Embracing Trump Loyalty, Ciattarelli, Singh Break with Tom Kean, Sr. on January 6 Commission

TRENTON — The Republican primary for governor has rapidly turned into a Trump loyalty test, but gubernatorial candidate Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli has remained silent on the creation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the deadly attack against the U.S. Capitol on January 6 that left five people dead, including New Jersey native and Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

During last week’s Republican primary debate, perennial candidate and MAGA loyalist Hirsh Singh predictably sided with insurrectionists, falsely stating “we all know Trump won” and doubling down on a widely debunked conspiracy theory that “election results are being disqualified all over the country.” In the same debate, Ciattarelli agreed that Donald Trump was still the standard-bearer of the Republican Party.

With Singh making his opposition clear, New Jersey voters deserve to know if Assemblyman Ciattarelli supports an investigation into the events that led to an assault against our democracy.

Like Singh, the Assemblyman headlined a “Stop the Steal” rally, and he has repeatedly refused to denounce the far-right candidacy of Oath Keeper Ed Durfee, who was present outside the Capitol on January 6. As an embattled candidate facing a tough primary fight, his silence can only be taken as complicity with the Republican rejection of an investigation into the U.S. Capitol riot.

What’s more? When asked to name their favorite past governor at last week’s debate, both Ciattarelli and Singh cited former Republican governor Tom Kean, Sr., who previously led the 9/11 Commission and has called Republican-backed opposition to launch a similar investigation into January 6 “democracy’s loss.”

“It’s incredibly shameful that Assemblyman Ciattarelli is once again playing politics to align himself with Trump’s base and refusing to support a bipartisan investigation,” said Murphy for Governor Spokesman Jerrel Harvey. “The fact that Hirsh Singh is still touting the ‘Big Lie’ and dangerous conspiracy theories that fueled the insurrection on January 6 has clearly put even more pressure on the Assemblyman. New Jersey voters deserve to know exactly where he stands.”