Below is my column in The Hill on the indictment of Senator Robert Menendez for bribery, again. As predicted in this column, his colleagues are now expressing disgust at his corruption. However, make no mistake about it, Menendez is not being abandoned due to his corrupt inclination but his conspicuous consumption.
Here is the column:
The massive indictment of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife has shaken Washington.
As Senate Foreign Relations chairman, Menendez is one of the most powerful Democratic members of Congress, and someone who has long been a kingmaker in the party. He has also long been accused of open and insatiable corruption.
What made Menendez a standout in Washington was not his corrupt inclinations, but his utter audacity in following them. I was able to witness that signature conduct personally on the floor of the Senate.
In 2010, I defended a federal judge, Thomas Porteous, in his impeachment trial, against charges that he had taken gifts and misused his office for personal gain. The curious thing about Senate trials is that you have a jury composed of people you could strike for cause in a real court. Menendez was among those sitting in judgment of Porteous, but he wasn’t just another face in the Senate crowd — he stood out. It was like arguing a piracy case with Captain Jack Sparrow sitting on the jury.
Menendez himself would later go on trial in 2017 in a major bribery and fraud case involving luxury gifts allegedly exchanged for official favors. Most of us expected the worst when, during jury deliberations, one juror asked the court, “What is a senator?” Menendez dodged the bullet. The jury hung and the Justice Department dropped all charges.
Now Menendez has been slapped with a massive new bribery indictment. The facts are all too familiar, with a long list of lavish gifts allegedly made in exchange for favors.
The indictment details gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars, furnishings and other gifts. His wife was allegedly actively involved in this corruption conspiracy and is also facing criminal charges.
During the Porteous trial, I noted that, at the time of the underlying acts, the senators themselves were accepting free lunches. It was not until later that the rules changed on such gifts. Menendez now stands accused of accepting a host of gifts at that time, including an $8,000 free flight in October 2010, in addition to luxury trips to Paris and a Caribbean villa.
Yet Menendez still demanded the conviction of Porteous, even though the judge was never charged with bribery, and free lunches and the other gifts would not be enough to even register with Menendez.
The question is whether this level of corruption is now enough for Democrats. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently suggested a type of Goldilocks rule for corruption. He warned that people in Washington had better be careful if they want to crack down on the Biden family’s influence-peddling.
“If that’s the new criteria, there are a lot of folks in a lot of industries — not just in politics — where people have family members and relationships and they’re trying to parlay and get a little influence and benefit in that respect. That’s hardly unique.”
It would appear that the question is not corruption, but when a little corruption is “just right.”
If these allegations against Menendez are proven, then he violated Washington’s Goldilocks rule. It would mean that Menendez pursued gifts with a reckless abandon, endangering others whose corruption was more circumspect.
Consider the timeline: It would mean that during the Porteous trial, Menendez was allegedly accepting gifts while condemning and removing from office a judge accused of receiving gifts.
Later, after the jury hung in his first corruption trial, Menendez (according to the Justice Department) almost immediately started taking gifts from new sources.
In a town known for a certain finesse in influence peddling, Menendez broke with industry custom by allegedly accepting direct items like gold and a car. This is classic bribery stuff. There was no labyrinth of shell companies and accounts — just crude old-school corruption, with cash stuffed in clothing and gold bars squirreled away for a rainy day.
Where corrupt figures often refer to getting their beaks wet, Menendez allegedly took a headlong plunge into this pool of corruption. This city has not seen such low-grade alleged bribery since former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) was found with $90,000 wrapped like a po boy in his freezer.
Like Jefferson, Menendez will need to be isolated as a pariah for his conspicuous consumption. Yet the public is still being played for chumps. This entire city floats on a sea of corruption as family members and associates sell influence and access to high-ranking officials. Menendez is notorious only for the size of his appetite and the extent of his audacity.
Newsom’s Goldilocks rule for graft is certainly compelling for many in this city. For most of us, it is the very source of the problem as politicians seek to get corruption “just right.”
