By Sophie Nieto-Muñoz | New Jersey Monitor
A South Jersey state senator’s accusations that Attorney General Matthew Platkin is using his office to pursue political vendettas are “outrageous, totally ridiculous, and wrong,” Platkin said Monday.
“I think we know his politics and frankly, you know, I wish the folks in Trenton — Democrat and Republican — would spend more time focused on how they improve the lives of people’s families and less time attacking people who are trying to help them,” Platkin told the New Jersey Monitor Monday after an unrelated event in Newark.
Platkin and the state senator in question, James Beach, are both Democrats, but Beach is an ally of South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross, whom Platkin indicted on since-dismissed racketeering charges last year. Beach, who represents Camden County, last week sent a letter to Senate President Nick Scutari asking for legislative hearings in the fall on what Beach called Platkin’s “gross mismanagement and overtly political behavior.”
Beach said the Norcross indictment is an example of Platkin’s “longstanding obsession” with South Jersey politics and particularly Camden County. A Superior Court judge dismissed the indictment in February and Platkin’s office is appealing.
“The Attorney General has repeatedly claimed, including as recently as his Budget Committee testimony in April, that his actions are neither political nor inappropriate,” Beach wrote in the letter. “There is, however, mounting evidence to the contrary and it is incumbent upon us, in our oversight capacity, to expose the truth. We owe it to the New Jersey taxpayers who are footing the bill for his malfeasance.”
Beach is a sponsor of new bipartisan legislation to remove state police from Platkin’s oversight. Beach accused Platkin of retaliating against the legislation earlier this month by moving to intervene in an unrelated lawsuit in a way that targets the Camden County Democratic Organization, which Beach chairs.
“We should all be alarmed by Mr. Platkin’s repeated use of tax-payer funded government resources to attack political enemies and his lack of consideration for the impact on the reputations and economic well-being of those targeted. It is precisely what we condemn against President Trump,” Beach wrote.
Beach did not respond to a request for further comment.
Platkin has been the target of attacks from both sides of the aisle, and there has been speculation about what his political future looks like beyond the Murphy administration. Gov. Phil Murphy steps down in January after two terms, and his successor will likely appoint a new attorney general.
In February, Assembly Republicans introduced an impeachment resolution targeting Platkin that said he has “violated the public trust.”
Republicans have griped about the numerous lawsuits Platkin has filed and joined targeting Trump administration orders and policies. Platkin’s critics have also noted that a state appellate court ruled against Platkin’s takeover of the Paterson Police Department in 2023 (that case is now in the hands of the New Jersey Supreme Court).
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