Rape scandal: Why I’ll cut Phil Murphy some slack (Opinion)

Phil Murphy's campaign and the NJ state government are being sued over claims they did nothing when staffer Katie Brennan took every step possible to make known her allegation another staffer sexually assaulted her.

Jim Gearhart says it seems obvious someone -- multiple people -- dropped the ball. But is it really fair to blame Phil Murphy himself?

In the latest installment of the weekly Jim Gearhart Show podcast, available here as well on iTunes and Google Play, Jim tells Bob Williams that in this day and age, if either looked at a woman the wrong way they'd probably wind up being charged.

Meanwhile, Brennan made a rape allegation that's just about universally been accepted as credible. Yet it never resulted in charges. The man she accused, Alberto Alvarez, was told by Murphy's chief of staff to find another job - but never fired.

"What happened here? The lady said she was raped. Why wasn't that done?" Jim asks. "Accordingly, under the story, she tried to tell everbody under the sun, and nobody would do anything."

But did the word get back to the governor? If he eventually heard about it, was he eventually told not to worry because prosecutors investigated and never charged Alvarez?

"I am perfectly willing to allow that the governor didn't have a hand in this," Jim says.

But he adds this caveat:

"I don't know that he didn't."

That's just part of what Jim and Bob Williams take on in the latest installment of his podcast. Check out the full episode to hear the rest. And email Jim at Jim@NJ1015.com.

The Jim Gearhart Podcast is available every week on New Jersey 101.5 and in the New Jersey 101.5 app. You can also subscribe with your favorite podcasting app for iPhones, Android devices or your computer:

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