New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin: The Face of a Failing Justice System

| June 27, 2025

New Jersey lawmakers are taking unprecedented steps to strip the State Police away from the authority of Attorney General Matt Platkin, in what many are calling a public vote of no confidence in the state’s top law enforcement officer.

The move, proposed in new legislation, isn’t just a policy shift—it’s a damning indictment of Platkin’s leadership, or more accurately, his lack of it.

🚨 Failure After Failure: A Culture of Corruption and Inaction

For years, the New Jersey State Police has faced serious accusations ranging from racial discrimination to workplace misconduct. Yet under Platkin’s watch, nothing of consequence has changed. Misconduct has been swept under the rug. Investigations have stalled. Internal accountability has all but evaporated.

The rot runs deep, and it’s clear: either the Attorney General’s office is willfully turning a blind eye, or worse, it has become part of the problem.

Platkin has positioned himself as a defender of justice, but his record tells another story—a story of stonewalling, selective enforcement, and political favoritism.

🔍 A Pattern of Protection for the Powerful

When it comes to protecting political allies or shielding top brass from public scrutiny, Platkin’s office has been disturbingly consistent.

Where are the prosecutions of corrupt officials who are politically connected?

Where are the reforms following well-documented harassment within law enforcement agencies?

Where is the accountability for repeated civil rights violations and systemic abuse?

The silence is deafening.

Platkin has instead focused on chasing political headlines while ignoring the very real corruption festering in his own backyard.

🕵️‍♂️ Is the Attorney General Part of the Problem?

Some lawmakers now openly question whether Platkin’s office has crossed the line from inaction to obstruction. By failing to act on credible reports, by slow-walking investigations, and by keeping the public in the dark, he has created the perfect conditions for misconduct to flourish unchecked.

Worse, the Attorney General’s office has a pattern of protecting those within the political machine. How many times has Platkin’s office mysteriously dropped the ball when the accused were tied to powerful political figures? How many times has internal discipline been quietly avoided when it could damage politically useful relationships?

Platkin is either complicit or dangerously incompetent—either way, the public loses.

🔨 Lawmakers Step In to Do the Job Platkin Won’t

The proposed legislation to remove the State Police from the AG’s oversight isn’t just procedural—it’s a rescue mission for public trust.

When the state’s own law enforcement agency can no longer be safely overseen by the Attorney General, it’s a clear signal that the system is broken at the top.

Lawmakers are sending a message: Platkin cannot be trusted to police the police.

🗳️ Time to Let the Voters Choose Their Attorney General

It may also be time to take an even bolder step. New Jersey is one of the few remaining states where the Attorney General is appointed by the governor rather than elected by the people. In most other states, the voters themselves select their chief law enforcement officer.

Perhaps the real solution is to change how the Attorney General is chosen in New Jersey. Maybe it’s time the people—not political insiders—decide who holds this critical office. When the Attorney General is beholden to the governor who appointed him, public trust suffers. Letting the voters select their own Attorney General could be the key to breaking the chain of political protection and delivering true accountability.

📣 Time for Full Investigations and Real Consequences

New Jersey doesn’t need another press release. It needs an independent, sweeping investigation into Matt Platkin’s handling—or mishandling—of corruption, misconduct, and politically sensitive cases.

The question now is not whether Platkin has failed. That much is obvious. Especially with a lack of law enforcement management experience.

The question is: How deep does the corruption go, and who else has benefited from his silence?

The people of New Jersey deserve an Attorney General who prosecutes corruption, not one who protects it. If Platkin won’t clean up this mess, maybe lawmakers—and the voters—finally will.