By Matt Rooney

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Remember Katie Brennan, Save Jerseyans?

She’s the young lady whose allegations against an ex-Murphy top aide ignited a seemingly never-ending parade of new revelations concerning the toxic work environment cultivated by New Jersey’s top Democrat. New names continue to drop. Even the upcoming Democrat National Convention has been impacted by the toxicity of Murphy’s hiring culture. And now, late Tuesday night, Brennan’s attorneys informed the court that settlement discussions concerning her lawsuit against the Administration have broken down. They want discovery and anticipate a trial.

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Politics is 50% optics, 50% narrative.

Phil Murphy will be actively running for reelection this time next year. The last thing he needs amid a continuing avalanche of allegations is a full-blown trial – with a compelling, right-out-of-central-casting star (Ms. Brennan) – shining a bright light on Murphy’s unseemly policy of binding his underlings with non-disclosure agreements.

Remember: this trial will force Murphy & Co. figures (perhaps the governor himself?) into depositions or even trial testimony. Could the governor be forced to discuss his infamous we’re “on it” email?

Also remember: Murphy has repeatedly said they’re all free to talk! But he’s done nothing to rescind the NDAs.

Meanwhile, both Doug Steinhardt and Jack Ciattarelli have publicly declared their respective 2021 Republican gubernatorial campaigns won’t utilize NDAs.

The chess board is now just about set. Presumably, the Guv should want to spend 2021 talking about his wokeness or even a state economy that’s being propped up by a roaring national economy. Not this. But he’s making it an issue, and a big one.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it: what ELSE is he afraid of coming out? Such that he’s taking the political and legal risk of continuing to muzzle the women who’ve worked for him?

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