So get ready for politicians to suddenly declare themselves “shocked, shocked” by the allegations against Menendez. These are the same people who made Menendez the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, twice. They gave him the power of leverage with countries where bribery is an accepted practice. It was like making a known arsonist the CEO of the International Paper Corporation.
In the end, the problem is not Menendez. It is the array of other politicians who enabled him while dismissing his reputation for corruption. To use Newsom’s words, Menendez is “hardly unique” for cashing in on his position. That is precisely the problem.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University.
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has hired attorney Abbe Lowell to defend him against a three-count indictment on federal bribery charges.
Lowell is also representing President Joe Biden’s son Hunter on his tax and firearm charges.
Lowell was the attorney on Menendez’s first corruption case in 2015, which ended in a mistrial.
Sen. Menendez could use a biblical accusation strategy against his wife and accuse her:
Adam was the first man that God created, and he was very special. He was created “in the image” of God Himself.
And the LORD God commanded Adam, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (NIV, Genesis 2:15-17)
God asked Adam directly, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
In short, faced with his own guilt, Adam looks for someone else to blame. This has been human instinct ever since. In one skillful sentence, he points the finger at both his wife and God: “The woman Eve [blaming her], whom you [blaming God] gave to be with me” did this.
Most, if not all of DC pols are corrupt to a point. How do they all get rich making millions, while making under 200K and living the high life and partying in DC? LOL
Jonathan: I’m not sure “Goldilocks” is the right metaphor in describing the indictment of Robert Menendez. It’s a stretch to call this the “Goldilocks rule for graft”. Goldilocks, a young female intruder that could have been charged with trespass–breaking an entering the bear’s cottage, eating their porridge, breaking their chairs and then sleeping in their bed. That’s at far as the metaphor could be stretched.
What is interesting is that, unlike the George Santos corruption indictment or the Ken Paxton corruption scandal in which the Texas GOP rallied around Paxton and refused to convict him, you don’t see the Dems rallying around Melendez. In fact Sen. John Fetterman has called on Mendez to resign. Do you see any Republican calling for DJT to drop out of the 2024 election campaign because of all his corruption? Have you seen any House Republican calling for Santos to resign? That probably because Kevin McCarthy needs every vote he can get to prevent a government shutdown. Duplicity is the gold standard for McCarthy and the House MAGA caucus!
And it’s kind of ironic that while Republicans are claiming the Biden administration is “weaponizing” the criminal justice system to go after DJT, that same DOJ has indicted one of their own–a sitting Dem. US Senator. That makes a mockery of the GOP’s allegations against the Biden DOJ! For AG Garland the fair and impartial administration of justice means if you do the crime you will do the time–regardless of party affiliation.
since when is questioning the results of an election nd making a speech corruption. the real corruption took place during the voting. comparing trump to any of this is a joke
Oh please. You are so off track with this “democrats hold the moral high ground” BS, it’s hilarious.
Paxton was being railroaded by the Bush GOP with no evidence, period end of story. All for just supporting Trump.
And Trump is the most investigated person in the history of our countries politics, and all they can get him on is made up BS as well.
You are part of the problem, NOT the solution. Menendez has been dirty for decades, and ALL of DC are corrupt to a point, BUT, It’s hard to ignore the GOLD bars and 480K in cash in his bedroom………LOL You people are pitiful.
You’ve got to be kidding me. First of all I have yet to see any financial corruption committed by Trump. Secondly, don’t you see that Melendez is the Sacrificial Lamb to draw the attention away from the The Big Guy Goldilocks and make it appear the DOJ is not political? Melendez is so obviously corrupt they picked him so as to not bother with all of the others.
“I have yet to see any financial corruption committed by Trump”
So you’re telling us that you’re unaware that the Trump Organization, headed by Trump, was found guilty of financial fraud. OK.
The Trump Trganization was never charged, tried, or sentenced.
Employee that broke the law was. But not the Organization.
With the extensive investigation, grilling of 100 witnesses. Not a single link to DJT
What a dumb comment, written by someone so dumb.
You’re delusional
Man, you are either on drugs or you are dreaming.
BOTH parties are corrupt as hell – but the libs have perfected it….they thrive off it…they can depend on it.
