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Robert Menendez broke the 'Goldilocks rule' of corruption
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Leroy N. Soetoro
Sep 25, 2023, 3:03:52 PM9/25/23
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https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/4218489-robert-menendez-
broke-the-goldilocks-rule-of-corruption/
The massive indictment of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife has
shaken Washington.
As Senate Foreign Relations chairman, Menendez is one of the most powerful
Democratic members of Congress, and someone who has long been a kingmaker
in the party. He has also long been accused of open and insatiable
corruption.
What made Menendez a standout in Washington was not his corrupt
inclinations, but his utter audacity in following them. I was able to
witness that signature conduct personally on the floor of the Senate.
In 2010, I defended a federal judge, Thomas Porteous, in his impeachment
trial, against charges that he had taken gifts and misused his office for
personal gain. The curious thing about Senate trials is that you have a
jury composed of people you could strike for cause in a real court.
Menendez was among those sitting in judgment of Porteous, but he wasn’t
just another face in the Senate crowd — he stood out. It was like arguing
a piracy case with Captain Jack Sparrow sitting on the jury.
Menendez himself would later go on trial in 2017 in a major bribery and
fraud case involving luxury gifts allegedly exchanged for official favors.
Most of us expected the worst when, during jury deliberations, one juror
asked the court, “What is a senator?” Menendez dodged the bullet. The jury
hung and the Justice Department dropped all charges.
Now Menendez has been slapped with a massive new bribery indictment. The
facts are all too familiar, with a long list of lavish gifts allegedly
made in exchange for favors.
The indictment details gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars,
furnishings and other gifts. His wife was allegedly actively involved in
this corruption conspiracy and is also facing criminal charges.
During the Porteous trial, I noted that, at the time of the underlying
acts, the senators themselves were accepting free lunches. It was not
until later that the rules changed on such gifts. Menendez now stands
accused of accepting a host of gifts at that time, including an $8,000
free flight in October 2010, in addition to luxury trips to Paris and a
Caribbean villa.
Yet Menendez still demanded conviction for the Porteous, even though the
judge was never charged with bribery, and free lunches and the other gifts
would not be enough to even register with Menendez.
The question is whether this level of corruption is now enough for
Democrats. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently suggested a type of
Goldilocks rule for corruption. He warned that people in Washington had
better be careful if they want to crack down on the Biden family’s
influence-peddling.
“If that’s the new criteria, there are a lot of folks in a lot of
industries — not just in politics — where people have family members and
relationships and they’re trying to parlay and get a little influence and
benefit in that respect. That’s hardly unique.”
It would appear that the question is not corruption, but when a little
corruption is “just right.”
If these allegations against Menendez are proven, then he violated
Washington’s Goldilocks rule. It would mean that Menendez pursued gifts
with a reckless abandon, endangering others whose corruption was more
circumspect.
Consider the timeline: It would mean that during the Porteous trial,
Menendez was allegedly accepting gifts while condemning and removing from
office of a judge accused of receiving gifts.
Later, after the jury hung in his first corruption trial, Menendez
(according to the Justice Department) almost immediately started taking
gifts from new sources.
In a town known for a certain finesse in influence peddling, Menendez
broke with industry custom by allegedly accepting direct items like gold
and a car. This is classic bribery stuff. There was no labyrinth of shell
companies and accounts — just crude old-school corruption, with cash
stuffed in clothing and gold bars squirreled away for a rainy day.
Where corrupt figures often refer to getting their beaks wet, Menendez
allegedly took a headlong plunge into this pool of corruption. This city
has not seen such low-grade alleged bribery since former U.S. Rep. William
Jefferson (D-La.) was found with $90,000 wrapped like a po boy in his
freezer.
Like Jefferson, Menendez will need to be isolated as a pariah for his
conspicuous consumption. Yet the public is still being played for chumps.
This entire city floats on a sea of corruption as family members and
associates sell influence and access to high-ranking officials. Menendez
is notorious only for the size of his appetite and the extent of his
audacity.
Newsom’s Goldilocks rule for graft is certainly compelling for many in
this city. For most of us, it is the very source of the problem as
politicians seek to get corruption “just right.”
So get ready for politicians to suddenly declare themselves “shocked,
shocked” by the allegations against Menendez. These are the same people
who made Menendez the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, twice. They
gave him the power of leverage with countries where bribery is an accepted
practice. It was like making a known arsonist the CEO of the International
Paper Corporation.
In the end, the problem is not Menendez. It is the array of other
politicians who enabled him while dismissing his reputation for
corruption. To use Newsom’s words, Menendez is “hardly unique” for cashing
in on his position. That is precisely the problem.
