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New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez Once Again Under Federal Investigation

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is once again the subject of a federal criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, an adviser confirmed Wednesday. Numerous news outlets are reporting that “ethically challenged” Robert Menendez, a Democrat and the state’s senior member of the U.S. Senate, is being scrutinized by federal prosecutors.

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Why Bob McDonnell Won’t Save Bob Menendez

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APRIL 17, 2017 / RANDALL ELIASON

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez is facing trial this fall on corruption charges. His lawyers will claim the Supreme Court’s recent decision in the Bob McDonnell case means the charges against Menendez cannot stand. But the effect of the McDonnell case on the Bob Menendez trial is likely to be pretty limited.

New Jersey Democrat Menendez and his co-defendant Dr. Salomon Melgen were indicted in April 2015. (You can find my detailed analysis of the indictment here.) The case has been on hold for two years while Menendez pursued claims that his prosecution is barred by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate clause. The trial court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected those arguments. The Supreme Court recently declined to hear his appeal, finally clearing the way for the case to go to trial.

But while Menendez was pursing his Speech or Debate appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court decided McDonnell v. United States. The Court reversed the convictions of the former governor of Virginia, holding that McDonnell did not perform “official acts” as defined by federal bribery law.

https://sidebarsblog.com/2017/04/17/robert-menendez-trial-effect-mcdonnell-case/

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BREAKING : Sen. Robert Menendez indicted on corruption charges

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file photo by Boyd Loving

By Evan Perez and Shimon Prokupecz, CNN

Updated 4:51 PM ET, Wed April 1, 2015

Washington (CNN)Federal prosecutors indicted Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez on corruption charges on Wednesday for allegedly using his Senate office to push the business interests of a friend and donor in exchange for gifts, according to the Justice Department.

The case, brought by the Justice Department’s public integrity unit, sets up a high-stakes battle between a New Jersey senator who has fought off investigations for years, and federal prosecutors and the FBI who have spent years pursuing him.

https://www.cnn.com/2015/04/01/politics/robert-menendez-corruption-charges/