It harms all of us.
MAGA is about eliminating the deep corruption in this country wherever it exists and yes that means BOTH parties.
Corruption is completely destroying our country and we have scant little time to get it stopped before we collapse.
Dennis–thank you. Alt-right media has already come up with a cover story for Menendez–the supposedly corrupt Democrats are trying to silence him because he’s got the goods on someone. No proof provided, but for the truly dedicated, no proof is necessary.
Gigi the liar
What was the interest rate when Trump left office, Gigi?
DJT corruption? The only real ‘corruption’ was that of the Hillary sponsored, CIA, FBI, DOJ, attempted frame up/coup with ‘evidence’ they CREATED. The treachery SHOULD HAVE resulted in mass arrests, firings and disbarments. But even the guy that ADMITTED to changing and LYING on FISA forms, was not disbarred. I would burn ANYONE that has been proven to be corrupt, with facts that have not been manufactured by BAD guys, to be corrupt. They should loose ALL government benefits and pensions, be disbarred if they hold a license, be forbidden from holding office, working for any government, any company/ individual that contracts with the government or as a lobbyist of any kind.
Did you say, “Goofy Gavin” Newsom?”
This is the quintessential, privileged, silver-spoon-in-your-mouth, corruption-as-privilege, poser.
Everything was handed to him on a silver platter, which caused him, in turn, to give other people’s money away with reckless communist abandon.
If you haven’t had the pleasure, read up on “Goofy Gavin” at Wiki here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gavin_Newsom
Hmmm… Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee…. Corrupt…. Sounds just like… I can’t think of it…. Messieur Robinette-Biden maybe ?
Turley claims: “He warned that people in Washington had better be careful if they want to crack down on the Biden family’s influence-peddling.” Uh, Turley, WHERE’S the proof of “Biden family’s influence peddling”? The Republicans haven’t come up with any proof that Joe Biden received any quid pro quo, so why do you throw out a statement like this, behaving as if it is an established fact? Is it because that’s the endless drumbeat of House Republicans and alt-right media? Turley failed to even hedge his comment with “alleged” or “suspected”–he states there is influence peddling by the Biden family as if it has been proven, which it hasn’t.
I’m getting Baghdad Bob vibes.
Oh God, this woman will not see what is there right in front of her.
Show me “what’s right there” in front of me. I don’t watch alt-right news. WHERE is the paper trail of payments to Joe Biden–cancelled checks, bank accounts–where are they? If they exist, why hasn’t the House Committe found them or any proof of them? The answer is obvious–devotees like you believe and no quantum of proof is necessary. No quantum of counter proof would dissuade you, either.
Counter proof. Wtf is that???
Bwahahahahahah
good point was made down below …. 1. follow the money (always) and 2. be careful of distractions. The Menendez situation is a great way to deflect attention from senility and Hunter Biden. Just sayin.
Hahaha. Biden’s Quid Pro Quo was done on video, with Ukraine. Are you blind?
And here’s the video:
First, Turley was quoting from another article, so your slam on his lack of “alleged” is inappropriate. Second, at this point, even the NYT is acknowledging the endless corruption of Joe and Hunter Biden. The self proclaimed coercion of Ukraine over Hunter’s graft with Burisma, the multiple shell companies funneling cash to various Biden family members, Hunter’s lament about having to give his dad half of his “earnings. And we will not even go into Joetato’s constant lies about being places and doing things which NEVER actually occured. Not to mention his unbridled racism which continues to slip out. Perhaps you need to read something other than NYT and WAPO, and you might find a little truth.
They’re working at cross purposes.
This will all be resolved, and their “purposes” will be focused like a laser when “Moochelle” Obama enters the race – was Rush Limbaugh referencing her as a “moo” chelle (cow) or a “mooch” elle (parasite)?
Understanding that the Founders’ voting restrictions, which were to be legislated by States, have been lifted and every person, including illegal aliens, can vote, Moochelle will win and there will soon be nothing left of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, or Republicans.
Communist parasites will always vote for evermore factitious “free stuff” and evermore factitious “free status.”
