Accessibility for screenreader. Sign In. Username. PostTV. Politics. Opinions. Local. Sports. National. World. Business. Tech. Lifestyle. Entertainment. Classifieds. Jobs. Real Estate. Events. Rentals. Cars. WP BrandConnect. Subscribe. Newsletters & Alerts. washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Help and Contact Us. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy. Submissions and Discussion Policy. RSS Terms of Service. Ad Choices. Sections. The Washington Post. Sen. Robert Menendez indicted on corruption charges. Sign In. Username. Subscribe. Wednesday, April. Politics. Sen. Robert Menendez indicted on corruption charges. Share on Facebook. Share on Twitter. Share on Google Plus. Share via Email. More Options. Share on Whatsapp. Share on Pinterest. Share on LinkedIn. Share on Tumblr. Share on LinkedIn. Share on Pinterest. Share on Tumblr. Resize Text. Print Article. Comments. Sen. Menendez: ‘I will be vindicated’. After
 being indicted on federal corruption charges, Sen. Robert Menendez 
(D-N.J.) says he is confident he will be "vindicated." (Reuters). By. Paul Kane. and. Carol D. Leonnig. April. Sen.
 Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was indicted on federal corruption charges 
Wednesday, accused of using the influence of his office to advance the 
business interests of a longtime friend and political supporter in 
exchange for luxury gifts, lavish vacations and more than in 
campaign donations.​. Federal prosecutors laid out the charges in a
 14-count indictment charging Menendez with using his office to help 
Salomon Melgen, a ­Florida-based eye doctor with whom Menendez had 
maintained a long personal and political friendship. Menendez intervened
 on Melgen’s behalf in at least two disputes, one with federal 
regulators over Medicare charges and the other involving a bid by Melgen
 to secure a ­port-security contract in the Dominican Republic, 
according to the indictment.. [. Read: Indictment of Sen. Menendez and Salomon Melgen. ]. Prosecutors
 say that over a seven-year period, Menendez relied on Melgen for free 
private-jet flights to weekend getaways at resorts in Florida, the 
Dominican Republic and Paris.. Menendez has repeatedly denied any
 wrongdoing. He was defiant Wednesday night before a boisterous crowd of
 supporters, saying that Melgen’s gifts were a result of friendship 
dating to the early 1990s and not in exchange for political favors.. Menendez in March: 'I'm not going anywhere'. (1:26). During
 a March news conference, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said he had no
 intention of resigning during the trial phase of the corruption 
investigation against him. (Reuters). “I’m angry and ready to fight,” Menendez, who is Cuban American, said to chants of “Viva Bob” in a Newark hotel.. Melgen
 was also indicted Wednesday. A grand jury in New Jersey issued eight 
counts each against Menendez and Melgen alleging bribery and three 
counts each alleging honest-services fraud, according to a statement 
from the Justice Department. They also each face one count of conspiracy
 and one count of violating the Travel Act. Menendez was also charged 
with one count of making false statements. Each of the eight bribery 
counts carries a maximum prison sentence of years.. [. Corruption case against Menendez could be tough to make. ]. Justice
 Department officials had for weeks telegraphed their intention to 
indict the senator, and Menendez’s legal team has spent the past few 
weeks in a furious effort to persuade agency officials not to file 
charges.. Menendez, one of his party’s leading voices on 
international issues, restated his intention to stay in office during 
the trial phase of the case, which could last many months or years. “I 
am not going anywhere,” he said again Wednesday.. Later
 in the day, however, Menendez’s office announced that he would 
temporarily step aside as the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign
 Relations Committee while he battles the criminal case.. His 
Senate term does not end until early but if he is convicted and 
resigns or is expelled from the chamber, state law calls for the 
governor to make a temporary appointment and set a date for a special 
election. He is expected to appear in federal court Thursday to enter a 
not-guilty plea.. So far there is little pressure on 
Menendez to resign. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who is 
expected to lead Senate Democrats after the elections, said in a 
statement that Menendez "is one of the best legislators in the Senate 
and is always fighting hard for the people of his state.”. “ I am confident he will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead," Schumer said.. The
 indictment, overseen by the Justice Department’s public-integrity unit 
in Washington, was approved by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and 
