Man in McGreevey Scandal Speaks Out

Aug. 13, 2004 -- The man at the center of New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey's resignation has accused the governor of subjecting him to unwanted sexual advances.

"While employed by one of the most powerful politicians in the country, New Jersey Governor McGreevey, I was the victim of repeated sexual advances by him," Golan Cipel said in a statement read by his attorney at a news conference in New York.

Cipel, an Israeli national who briefly served as McGreevey's homeland security adviser in 2002, did not attend the news conference.

McGreevey, who is married and has two daughters, revealed on Thursday that he is gay and had had an extramarital affair with an unnamed man, believed to be Cipel. He said he would resign Nov. 15.

Sources told ABC News that lawyers for Cipel had approached McGreevey's attorneys in recent weeks about settling an as-yet unfiled sexual misconduct lawsuit for millions of dollars.

But Cipel's attorney, Allen Lowy, said on Friday the opposite was true. "It was Mr. McGreevey's representatives who, without provocation, offered a sum of money to make my client go away," he said at the news conference. He said Cipel was a victim of a "smear campaign."

"Our only goal is to attain justice," Lowy said. "Money was never the ultimate goal in my client's search for justice." He said "only time will tell" whether Cipel would file a lawsuit against the governor.

McGreevey's personal lawyer, Bill Lawler, on Friday denied that anyone offered Cipel money to keep quiet, and told ABC News there were no settlement discussions under way, nor would there be. He called Cipel's allegation of unwanted sexual advances "absolutely false and without merit," and said the relationship between McGreevey and Cipel was consensual.

Conflicting Stories

Federal officials are skeptical of allegations by McGreevey's lawyers and assistants that Cipel was trying to extort money, sources told ABC News.

In recent weeks, sources told ABC News, Cipel's attorney had approached McGreevey's attorney about settling an unfiled sexual misconduct lawsuit for $20 million. On Thursday, hours before the governor's news conference, McGreevey's personal attorney contacted the FBI to report alleged extortion by Cipel and his attorney, sources told ABC News. Cipel's attorney later contacted McGreevey's attorney to offer a $2 million settlement, sources told ABC News.

Sources tell ABC News that the FBI has assigned a team of agents in the Newark office to investigate the allegations made by McGreevey. The U.S. Attorney in Trenton, Christopher Christie, has assigned an assistant U.S. attorney to investigate not just that possibility but whether Cipel used his relationship with McGreevey for personal gain and whether McGreevey misused his office.

Lawler, McGreevey's personal attorney, said today that McGreevey was not afraid of an investigation. "We are the ones who called the FBI," he said. He said he assumes investigators "will do their job right."

The FBI will neither confirm nor deny the probe and the U.S. Attorney's office will not comment on the matter in any way. However, sources in each agency have confirmed the matter for ABC News.

A Friendship That Started in Jerusalem

Cipel reportedly met McGreevey when he was a tour guide during the then-mayor of Woodbridge's trip to Jerusalem four years ago.

The two formed a friendship and, soon after, Cipel moved to the United States and landed a job with billionaire Charles Kushner, a McGreevey campaign donor, and then later as a spokesman for the Israeli government in the United States.

Cipel, a former Israeli Defense Force soldier, was appointed by McGreevey to the newly created post of homeland security adviser in early 2002.

McGreevey's choice of Cipel sparked criticism because, officials said, Cipel had few qualifications for the job, which paid $110,000 a year. In March 2002, Cipel was reassigned to a "specialcounsel" job and a few months later, he left his state governmentposition.

The two men's alleged love affair was widely acknowledged, according to state law enforcement officials, by those closest to McGreevey since November 2001, when he took office. It appears the alleged former lovers had parted ways, and Cipel may now be acting out of revenge by seeking to receive damages in from the governor, these same sources told ABC News.

The events that led to start of the federal probes into McGreevey and Cipel began Thursday at 11 a.m. when the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in New Jersey was called by the governor's personal attorney and told about Cipel's alleged extortion attempt. The timing of McGreevey's lawyers' contact with federal authorities raised significant questions among federal and state law enforcement officials in New Jersey.

