The Justice Department is preparing to charge Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) with corruption charges. Allegedly, Menendez used his seat in the Senate to pushed the business interests of a donor and friend in exchange for gifts.
Attorney General Eric Holder has reportedly signed off on the request to charge Menedez.
Prosecutors from the Justice Department have attempted a variety of allegations against the Senator. He is calling the probe portion of “smear campaign” against himself.
The case revolves around Menendez’s relationship with Salomon Melgen, an ophthalmologist from Florida, whom the Senator considers a friend along with being a political supporter. Melgen, along with his family, has been a generous donor to Menendez and the commitees he is associated with. Other parts to the case against Menendez are allegations of him soliciting prostitutes in the Dominican Republic. Along with that, he is accused of helping two banking magnates from Ecuador win permanent U.S. residency.
The solicitation allegations fell apart after the prostitutes told their story and the FBI had not found evidence of any law being broken in the case with the banking magnates, the Isaias brothers.
The FBI probe has sparked many lawsuits between Menendez and the government. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals posted documents detailing legal efforts to contain certain evidence and testimony the government would like to use. This was said to be an accident.
“The parties primarily dispute the legislative character of Senator Menendez’s two conversations with [then acting CMS administrator Marilyn] Tavenner and his meeting with Secretary Sebelius. These communications are not manifestly legislative acts because they are informal communications with executive branch officials, one of whom was at the time a presidential nominee whose nomination was pending before the United States Senate,” said the Appeals Court.
Menendez held a press conference in his home state today. He defended his doings, saying, “Let me be very clear, I have always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with the law.” However, he refused to take questions from reporters because this is an ongoing legal affair. Attorney General Eric Holder, who is in South Carolina, also refused to confirm the reports that Menendez will be charged.