Gov. Phil Murphy’s pick for New Jersey attorney general, a close confidant of the governor who previously served as Murphy’s chief counsel, is one step closer to holding the job on a permanent basis. Matthew Platkin was advanced by the state Senate Judiciary committee by a 8-2 vote. The approval marked another step in the swift rise of Platkin, described by colleagues and critics alike as a smart — even cunning — lawyer who has spent just eight years as a member of the bar and entered New Jersey’s political scene on the ground floor of Murphy’s 2017 campaign. In his six months on the job in an…