One man, one vote democracy IS Karl Marx and Abraham Lincoln’s “dictatorship of the proletariat” – the dictatorship of the poor working everyman.
America was conceived, designed, and established to be a restricted-vote republic.
America was intended to perpetuate freedom.
American freedom will give way to communist enslavement and ultimate destruction.
What’s the national debt now?
Cite me the NYT article claiming that JOE Biden engaged in ANY corruption–much less “endless corruption”. Turley has admitted that influence peddling is not illegal–it’s what lobbists do. There isn’t even any proof of influence peddling involving Joe Biden, much less corruption, but you claim that the NYT has said there is–prove it.
Wisdom is chasing you but you’ve always been faster.
FBI agent says prosecutors thwarted Hunter Biden charges, corroborating IRS whistleblowers
https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/fbi-supervisor-corroborates-irs-whistleblower-claims-hunter-biden
Reality has never been your strong point.
Or is that the TDS speaking for you.
Gigi – You’re so right. What’s $50m among friends? It only matters if it’s in the form of gold bars.
Gigi the liar
What has the inflation rate done the last 3 months?
Who in the S Ct has accepted gold bars, or other lavish gifts, in exchange for favorable rulings?
He will pin it all on the wife, with whom he is rather unfaithful. She will go to prison and he will recover and continue the modus operandi…
x
The Marion Barry defense “bitc* set me up”
Has Man ever trusted other Men to be honest? Haven’t Men always been tempted to slide into the domain of the Devil? When have men not turned a blind eye to corruption, thievery or a quest for power? History is littered with scallywags of all classes of people. Socrates differentiated man being ruled by reason, spirit and appetite, [reason: wisdom, truth], [spirit: victory, honor], [appetite: profit, money]. In America today we’ve lost ground to reason and spirit and made up for the lost ground with increased greed and selfishness. We now treat mongrels with more concern than average citizens; allowing crimes to go unpunished out of some desire to have that shining star award, for what I’m not certain? We see a creed for power and money everywhere and a laissez-faire attitude “Oh well I can’t do anything about it anyway”. Deceit and lawlessness at all levels of governance and a public unwilling to unseat the tyrants. Blind and unmoved by the current situation will have a pitiless ending for this great country. May God help us all!!!
They all seem to think they’ll never get caught because they believe they are above the law.
From what i have been witnessing lately, i would say that they ARE above the law. The head of the DOJ is one of them, The prosecutors are all George Soros bought and paid for … so go figure. Or are Americans that naive.
They are all above the law or Joe Biden and family would all be jail. They own the Guy who runs the DOJ … go figure
George W,
Great comment.
“We now treat mongrels with more concern than average citizens; allowing crimes to go unpunished out of some desire to have that shining star award, for what I’m not certain?”
That one really rings true.
Reminds me of this incident: https://nypost.com/2023/09/07/anti-cop-minnesota-democratic-party-official-left-bloodied-in-violent-carjacking/
Upstate Thanks:
American has been through tumultuous times before but this new iteration of government depravity is worrisome. I reread Theodore Roosevelt’s speech at “The Sorbonne” today to give me hope that there is truly a future for America. I also remembered the last paragraph of “The Apology of Socrates” and thought I quote it:
“Still I have a favor to ask of them. When my sons are grown up, I would ask you, O my friends, to punish them; and I would have you trouble them, as I have troubled you, it they seem to care about riches, or anything, more than about virtue; or if they pretend to be something when they are really nothing,–then reprove them, as I have reproved you, for not caring about that for which they ought to care, and thinking that they are something when they are really nothing…”
That Minnesota Democrat fits the statement “It all good until it not”, perfectly!
George W,
Well said and I agree.
I fear the level of fascism the Democrat party is leading us towards.
Just recently Hillary Clinton said,
“We have to reject authoritarianism, we have to reject a kind of creeping fascism, almost, of people who are really ready to turn over their thinking, their votes, to wannabe dictators. And we can’t allow that to proceed.”