‘Resign Now’

At his news conference Thursday, McGreevey did not outline what will happen in New Jersey's government upon his resignation.

It is believed state Senate President Richard Codey, a Democrat, will be appointed as acting governor and serve out the rest of McGreevey's term, which ends in early 2006. Sen. Jon Corzine is expected to be the 2005 gubernatorial candidate for the Democrats.

However, some Republicans are calling for McGreevey to resign before Nov. 15 so that a special election can be held. Flanked by several Republicans, New Jersey GOP chairman Joseph Kyrillos called on McGreevey to resign immediately because his admission — and the distraction it is likely to cause over the next several weeks and months — will hinder his ability to effectively govern.

"It transcends one person. It is about more than Jim McGreevey," Kyrillos said. "It impacts everyone in the state of New Jersey and what everyone in the country thinks of us. There have been several awkward articles written about him [McGreevey], and it is my suspicion that there will be more awkward stories in the days and weeks to come. I am asking the governor to do the right thing and resign now."

Not all New Jersey residents agreed. Some shocked residents believed that McGreevey should stay in office.

"He shouldn't have stepped down because of what sexual preference," said Walter Holmes of Livingston. "One's job and the sexual preference has nothing to do with each other."

Other people said they felt sympathy for McGreevey's family, especially his wife.

"I feel bad for his wife more than anything else," said Jean Martin. "I don't think if he wasn't married that he should have resigned. But he is married, so … I'm not really happy about that [McGreevey's extramarital affair]."

A ‘Relieved’ Governor

McGreevey, 47, and his wife, Dina Matos, have a 2-year-old daughter. He also has an 11-year-old daughter with his first wife. He mentioned all of them in his remarks, and explained that he struggled with his identity most of his life.

"Throughout my life, I have grappled with my own identity, who I am," he said. "As a young child, I often felt ambivalent, in fact confused, by virtue of my traditions and community."

One friend of McGreevey said the governor was relieved after Thursday's announcement, despite the subsequent turmoil.

"The emotion that was so evident after the speech was a sense of relief," George Zoffinger said today on Good Morning America. "I think that the governor feels very strongly about his family. I think he is personally feeling extremely devastated by what has happened here. But at the same time, I think he has a real sense of relief that he's gotten this off his shoulders."

Zoffinger said McGreevey's announcement shocked even his closest friends and his family. He believed Matos only found out recently about her husband's homosexuality and extramarital affair.

"I don't think that she did know it," Zoffinger said. "I think the governor basically told his family only recently, and I can tell you that the family is very resilient. I know that the governor loves his wife, he loves his daughters. … His father, you could see by the body language yesterday [Thursday] was uncomfortable. He's a drill sergeant in the Marines. Jim went to years of Catholic school."

Oft-Tumultuous Administration

McGreevey took office 2½ years ago and, despite inheriting a $5 billion budget deficit, steadfastly refused to boost income taxes for most New Jerseyans, instead raising taxes on millionaires, casinos and cigarettes.

But his administration has been dogged by several scandals involving fund raising.

The announcement makes McGreevey the highest-ranking politician to identify himself as gay. His admission brought praise from gay and lesbian groups. But they also pointed out that McGreevey's life in the closet as an elected official shows that homophobia is still alive and well in America.

"On one level, I feel proud that the governor of New Jersey is a gay man," said Richard Burns, director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in New York City. "I wish he could have been elected as an openly gay man. That's the message I'd be looking for."

There are no openly gay or lesbian senators, but there are three openly gay members of Congress: Arizona Republican Jim Kolbe and Democrats Tammy Baldwin of Washington and Barney Frank of Massachusetts.

In March 1994, Republican Rep. Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin was outed on the House floor by conservative California Rep. Robert Dorman, who accused him of having a "revolving door in his closet." Gunderson, who represented a rural, conservative district, was re-elected that year.

ABC News' Richard Esposito, Jake Tapper and John Berman, ABC News Radio and ABC NEWS affiliate WABC in New York contributed to this report.