other top officials in the department. The 68-page charging document 
alleges a litany of previously undisclosed gifts that Menendez is 
alleged to have received and provided more details on the alleged favors
 that the senator’s office provided Melgen. Prosecutors also allege that
 Menendez helped three of Melgen’s foreign-born girlfriends obtain visas
 to visit the United States.. The gifts to 
Menendez included free rides on private jets to resort locations, 
often with guests of the senator aboard; long weekends to visit Melgen 
in West Palm Beach, Fla., or his villa in an exclusive Dominican resort;
 and campaign donations, including. to a super PAC that spent heavily on the senator’s behalf during his reelection campaign.. The
 case against Menendez began under bizarre circumstances, even by the 
standards of politics in New Jersey, where public corruption has been a 
focus of the U.S. attorney’s office in Newark for several decades.. In
 during Menendez’s bid for a second full Senate term, an anonymous
 tipster using the pseudonym “Pete Williams” reached out to media 
outlets and to the FBI suggesting that Menendez was patronizing underage
 prostitutes on his Dominican vacations with Melgen. (Pete Williams is 
the name of the last New Jersey senator to be charged with corruption. 
Harrison “Pete” Williams was convicted and resigned in before the 
Senate expelled him. He died in 2001.). The prostitution allegations fizzled, but investigators began scouring Menendez’s relationship with Melgen.. When
 investigators first began examining Menendez’s links to Melgen, the 
senator wrote a personal check for to cover the cost of two 
private-jet flights that ferried Menendez to Melgen’s Dominican villa. 
His aides issued a statement at the time calling it an “oversight” and 
“sloppy” that those personal trips were not previously paid for, but 
there was no mention in the January statement of the other 
private flights that Melgen allegedly paid for to fly Menendez, 
including nine trips in alone.. The charges against Menendez land as he is playing a high-profile role in two matters under fierce debate in the Senate.. One
 is the possible nuclear deal with Iran. First as chairman and now as 
ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez has been 
the most prominent Democratic voice raising qualms about the ongoing 
multilateral negotiations. He is the lead Democratic sponsor of a bill —
 expected to move forward once the Senate returns April — that would 
bring any Iran deal before Congress for a 60-day review.. Menendez
 could be pivotal in Loretta Lynch’s confirmation as attorney general, 
which has lingered for months. With scores of Republican senators saying
 they oppose Lynch’s confirmation because of her views supporting 
President Obama’s immigration policies, every Democratic vote — plus a 
potential tiebreaker from Vice President Biden — could be needed to 
secure a majority.. The indictment outlines a four-year bid to 
help Melgen, from through in his dispute with federal health 
agency officials. In early June Melgen issued a check for 
for the Majority PAC, earmarked to help Menendez’s reelection. That same
 month, the senator went to bat for Melgen again, this time on behalf of
 his eye clinics, with top officials in the Department of Health and 
Human Services who oversaw Medicare reimbursements and whose auditors 
had concluded Melgen had overbilled the federal health program for eye 
medications he used in his clinic. Menendez, using talking points 
created by Melgen’s lobbyist, talked by phone on July to the acting 
administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about 
her agency’s policy for reimbursing physicians such as Melgen who used a
 single vial of medication multiple times, sometimes for multiple 
patients.. But the senator “expressed dissatisfaction” when the 
acting administrator told him the agency would not change its policy on 
reimbursements for this multi-dosing and warned that multiple uses of a 
single dose could increase the risk of infection.. The senator 
next had his staff arrange a meeting with then-HHS Secretary Kathleen 
Sebelius, which occurred in August at the behest of Sen. Harry M. 
Reid (D-Nev.), who was majority leader at the time.. Investigators
 also focused on Menendez’s help after the doctor became the chief 
investor in a company holding a long-dormant port-security contract in 
the Dominican Republic. The contract called for paying lucrative fees 
for security screening of ships coming into ports.. In April and 
May when Menendez reached out to top officials at the State 
Department to urge them to pressure the Dominican Republic’s government 
to enforce a port-security contract that will benefit Melgen’s company, 
Melgen was simultaneously e-mailing Menendez’s staff to promise he would
 deliver in campaign donations, the indictment charges. 