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
broke-the-goldilocks-rule-of-corruption/
The massive indictment of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife has
shaken Washington.
As Senate Foreign Relations chairman, Menendez is one of the most powerful
Democratic members of Congress, and someone who has long been a kingmaker
in the party. He has also long been accused of open and insatiable
corruption.
What made Menendez a standout in Washington was not his corrupt
inclinations, but his utter audacity in following them. I was able to
witness that signature conduct personally on the floor of the Senate.
In 2010, I defended a federal judge, Thomas Porteous, in his impeachment
trial, against charges that he had taken gifts and misused his office for
personal gain. The curious thing about Senate trials is that you have a
jury composed of people you could strike for cause in a real court.
Menendez was among those sitting in judgment of Porteous, but he wasn’t
just another face in the Senate crowd — he stood out. It was like arguing
a piracy case with Captain Jack Sparrow sitting on the jury.
Menendez himself would later go on trial in 2017 in a major bribery and
fraud case involving luxury gifts allegedly exchanged for official favors.
Most of us expected the worst when, during jury deliberations, one juror
asked the court, “What is a senator?” Menendez dodged the bullet. The jury
hung and the Justice Department dropped all charges.
Now Menendez has been slapped with a massive new bribery indictment. The
facts are all too familiar, with a long list of lavish gifts allegedly
made in exchange for favors.
The indictment details gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars,
furnishings and other gifts. His wife was allegedly actively involved in
this corruption conspiracy and is also facing criminal charges.
During the Porteous trial, I noted that, at the time of the underlying
acts, the senators themselves were accepting free lunches. It was not
until later that the rules changed on such gifts. Menendez now stands
accused of accepting a host of gifts at that time, including an $8,000
free flight in October 2010, in addition to luxury trips to Paris and a
Caribbean villa.
Yet Menendez still demanded conviction for the Porteous, even though the
judge was never charged with bribery, and free lunches and the other gifts
would not be enough to even register with Menendez.
The question is whether this level of corruption is now enough for
Democrats. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) recently suggested a type of
Goldilocks rule for corruption. He warned that people in Washington had
better be careful if they want to crack down on the Biden family’s
influence-peddling.
“If that’s the new criteria, there are a lot of folks in a lot of
industries — not just in politics — where people have family members and
relationships and they’re trying to parlay and get a little influence and
benefit in that respect. That’s hardly unique.”
It would appear that the question is not corruption, but when a little
corruption is “just right.”
If these allegations against Menendez are proven, then he violated
Washington’s Goldilocks rule. It would mean that Menendez pursued gifts
with a reckless abandon, endangering others whose corruption was more
circumspect.
Consider the timeline: It would mean that during the Porteous trial,
Menendez was allegedly accepting gifts while condemning and removing from
office of a judge accused of receiving gifts.
Later, after the jury hung in his first corruption trial, Menendez
(according to the Justice Department) almost immediately started taking
gifts from new sources.
In a town known for a certain finesse in influence peddling, Menendez
broke with industry custom by allegedly accepting direct items like gold
and a car. This is classic bribery stuff. There was no labyrinth of shell
companies and accounts — just crude old-school corruption, with cash
stuffed in clothing and gold bars squirreled away for a rainy day.
Where corrupt figures often refer to getting their beaks wet, Menendez
allegedly took a headlong plunge into this pool of corruption. This city
has not seen such low-grade alleged bribery since former U.S. Rep. William
Jefferson (D-La.) was found with $90,000 wrapped like a po boy in his
freezer.
Like Jefferson, Menendez will need to be isolated as a pariah for his
conspicuous consumption. Yet the public is still being played for chumps.
This entire city floats on a sea of corruption as family members and
associates sell influence and access to high-ranking officials. Menendez
is notorious only for the size of his appetite and the extent of his
audacity.
Newsom’s Goldilocks rule for graft is certainly compelling for many in
this city. For most of us, it is the very source of the problem as
politicians seek to get corruption “just right.”
So get ready for politicians to suddenly declare themselves “shocked,
shocked” by the allegations against Menendez. These are the same people
who made Menendez the head of the Foreign Relations Committee, twice. They
gave him the power of leverage with countries where bribery is an accepted
practice. It was like making a known arsonist the CEO of the International
Paper Corporation.
In the end, the problem is not Menendez. It is the array of other
politicians who enabled him while dismissing his reputation for
corruption. To use Newsom’s words, Menendez is “hardly unique” for cashing
in on his position. That is precisely the problem.
--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.
Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
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