She and the Biden admin and the Democrat party are the face of wannabe dictators. The face of authoritarianism. The face of fascism. We see it on gross display with their calls for censorship. To undermine the Constitution. The lengths she went to undermine the Trump campaign with false accusations of Russian collusion with the Steel dossier and she still continues to peddle that hoax to this day without shame.
I fear the day is close at hand where we may have to take up arms to fight against these modern day fascists.
I agree with Anonymous at 11:04. She refers to corruption on the Supreme Court. In the past Anonymous has refereed to corruption by Clarence Thomas receiving gifts. The difference that she doesn’t want to bring up is that in the case of Thomas he received nothing from any person that had a case before the court. On the other hand, Justice Sotomayor received 3 million dollars from a publishing company that had a case before the Supreme Court and she did not recuse herself from the case. https://www.dailywire.com/news/liberal-scotus-justice-took-3m-from-book-publisher-didnt-recuse-from-its-cases. Perhaps instead of using the everybody does it argument, Anonymous could say that she is appalled by this action of one of the highest ranking Democrats. Fat chance of that.
As you hint at (but don’t say outright), Thomas receiving gifts is not corruption, unless it’s from someone with business before the court. One cannot simply equate receiving gifts to corruption. There has to be a quid pro quo, or at least the appearance of one before any impropriety arises.
The reason is the public must have confidence the Justices are neutral. If Justice X receives as a gift a stay in a fancy hotel room, but the giver has no business before the court, that does not undermine confidence in Justice X’s neutrality on any case.
Menendez must be wondering why his fellow Demos are throwing him under the bus. The BCF has “earned” much more money and the Demos are defending the Capo of that family.
And where are the tens of billions of dollars in so-called Ukraine money going to? There still is no audit. Most likely the enrichment of Ukranian oligarchs as they need to buy bigger and better yachts. That and merchants of death (international arms dealers). That money makes Menendez’s payoffs seem like mere pennies. And both parties are in on it.
It’s costing us a lot less to weaken Russia than it would if we fighting a war with them.
That’s the party line, but how do you figure we would otherwise be fighting a war with them? Their interest is Ukraine, not NATO countries. If we minded our own business they would never go to war with us. And are we really “weakening Russia?” Is there any realistic chance Russia will lose? Is the money actually going to a valid cause? You don’t know the answer to any of those questions, and I personally suspect it is “no” on all three accounts.
OTOH, it is indisputable that our actions are moving the world closer to nuclear Armageddon. And all this due to an invalid use of American taxpayers’ money, which is mainly benefitting Ukranian oligarchs, merchants of death, corrupt Ukranian pols, and American pols of both major parties who get political favors and donations from directing your tax money and mine to unworthy recipients that advance no articulable American interests.
Until there is an audit, every single American taxpayer dollar that goes to Ukraine is invalidly given.
How do you figure we would otherwise weaken them militarily?
This is more of what it really looks like,
“Of every 100 people who joined Ukrainian units last Fall, months before the counter-offensive, only 10 to 20 remain. The rest are dead, wounded or incapacitated. These stats were confirmed by the online publication Poltavashchyna.”
“This is a list of soldiers from military unit A7097 who have voluntarily left a position called “Sadik”. Translation: the Ukrainians lost control over this strong point, Sadik, because of these guys. Among them there is a Captain, Mykhailo Shabunin.”
https://strategic-culture.su/news/2023/09/19/the-ukrainian-morale-in-the-battlefield-a-snapshot/
Now tell us the stats for the Russians.
How should I know?
No one can get accurate numbers out of them. Just WAG.
What we do know is they have taken territory and continue to hold it. If you knew anything about war which you clearly do not, it is a 3 to 1 ratio of offense to defense to take a position.
The Ukraine counter offense has clearly been a failure.
But what do you care? As long as they keep sending men into the meat grinder to die or get wounded, you can hashtag WeStandWithUkraine!
Stop standing on the bodies of the dead. Get down to the recruiting center and enlist in a combat MOS. If not you, your children or grandchildren. Send them to war. Not just the poor and minorities to fight your wars.
“Now tell us the stats for the Russians.”
Do you celebrate those deaths?