Prosecutors allege Menendez met a State Department assistant secretary 
to discuss the security screening contract on or about May — 
the day Melgen and his family donated to the New Jersey 
Democratic State Victory campaign and to Menendez’s legal 
defense fund.. That day, May the assistant secretary wrote to 
his staff about the meeting and Menendez’s concerns about corrupt 
officials blocking the port contract in the Dominican Republic. The 
State Department official said he told the senator it was complicated.. “He said he wanted to hear of a solution by July ” he wrote. “If not, he would call a hearing to discuss it.”. In July, Menendez scheduled a Foreign Relations Committee hearing on U.S. companies doing business in Latin America.. During
 the hearing, he pressed the State Department to provide help to U.S. 
companies that were struggling with contracts in the Dominican Republic.
 Without naming Melgen, he mentioned an American company that owned part
 of a contract to do port security scanning.. Menendez called on 
State Department officials to “send a message that you cannot with 
impunity go ahead and violate those agreements.” He added: “If those 
countries can get away with that, they will. And that puts American 
companies at a tremendous disadvantage.”. Mike DeBonis and Rosalind S. Helderman contributed to this report.. Paul Kane covers Congress and politics for the Washington Post.. Carol Leonnig covers federal agencies with a focus on government accountability.. Continue reading. minutes left. Share on Facebook. Share. Share on Twitter. Tweet. Comments. The Post Recommends. Map: The most liberal and conservative towns in each state. What are the reddest and bluest cities in your state?. Missouri Republicans are trying to ban food stamp recipients from buying steak and seafood. A
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 up against Hussein and his Administration, And THEY ALL turn on him !!!
 I am disgusted with Hussein's Nazi ways !! Stand your ground Senator 
Menendez and God Bless you and your family !!. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Belleville2. 4/4/2015 AM GMT+0400. This posting is not working correctly.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Belleville2. 4/4/2015 AM GMT+0400. When
 is the House of Representatives going to get with it and stop this 
clown. The voters need to do their own term limits. Vote them out. How
 is this done. Well I would say we need to boycott the election process
 a couple of times. Let the other guys get in. This will send a 
message to the establishment types that we are here and we are 
listening. It can work. It will introduce a third party which can 
represent us and not them. Also if the ones we elect do not do as we 
say, they will be gone after one term, and the voting goes on.... more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. emistruth. 4/3/2015 PM GMT+0400. They
 are all dirty. Lobbyists, corporations, or friendly physicians it 
doesn't matter. This is yet another of our very own American version of a
 Soviet style show trial to convince the imbecilic American public that 
the system is not as rigged as it is. Ted Stevens, Martha Stewart, 
Governor O'Donnell, Alfred Taubman (Sotheby's), Leona Helmsley, the list
 goes on. In the meantime the Wall Street banks hold us hostage and 
steal trillions while they grease our Congress and Executive branches. 
It is just Mendendez' turn in the pit. He lost the lottery.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. pjmalonepostup. Barbara Shabo. 4/3/2015 PM GMT+0400. [Edited]. What
 would Vladimir Putin do to anyone who criticized him? Oh, yeah, Putin 
would bring that person up on corruption chargesl. Maybe our President 
has been taking lessons from Putin. I guess since Pres. Obama can't 
indict Netanyahu, he was forced to use other methods to take revenge. 
