New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy spent about $12,000 in taxpayer money at MetLife Stadium, including about $1,000 for a Taylor Swift concert in 2018.
Politico first reported that Murphy asked the Democratic State Committee to reimburse the state for the purchase. The news agency cited records showing the Democratic governor spent money on snacks and drinks at several events in 2018 and 2019, including a Swift concert, sporting events and a music festival hosted by a New York City radio station. did.
A spokeswoman for Murphy said the cost of the stadium will be paid for by the Democratic State Committee. Otherwise, the bill was paid through the governor’s $95,000 annual expense account.
“Once it became clear that there were outstanding bills that had not been paid, the state worked aggressively to meet this responsibility,” Jennifer Sciortino said, adding that the commission had a separate leadership team at the time. has been placed, and added the charges in question. “This incident occurred during a period of personnel change in the state party,” he said, adding that the governor’s office is seeking reimbursement from the committee “in accordance with our long-standing practice.”
Democratic Party spokesman Phil Swibinski, citing the staff changes, said the committee’s current leadership team had “no knowledge of the state’s alleged invoices,” adding that party officials were not aware of the issue. He said he was investigating.
“The state party regularly pays for food and beverage services at non-governmental events hosted by the governor, including MetLife Stadium, and all such payments are disclosed to ELEC in accordance with state law,” Swibinski said. he said.