Watching the world pivot from a US/West lead uni-polar world to a multi-polar one, the on going de-dollarization, the expansion of BRICS, soon to be BRICS 11, are you sure it is not the US is being weaken as the war drags out?
It’s a very small fraction of our annual military expenditures.
It takes a few days to build a HE 155mm arty round.
It takes less than a second to fire one off.
There is no denying the economics and logistics of war. Does not matter how much money you throw at it, it still takes time, material and most importantly men to fight a war.
So far, the Ukraine is losing and no matter how much we throw at them, they are still loosing.
The only “reason” to weaken Russia is because Russia is a Christian country & the ONLY country in the world whose central bank is NOT controlled by the banksters! Putin has openly stated he will NOT allow the one world government lunatics to destroy his country!
Russia has thousands of nukes. It is now militarizing and strengthening both militarily and diplomatically, as it cements alliances with China and others, and promotes a currency alternative to the dollar.
It is too big to lose the war with Ukraine, and once the dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency America’s standard of living tanks. All we had to do to avoid this war was promise Ukraine would never become a member of NATO. We also shouldn’t have actively scuttled the Turkey-based deal to end the war last year. We did so because all those billions of dollars flowing to corrupt actors who in turn helped American politicians would have stopped flowing. I guess for our pols, better to risk nuclear Armageddon than to risk the flow of corrupt dollars.
The sum-of-all-fears to be avoided at all costs is Russia’s nukes falling into the hands of a post-Putin dictator who is not as rational as Putin. Everything else, including the fate of Ukraine, and including the status of the dollar, is small potatoes by comparison.
I take it you’re voting for the Putin trump ticket in 34
I am not voting for Trump in 2024.
What I am voting against is the very real threat of WWIII and nuclear Armageddon. As anyone with any degree of common sense, logic, and actually cares about not turning the earth into a uninhabitable waste land should.
What I am voting against is the fascism the Democrat party is fighting for in terms of censorship.
What I am voting against is the Biden Crime Family.
What I am voting for is to protect children from perverse sexualization. For that alone, I would be willing to take up arms to fight against that kind of evil. If you are for pornography in elementary schools, the mutilation of teens and puberty blockers, the normalization of pedos and groomers, know I consider you the face of evil that must be fought against.
What I am voting against is an unsecured Southern border.
What I am voting against is soft on crime DAs, no cash bail, decriminalizing of the kind of lawlessness we see in progressive Democrat ran cities and the de-fund the police movement.
What I am voting against is the destruction of education.
What I am voting against is the destruction of the nuclear family.
What I am voting against is the idea that America is racist.
And if that means I am voting for Trump in 2024, then so be it. Even if he is in jail.
Better than voting for the Democrat party.
There is no election in 34, you idiot
OldManFromKS,
Well said and spot on.
However, I would disagree with the “status of the dollar, is small potatoes by comparison.”
That very well has the potential to make Bidenomics/Bidenflation look like a picnic in comparison.
The demise of the USD as reserve currency was inevitable.
Biden is making it happen within our lifetimes.
Upstate – I don’t deny that the loss of status for the dollar is a large potato indeed, but the nuclear Armageddon potato is larger, IMHO.
Because, Korea, Viet Nam, and Afganistan worked to well for us.
Last time Menendez was indicted, Trump ended up commuting the sentence of Menendez’s co-conspirator.
Hillary Clinton warns about Russian interference in 2024 election
“Putin “can try to continue to damage and divide us internally, and he’s quite good at it,” says Clinton ”
LOL! Hillary, no one is better at it than you!
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/hillary-clinton-issues-warning-about-russian-interference-2024-election
Listening to the news just now, it does appear this indictment was ordered up by the White House, to play against the Biden family crime syndicate.
The Dems say that Mendendez needs to resign. AOC and Sawell, far leftist, are calling for his hide and offering no defense. Joe’s defense will continue, with the added snipets that he never got a car, no gold bars in his sock drawer. All irrelevent because Wiese was denied warrents against Hunter, informed Joe was Never to be investigated, under any conditions.
Juxtaposed with todays leftist trolls defending Mendendez.
