Shifty Bob

It’s been an unpleasant autumn for New Jersey U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez. A federal grand jury has accused him of taking bribes, conspiring to act as an agent for the Egyptian government and turning over sensitive intelligence information.

Menendez isn’t a popular guy these days. Even fellow Democrats have called on him to resign.

Another indication that Menendez has lost the room came on Wednesday, Nov. 1. CNN reporter Manu Raju – who was once called a “liberal hack” by a Republican member of Congress – grilled the indicted senator in the halls of the Capitol.

Raju inquired why Menendez sat in on a Senate Foreign Relations Committee classified briefing on Ukraine. Given that the senator has been accused of being a foreign agent, Raju questioned whether his briefing attendance was appropriate.

In typical Menendez style, he danced around the real heart of the matter. He started off by correcting Raju on a misstated fact and ended the impromptu interview by ducking into an elevator.

“You know, Manu, I know you gotta make news,” Menendez told Raju. “Bottom line is, I’m a United States Senator. I have my security credentials. And an accusation is just that. It’s not proof of anything.”

Well, Raju does spend a fair amount of time chasing headlines. Problem is, in Menendez’s case, he didn’t really have to do any chasing. The senator is adhering to the old political strategy to act like nothing is wrong even if your clothes are on fire.

This isn’t the first time Menendez’s clothes have been ablaze. In 2015, he was charged with illegally accepting favors from a Florida eye doctor. Jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict and the case ended in a mistrial. Prosecutors opted to not retry the case. Menendez is the first sitting U.S. senator to face indictments on two unrelated criminal allegations, according to the Senate Historical Office.

The recent charges include allegations that Menendez and his wife, Nadine, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for the senator using his influence to enrich three businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government.

The alleged bribes included cash, gold bars, home mortgage payments and a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible. Menendez’s most recent indictment says investigators found related items when they executed a search warrant on the senator’s home in 2022. Found items included more than $480,000 in cash hidden in closets, clothing and a safe.

The Mercedes was a gift from two of the businessmen, according to Menendez’s indictment. It replaced another that had been damaged in a 2018 accident, in which Nadine Menendez struck and killed a pedestrian. She was dating the senator at the time and was not charged in the incident.

After she received the car, Menendez’s future wife texted the senator, the indictment said. “Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” she wrote, along with a heart emoji.

If you look at Menendez’s official website there’s no inkling that the senator is in any legal peril or that some are calling for him to step down.

The site’s Newsroom page contains various statements and positions from Menendez. But scrolling through the September and October items, any mention of an indictment or legal trouble is conspicuously absent.

There’s plenty of photos attempting to show Menendez diligently working for constituents. In October, he listened to Toms River residents on Superstorm Sandy’s 11th anniversary and met with Ukrainian Americans. The prior month, he attended the Essex County 9/11 Memorial Service.

It’s all nonsense. Perhaps a few photos should have been sprinkled in of Menendez meeting with his attorneys and trying to find a way out of the mess he’s created.

The longer he stays in office with legal charges hanging over him, the senator’s Garden State constituents have a right to wonder how much of his time is truly being spent on their needs.

Certainly, Menendez has never been to Middlesex to look at homes that are in danger of falling into a stream. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said it can address the problem only with a directive and funding from Congress. Perhaps Menendez would be more inclined to get involved if the homes were owned by a foreign government.