In 2006, when Robert Menendez was running for his first full term in the U.S. (he had been appointed by then-Gov. Jon Corzine to fill out Corzine’s own term), the U.S. Attorney’s office leaked word that it was investigating the Hudson County politician over alleged dealings with a non-profit. Nothing came of the investigation and the timing of the leaks remain their most noteworthy aspect.
Since then, Menendez has done yeoman’s work in the Senate, functioning as a somewhat reliable, if partisan, voice and a consistent backer of the more liberal elements of the Obama project.
Six-and-a-half years later, Menendez finds himself mired in a new controversy — this one allegedly involving prostitution.
News reports alleging Menendez had flown to the Dominican Republic for trysts with prostitutes surfaced in early November on the Daily Caller, a conservative website.
Then last week an anonymous blog published dozens of emails between an anonymous tipster and an FBI agent in which it is alleged that some were underage. According to the emails, the FBI agent tried to talk on the phone or meet with the tipster, but there is no indication that occurred.
The prostitution angle seems a bit questionable. The allegations, in this case, come from a source that is in doubt — as most of the news reports have pointed out.
But that does not mean Menendez has not breeched an ethical wall. As the nonpartisan Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington point out in a story on NJ.com:
Menendez violated ethics rules and might have broken the law by failing to pay for two flights on a private jet in 2010 until earlier this month.
“He didn’t pay for it at the time, and he didn’t ask the ethics committee’s permission and then disclose it,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, said. “He clearly violated ethics rules and potentially criminal law, and he waited until he got caught to try to fix it.”
Menendez acknowledged that he took the flights, but his spokesman told NJ.com that no rules were broken.
Paul Brubaker, a spokesman for Menendez, said Wednesday night that the senator’s office conducted a review of his travels after Thompson filed the the complaint. Menendez’s office said he did not violate Senate rules because he reimbursed Meglen — even if it was more than two years later.
This, of course, is the same kind of self-serving response we heard from U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews after it was disclosed that he flew to Europe with family on his campaign’s dime — and then reimbursed the donor when the questionable behavior came to light. The point is that elected officials should not be banking these kinds of favors and, instead, should pay for these kinds of trips like the rest of us — by buying a ticket or, when appropriate, by having their campaign funds pay for them.
Flying on the donor’s dime and repaying the cost two years later fails the sniff test, no matter what the politicians have to say.
Hank Kalet 