, she was told the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office had closed the case. Alvarez was in the meantime appointed as chief of staff to the New Jersey Schools Development Authority in the Murphy administration, a position he held until he resigned on Oct. 2, 2018, when the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Brennan.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at 732-372-2078 or at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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