New documents deepen Caldwell mystery as pressure builds on Sherrill for answers

🔎 The Sherrill administration hired outside counsel to investigate Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell on May 21 — more than three months before the probe became public.

⚖️ Caldwell has hired his own attorney and is being advised by a former attorney general. He has denied wrongdoing.

⏳ The investigation remains unfinished — and Gov. Mikie Sherrill has not publicly committed to a date for releasing its findings.

The investigation into New Jersey Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell has been going on even longer than previously known — and the wait for answers continues.

New documents obtained by the New Jersey Globe show Gov. Mikie Sherrill's administration hired former New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino and his firm, Lowenstein Sandler, on May 21 to conduct an internal investigation. That's more than three months before the Globe first revealed the investigation publicly on Sept. 4.

The engagement letter was obtained by the Globe through an Open Public Records Act request. It says the firm was retained as counsel to the Governor's Office chief ethics officer to conduct an investigation, although the subject is redacted. In responding to the records request, however, the Governor's Office acknowledged the agreement was responsive to a request specifically seeking legal services related to Caldwell.

A newly organized group calling itself “Let the People There Be Heard” says people with firsthand knowledge of events referenced in the allegations were never contacted by investigators. (Getty Images/Press release/TSQ illustration)

Caldwell investigation dates back to May

The May 21 agreement provides the clearest documented timeline yet for when outside lawyers became involved.

A week later, on May 28, Caldwell wrote to Chief Ethics Officer Christina Fullam denying allegations that he used his position to romantically pursue women and promising to cooperate. According to the Globe, Porrino and Lowenstein partner Shontae Gray have spent months interviewing complainants and potential witnesses.

The inquiry concerns allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women and possible ethics violations, including purported offers of state jobs. Caldwell has denied wrongdoing. No finding against him has been announced.

Caldwell builds a legal team

Now Caldwell is preparing his own legal defense.

The Globe reports Caldwell has retained former federal and state prosecutor Thomas Calcagni as his personal attorney, while former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey is also advising him. Caldwell was not represented by counsel when he initially responded to the ethics officer and sat for interviews with Lowenstein.

Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell outside his New Brunswick home Sat., Sept. 5, 2026

Caldwell has had no official public schedule or media availability since the investigation became public, although he attended events surrounding the Congressional Black Caucus in Washington. Thomas Edison State University has also put plans to award Caldwell an honorary degree on hold until the investigation is completed.

When will New Jersey get answers?

That's increasingly the question.

Republican legislative leaders have called for a separate legislative investigation, criticizing what they describe as a lack of transparency. NJGOP Chairwoman Christine Giordano Hanlon has demanded that Caldwell resign. Democratic Assemblywoman Katie Brennan has also called for a thorough and independent investigation, while lawmakers have proposed stronger protections for people reporting misconduct.

(Clockwise) Asm. Katie Brennan, Lt. Gov. Dale Caldwell, Gov. Mikie Sherrill (NJ Legislature/Governor's Office)

Sherrill has said complaints must receive a fair, full and thorough review and that the rights of those accused must also be protected. But she has declined to publicly discuss many specifics of the Caldwell inquiry.

Meanwhile, the investigation is affecting the operation of the governor's office. The Globe reports Sherrill has stopped accepting out-of-state invitations for now, avoiding situations in which Caldwell would become acting governor. She has also sharply limited her availability to reporters.

After months of investigation, New Jersey still doesn't know when it will end — or precisely how much of the final report the public will ultimately see.

That may become the next transparency test for the Sherrill administration.

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