We’ve seen Matt Platkin’s act before, which is precisely the problem.

And that’s why some Republican opposition to Platkin becoming state Attorney General is more than mere politics as usual.

Platkin was the top lawyer in Governor Phil Murphy’s office when the Katie Brennan saga unfolded.

That was pre-pandemic, which seems like the stone age, but those who care about this stuff have no trouble remembering what happened.

As the alleged sexual assault of Brennan – and how the Murphy Administration handled it – was examined at a series of Legislative hearings in 2018-19, a number of strange facts emerged.

One had to do with the governor, who apparently didn’t learn about the alleged assault until the fall of 2018 just before it was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

How could this be?

Both Brennan and her alleged assailant worked on Murphy’s original 2017 campaign and when he took office, both got high-paying jobs in his administration. You’d think that one staffer allegedly raping another would come to the governor’s attention.

A number of administration officials told the committee that the policy at the time was not to tell the governor.

Platkin not only confirmed that, but testified this was his decision.

He said his training was that such allegations should go to an EEO, or Equal Employment Opportunity officer. In this case, not informing the governor prior to the Wall Street Journal inquiry was in line with his EEO training.

Scrupulously following EEO policy probably makes sense if the boss is an office supervisor, a factory foreman or just about anyone else in New Jersey but the governor.

I recall that at one of the hearings, committee co-counsel Joseph Hayden, a bit exasperated by what he was hearing, observed that “common sense” should always prevail. Indeed.

The New Jersey Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer in the state. The job involves enforcing the law as it is written, but also making judgments on how to do that. Common sense is always needed.

In the wake of Platkin’s nomination, Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho brought up Platkin’s performance in the Brennan case. Fellow Republican Sen Kristen Corrado said she isn’t happy with the governor’s pandemic-related executive orders, which she attributed to Platkin. Corrado didn’t bring up the Brennan case, but she was on the committee that investigated it.

As for Brennan, about the Platkin nomination, she tweeted the following:

“This decision is deeply disappointing and sends a terrible message to survivors of sexual violence. New Jersey deserves an AG representing the highest standards of ethics and the legal profession. We can do better.”

We’ll find out soon how many of the state’s 40 senators concur.