Murphy, Ciattarelli Respond To Video Alleging Vaccine Mandates

NEW JERSEY — Election Day for what has become a closer-than-expected New Jersey governor's race is less than one week away, and Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy and Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli are sparring over a video released this week by controversial right-wing activist group Project Veritas.

This video, posted by the group's heavily criticized founder and New Jersey native James O’Keefe, purports to show two Murphy campaign staffers saying the governor will implement a statewide vaccine mandate should he be re-elected.

Project Veritas released the footage late Monday night, which appears to be heavily edited and spliced together. It shows a woman later identified as Murphy's senior Hispanic outreach advisor, plus another male campaign aide, saying that Murphy will implement vaccine mandates should he win re-election next Tuesday.

“He’s going to do it, but he couldn’t do it before the elections,” the female staffer says in the video in Spanish. "Because of the independents and the undecideds ... Because they’re into ... ‘My rights, my s**t. And they don’t care that they kill everybody.”

The Murphy campaign has since accused Ciattarelli of "going full MAGA" for embracing O'Keefe and Project Veritas, which it called "a far right disinformation group."

“Embracing Trump-style disinformation and intimidation tactics is completely disqualifying for any candidate running for governor," said Murphy campaign spokesman Jerrel Harvey.

But at his press conference Wednesday, Gov. Murphy seemed unperturbed by the video. He was asked if he would follow in California Gov. Gavin Newsom's footsteps and mandate the coronavirus vaccine for children, and replied:

"We have no plans to do that in terms of a mandate for children. We have zero expectation that's going to happen," said Murphy. "At the moment we just don't need to. It's quite clear the numbers are getting better. We take every one of these school outbreaks deadly seriously, but the package we have in place (referring to mask mandates for kids in schools and twice weekly testing for teachers) is working."

However, at the same press conference, Murphy did say overall on vaccine mandates:

"I would never say heck no to anything; we have to leave options on the table."

Ciattarelli's campaign seized on the video's release.

"If true, this is the ultimate hypocrisy and an appalling lack of transparency," said Ciattarelli spokeswoman Stami Williams. "The video appears to show high-level Phil Murphy campaign advisors revealing that the Governor is secretly planning to implement a statewide vaccine mandate if re-elected, but refusing to do so before the election because it would hurt him politically.

"If this tape is verified, Governor Murphy has a lot of explaining to do," she added.

Murphy is facing some backlash from at least one of his fellow Democratic Party members over the video.

"It has come to my attention that Governor Murphy will impose Covid-19 vaccine mandates statewide if he is re-elected," tweeted Democrat Union County state Assemblyman Jamel Holley Monday. "Public health is not a political issue. Medical decisions are a choice and should be treated as such for every individual. Not election timing."

It has come to my attention that Governor Murphy will impose #Covid_19 vaccine mandates statewide if he is re-elected.

Public health is not a political issue. Medical decisions are a choice and should be treated as such for every individual. Not election timing. https://t.co/4rap4vJxIs
— Jamel Holley (@jamelholley) October 26, 2021

Murphy spokesman Harvey also pointed to this clip released to YouTube Tuesday, where O'Keefe corners the governor's female staffers in a parking garage, and said it shows "blatant harassment and physical intimidation of two female Murphy staffers."

“Now Assemblyman Ciattarelli has hit rock bottom by not condemning in the strongest possible terms the dangerous tactics of a far-right extremist,” said Harvey of O'Keefe.

O'Keefe is a controversial figure: He has released heavily edited videos surreptitiously taken inside NPR, Planned Parenthood clinics and inside ACORN offices, which provides housing for low-income people. In 2010, he was criminally charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony; O'Keefe pleaded guilty and was sentenced to probation and fines.

After the video was leaked, lawyers for the New Jersey Democrat State Committee sent O'Keefe a letter telling him to keep all conversations between himself and the Ciattarelli campaign and the New Jersey Republican Committee.

O'Keefe responded on his Instagram account by saying that he plans to release another video "from inside" the Murphy campaign later this week.

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