Latest news with #Matt Platkin
E&E News
04-08-2025
- Business
- E&E News
New Jersey announces $2B forever chemical deal with DuPont companies
DuPont and a handful of related companies have agreed to provide New Jersey with more than $2 billion to clean up pollution, pay for environmental damages and settle multiple lawsuits with the state, Attorney General Matt Platkin and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette announced Monday. It's the largest such environmental settlement by a single state, the officials said. As part of the deal, which requires court approval and would include a quarter-century of payments, the DuPont companies would set aside up to $1.2 billion for cleanup at four New Jersey industrial sites, plus establish a separate 'backstop fund' in case companies try to renege on those obligations, according to state officials. Advertisement The companies will also pay $875 million in damages related to PFAS, the so-called forever chemicals that DuPont and others manufactured. These pervasive and persistent synthetic chemicals, which are tied to cancer and other ailments, are now widespread in drinking water supplies and human blood.
National Post
23-07-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Trump administration fights to keep ex-Trump lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey federal prosecutor
Article content The prosecution, which is still pending, is a rare federal criminal case against a sitting member of Congress for allegations other than fraud or corruption. McIver denies that anything she did amounted to assault. Article content Besides the prosecution of McIver, Habba had announced she launched an investigation into New Jersey's Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, and attorney general, Matt Platkin, over the state's directive barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agents conducting immigration enforcement. Article content Article content In social media posts, Habba highlighted her office's prosecution of drug traffickers, including against 30 members of a fentanyl and crack cocaine ring in Newark. Article content Habba's nomination has stalled under senatorial courtesy Article content Trump, a Republican, formally nominated Habba as his pick for U.S. attorney on July 1, but the state's two Democratic U.S. senators, Cory Booker and Andy Kim signaled their opposition to her appointment. Under a long-standing Senate practice known as senatorial courtesy, a nomination can stall out without backing from home state senators, a phenomenon facing a handful of other Trump picks for U.S. attorney. Article content Article content Booker and Kim accused Habba of bringing politically motivated prosecutions. Article content What is Habba's background? Article content Once a partner in a small law firm near Trump's New Jersey golf course, Habba served as a senior adviser for Trump's political action committee, defended him in court in several lawsuits and acted as a spokesperson last year as he volleyed between courtrooms and the campaign trail. Article content U.S. attorneys often have experience as prosecutors, including at the state or local level. Many, including the acting U.S. attorneys in Brooklyn and Manhattan, have worked in the offices they now lead. Article content Article content Habba was one of Trump's most visible defense attorneys, appearing on cable TV news as his 'legal spokesperson.' She represented Trump in 2024 in the defamation case involving E. Jean Carroll. Article content But Habba has had limited federal court experience, practicing mainly in state-level courts. During the Carroll trial, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan chided Habba for botching procedure, misstating the law, asking about off-limits topics and objecting after he ruled. Article content
