Who hired Al Alvarez at the state Schools Development Authority? That was the question repeatedly put to the ex-chief of staff by committee lawyer Michael Critchley.
"I can't tell you I know who specifically said 'You're hired,'" Alvarez replied. "I can tell you honestly that I know that I expressed my interest there and that no one objected to me going there."
READ: Panel grills Murphy administration, campaign staff over rape allegations
"The accusation, if it were to become public, would just make it too damaging for the governor," Alvarez testified, recounting a conversation with Murphy's chief counsel Matt Platkin. "I then offered him that I would be willing to resign if in fact they would help me secure employment."
Alvarez testified the lawyer agreed to that condition, contradicting Platkin's earlier testimony to the committee.
"Some place between the triumvirate of [Jose] Lozano, Platkin, and [Peter] Cammarano, he obviously got the job of his choice," said committee co-chairwoman and State Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), referring to the head of Murphy's transition team, the governor's top lawyer, and Murphy's former chief of staff.
"There were a lot of inconsistencies today, and there have been in the past," Weinberg said. "So I think that’s going to take a much more in-depth review with our attorneys."
Alvarez collected a $30,000 raise and didn't quit until an Oct. 2018 Wall Street Journal story about the accusations, which he denies and for which he is not charged.
"The sexual contact between myself and Ms. Brennan was consensual," he said in his opening statement. But Alvarez noted he "respects the goal" of the committee to make policy recommendations on hiring public employees and handling sexual assault claims.