Perhaps that's why he released classified details about Israel's nuclear
 defense program. Was it to show Hezbollah and Hamas where to aim their
 missiles? Obama did say "there will be a price to pay" when Netanyahu 
spoke to Congress.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. roundabout1. 4/3/2015 AM GMT+0400. Obama is one of the most evil men on earth...why has obama not been indited!. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. freewill. 4/3/2015 AM GMT+0400. so
 then is this crime a felony? if not, he has immunity until he leaves 
office..Article I, section 6..the news article says he is the leading 
Senator that wants the Senate to review any agreement with Iran, and the
 one who wants to be king dont like that.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. blobster. 4/3/2015 AM GMT+0400. Mr Menendez, you don't spell INDICTED with a V.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. mandinka2. 4/2/2015 PM GMT+0400. Amazing that Menendez does the EXACT same thing that Barak did as Senator but only he gets prosecuted hmmmmm. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. Barbara Shabo. and. vabound. Dave_In_Arizona. 4/2/2015 PM GMT+0400. If all such activity were prosecuted, Washington DC would be a ghost town. (Not a bad idea.). more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. and. Barbara Shabo. raginyank. 4/2/2015 PM GMT+0400. It
 really matters little to any of the knife wielding Obama haters what he
 does; you will always spew the hate filled remarks we have come to 
expect from the predictable and disrespectful group that you are. Keep 
up the good work for giving the US a black eye when it does not share 
your views. Troll all you want, talk to each other, yell, rant and rave,
 it is after all what we have come to expect.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. AResponsibleCapitalist. vabound. 4/3/2015 AM GMT+0400. Wha wha wha another poor me comment.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Terry Watts. Terry Watts. 4/5/2015 AM GMT+0400. This
 man is a Democrat Senator and he spoke up about Obama giving free rein 
to Iran with their nukes and what happens ?? Your Prez does away with 
him ! Are you so blind that you don't see your own party being thrown 
under the Obama bus if they speak their minds and the truth ?? Wake the 
hell up !!!!. more. See More. Like. Reply. WestMaroon. 4/2/2015 PM GMT+0400. TERM LIMITS, TERM LIMITS, TERM LIMITS. When are we going to insist on term limits for all members of Congress?. http://www.termlimits.org/. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. vabound. and. alance. Clowns_me_Jokers. 4/2/2015 PM GMT+0400. [Edited]. The article was carried the same day Obama made his Cuba announcement, and the issue went away.. Ecuador Family Wins Favors After Donations to Democrats. By FRANCES ROBLES DEC.. I urge you all to read it!. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. Clowns_me_Jokers. 4/2/2015 PM GMT+0400. This
 guy is going to walk he has Obama by the short hairs over the Isaia
 family immigration for pay scandal reported in the NYT on Dec 
16th.. Ecuador Family Wins Favors After Donations to Democrats. By FRANCES ROBLES DEC.. MIAMI
 — The Obama administration overturned a ban preventing a wealthy, 
politically connected Ecuadorean woman from entering the United States 
after her family gave tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic 
campaigns, according to finance records and government officials.. For
 more than a year, Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and 
his staff engaged in a relentless effort to help Ms. Isaías, urging 
senior government officials, including Mrs. Clinton’s chief of staff, 
Cheryl Mills, to waive the ban. The senator’s assistance came even 
though Ms. Isaías’s family, a major donor to him and other American 
politicians, does not live in his state.. The Obama 
administration then reversed its decision and gave Ms. Isaías the waiver
 she needed to come to the United States — just as tens of thousands of 
dollars in donations from the family poured into Mr. Obama’s campaign 
coffers.. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. Barbara Shabo. vabound. and. Sylviajune721. GO BRZ. 4/2/2015 PM GMT+0400. Menendez may be dirty but he will certainly learn not to cross Obama ever again!. Isn't it time to investigate Holder or are we happy with a racist incompetent as AG?. more. See More. Like. Reply. Share. Terry Watts. vabound. Sylviajune721. and. alance. More. SuperFan Badge. SuperFan badge holders consistently post smart, timely comments about Washington area sports and teams.. More about badges. Request a badge. Culture Connoisseur Badge. Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment.. More about badges. Request a badge. Fact Checker Badge. Fact Checkers contribute questions, information and facts to. The Fact Checker. More about badges. Request a badge. Washingtologist Badge. Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.. More about badges. Request a badge. Post Writer Badge. This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer.. Post Forum Badge. Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on politics, national and international affairs.. More about badges. Request a badge. Weather Watcher Badge. Weather Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on climates and forecasts.. More about badges. Request a badge. World Watcher Badge. World Watchers consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on international affairs.. More about badges. Request a badge. Post Contributor Badge. This
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