Menendez is expendable because (as someone pointed out below) the Dem NJ guv will appoint a Dem replacement; and he serves as a distraction from “Joe Biden” corruption, and a way for Dems to say “see we are even handed.” He is one of many corrupt pols but a confluence of factors makes him expendable. Hence, this indictment.
Or, he was indicted because there’s ample evidence that he committed crimes.
“This entire city floats on a sea of corruption as family members and associates sell influence and access to high-ranking officials. Menendez is notorious only for the size of his appetite and the extent of his audacity.“
Menendez is not a family member of associate. He’s a member of Congress.
“ This entire city floats on a sea of corruption as family members and associates sell influence and access to high-ranking officials. Menendez is notorious only for the size of his appetite and the extent of his audacity.”
It seems that both (that Menendez is politically expendable cover for Biden & that there is ample evidence of of his crimes) can be true.
They did this search 15 or so months ago. I wonder why they’ve been holding this over his head all this time. What have they been trying to get him to do?
Kansas, it was mentioned that Menendez has offended anyone that he might have called a friend. My bet, his hubris and abuse of power, has angered those around him, and they are more that ready for him to be gone.
Weiss was never denied anything. 4 IRS whistleblowers stated they were stopped from investigating the Biden Crime Syndicate by DOJ & other deep state operatives. Weiss was illegally appointed by the DOJ because he is a dumb-0-crap operative & a DOJ employee. “Independent Prosecutors” are supposed to be independent, unlike any who’ve been appointed to look into anything the dumb-0-craps have ever done or any looking into alleged “Trump crimes”! Finding real criminal activity in Washingtoon should be easy, since very few in Washingtoon are actually clean! “The only way to get rich in politics is by being a crook.” said Harry Truman, the last honest dumb-0-crap.
Meanwhile “Joe Biden” is trying to deport a German family that has lived in Tennessee for 15 years, due to oppression in from the German government for homeschooling their kids . . . while letting millions of undocumented migrants in at the southern border.
x
Yes, the good professor does care much more about the corruption on the Democrat side as the good professor is a Democrat.
He is pointing out the obvious not only corruption but insanity that has gripped the Democrat party. It is not the party of his parents or that he grew up with. Most of the sane Democrats want nothing to do with the insane woke leftists that have hijacked the party.
The Republican party completely in the pocket of corporations?
The 2016 election, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump’s donors were small, single person donations IIRC the average being $20.
Clinton, big corporations, and Wall St.
Recall Mark Zuckerburger sitting front and center at one of Clinton’s campaign speeches?
The majority of Big Tech donate to the DNC. The majority of employees of Big Tech donate to the DNC. The majority of unions donate to the DNC.
The NJ Senator is easily thrown overboard. It is like when Northam was caught either wearing black face or a KKK outfit and he had to go. HAD TO GO. But when the Lt Gov was found to have worn black face and the AG was caught in some sort of scandal and the next in line was a dreaded Republican and then…Northam had to stay.
I also give you Al Franken. When “funny man” Franken was caught in a lame METOO snafu the only reason he was able to be thrown overboard was because there was a Democrat in the governor’s seat and he could replace him with…A DEMOCRAT. If the governor was a Republican Franken could have been Jeffrey Dahmer and they would have just said he had an eating disorder.
Menendez is expendable, his crimes are the same as Joe Biden’s crimes, albeit more obvious. Biden is just Spiro Agnew with a kid that went to law school.
But I think Menendez is up in 2024? If so, that puts his seat in play. My guess is this is what is generating the calls to resign. A new Democrat incumbent would have a better chance of winning, and the sooner the appointment is made the greater the advantage.
That’s it exactly. Even in deep-blue New Jersey, a corrupt and indicted Democrat can lose to a Republican. That’s the fear.
He’s already being challenged in the Dem primary. And there are calls for his resignation because there’s considerable evidence against him and he can’t serve his constituents well. Republicans could also call for Santos to resign, but they don’t.
It doesn’t seem necessary for the Professor to abuse a perfectly good fairy tale by comparing Goldilocks to a whore like Senator Menendez. Next time, leave the classics alone.
Excellent column Jon.