In Washington, the new, progressive House Democratic majority has promised to "shine a light on the unlimited, secret spending'' that has polluted politics.

In Trenton, a group closely aligned with Gov. Phil Murphy is for now deciding to stay in the dark.

The Murphy-aligned group that operate New Direction New Jersey, announced late last month that it will keep secret the names of donors who finance the not-for-profit "social welfare" group that promotes Murphy's policies and progressive image.

That represents a reversal from November 2017 when the group's officials vowed to reveal the donors by the end of 2018.

And New Direction is sticking by that decision after Murphy on Friday publicly urged the group — and any other "dark money'' vehicles that allow unregulated cash to flow into the political debate — to disclose their donors.

"I think they should disclose their donors, as should all similar groups,'' Murphy said in a statement. "But the fact that we're discussing what any one group should or shouldn't do above and beyond the law, rather than all groups, is indicative of the problem. We must strengthen our disclosure laws."

Phil Swibinksi, a spokesman for the group, declined to comment on Murphy's call for disclosure. Murphy has no role with the group, although it was launched last with his campaign manager, Brendan Gill, serving as senior adviser and spokesperson. Two of Murphy's media consultants, Steve DeMicco and Brad Lawrence, also signed on to the effort.

Created as a 501(c)(4) under the IRS, the group is not required to disclose donors, although Gill vowed to do so when it was created, declaring at the time that "transparency will be a key part of the agenda that we’re going to promote,”

But that bold promise was made before Murphy's post-election honeymoon in Trenton turned into a "toxic political environment," Swibinksi said last week. In explaining the decision to keep names private, Swibinski said "our supporters have come under increased attacks from powerful special interests seeking to preserve the status quo in recent months."

In other words, Team Murphy would rather take the heat for operating a "dark money" machine rather than let their donors — possibly unions or corporations with business before the state — become targets for retaliation by Murphy's political enemies. And Murphy's most powerful foe these days is Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester.

Team Murphy feels besieged by Sweeney, who seems determined to defy or undercut the governor's every move, from his budget plans to his preferred choice to run the state Democratic Party. And in that context, New Direction's decision suggests that Team Murphy sees no upside in disclosing and going beyond what is required by law. They view themselves locked in a political trench fight. It's no place for good government reformers.

"Due to the toxic political environment these sustained attacks have fostered, the organization has decided not to exceed its legally-mandated disclosure requirements this year,'' Swibinski said in a statement announcing the decision to keep the donors private. Sweeney declined to comment for this column.

New Direction has been a source of intra-Democratic party strife. When Gill acknowledged in this column last year plans to run New Direction-created television ads promoting Murphy's budget plans during the tense negotiations to the brink of state shutdown, Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex went ballistic.

They accused Murphy of trying to intimidate lawmakers with a campaign-style ads rather than negotiate in good faith. In the end, the group aired a relatively benign, positive commercial of Murphy boasting that, "finally, things are getting done."

Yet as a candidate, Murphy also promised to shake up Trenton and a system that coddled donors and special interests and that largely ignored the interests of the poor and middle class. He was going to do things differently and with a progressive cast to it.

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Now, it's his close allies coddling donors and special interest, arguing that they could face too much political heat. But the end result is secrecy, the preferred modus operandi of political bosses. New Direction looks very much like the old direction.

Campaign watchdogs and progressives say dark money groups, formed under the aegis of IRS regulations for non-profits have made it easy for billionaires and corporations to to flout campaign finance laws, which limit donations and require disclosure.

Craig Holman, a campaign finance watchdog for Public Citizen, a Washington, D.C.-advocacy group, called the groups "shady" and allow for an "pay to play" operate outside of the public eye. It also allows regulated industries that are barred from making donations, to "curry favor" with the governor.

Holman also said the groups generally operate without fear of oversight. "The IRS has fallen flat on its face in enforcing the tax code,'' he said.

Murphy is not the first governor shadowed by dark money groups formed by close allies. His predecessor, Republican Chris Christie, deflected criticisms that Reform New Jersey, a group formed by his close allies, had established a similar dark money vehicle in 2010. By year's end, the group disbanded after disclosing donor names and contribution amounts.

Christie was also boosted in his first term when a group of his college friends established the Committee for Our Children’s Future, which spent nearly $8 million on TV ads promoting Christie’s budget plans, his education agenda and his bipartisan deals he reached with Democrats.

Despite Friday's call for transparency, campaign finance reform has never been a Murphy priority. And he has continued to support Choose New Jersey, a corporate, pay-to-play vehicle that financed Christie's lavish travel and foreign junkets. Jose Lozano, who lead Murphy's transition, is now the group's chief executive.

As a candidate, Murphy tapped the grassroots anger in the Democratic Party base, was inflamed by 2016 election of Donald Trump. Now, that grassroots anger helped fuel the Democratic takeover of the House in November.

And many of their priorities packed their first major piece of legislation H.R. 1, which includes a calls for a crackdown on dark money groups. Yet, in Trenton, attempts to rein in issue-advocacy groups have languished for years.

Murphy now says he wants accountability. But, to date, his own allies have other ideas.