so if they save money from their salary, they have to keep it in cash or in a no-interest bank account? Can’t even invest it in T-bills?
What about the same standard they demanded of Trump? Their investments have to be put in a blind trust.
The normal system is that he gets a fair trial and then, if convicted, has a choice between expulsion and resignation. I am failing to see what is wrong with that.
As things now are, the risk of a Republican winning the seat is extremely low. So there is no big political reason for him to resign now. If he is guilty he should feel regret and resign, but I cannot be sure about that.
I know it is different because of lower chances the prosecution might overreach against the same defendant twice. But I’m sure it has happened.
Excellent!
I’m sure being invested in broad-based mutual funds or ETFs would not be an issue.
I agree, but that’s not what Tri-polar said:
BY and large, there are such laws for government workers, which is to say employees. Just not for government elected officials. Big difference.
Remember Rep. William Jefferson? Feds found $400,000 in his freezer and indicted him for bribery. While under indictment, he ran for reelection and lost to a no-name Republican in one of the most Democratic House seats in the country. And New Jersey is blue, but the Republicans out there aren’t hapless. They came within three points of knocking off Phil Murphy in 2021. Finally, with Menendez on the ballot Democrats will now have to spend money on this race that they will desperately need to protect seats in WV, OH, MT, NV, MI, WI and PA.
Senate Democrats need him gone. The problem is they don’t have any good way to force the issue.
Jeezopeets, Menedez. You got caught with your hands in the cookie jar, you’ve got cookie crumbs on your clothes and teeth, and your breath smells of cookies. Don’t tell us you didn’t take any cookies. Give us an innocent reason for having all that cash and gold stashed around the house. Better yet, just quit. Not next week, not tomorrow, now. We don’t need grifters in the Senate.
withdrawn
My default view is to let the legal process proceed without adding unnecessary prejudicial pretrial publicity. However, leading Democrats haven’t been as careful there as I would like with Donald Trump. And it will look bad to give any appearance of a double-standard when there is strong evidence a Democrat is the crook. And, considering what’s documented in this latest jaw-dropper on the evils of Donald Trump, it is really important to improve the Democratic brand before next year’s crucial general election. So, yes, Senate Democrats need to throw Bob Menendez under the bus.
As to how Senate Democrats can do it, strongly endorse whomever becomes Menendez’s strongest Democratic primary challenger, and campaign with them. Siding against the incumbent Democrats goes against principles Chuck Schumer lives by, but desperate times require desperate measures.
As to whether it will work, I’m thinking yes. Menendez’s primary opponent got 38 percent last time, and that’s a sign to me he’s in big danger of losing his primary this time.
P.S. Maybe you meant that Senate Democrats need him gone now, but I think that losing the primary would, politically, work as well.
I generally agree that the legal process should be allowed to play out at least until an initial jury determination (i.e. we don’t need to wait out every appeal). However, Menendez was already strongly admonished by the Senate Ethics Committee for the conduct that led to his previous trial. I think it’s a reasonable position that this puts him on thin ice and the evidence at hand is enough to warrant pushing for his removal. Expulsion would be a tough hurdle to clear, but I think you’re on the right track about Schumer endorsing a primary opponent, stating that no NRSC dollars will go to support Menendez, etc.
The risk is that this turns Menendez into a loose-cannon in a Senate where Schumer only has a one-seat majority (and less than that depending on Diane Feinstein’s condition on any given day). But there aren’t many other options.
That would be their means of avoiding conflicts of interest.
Sure @Northern_Piper, they could invest the money they’ve made, the issue would be conflicts of interest in accepting the return on those investments and a blind trust, T-bills, or the options @glowacks mentioned are simple means to avoid conflicts of interest. I don’t want anybody who wields the power of government to be bribed. Nobody gives money to a politician unless they want preferential treatment from the government.
NJ is a blue state for presidential election purposes, but it’s quite purple otherwise. Before Murphy, the last two-term Democratic governor was Brendan Byrne, whose term ended in 1982. We had multiple two-term Republican governors along the way. We’ve had Republican senators, and our congressional delegation is definitely mixed.
So, if Menendez ekes out a primary win, there’s definitely a big chance that he loses in the general election. He should do what’s right for NJ, for his party, and for the country and step down.
Of course, if he was interested in doing what’s right, he probably wouldn’t have gold bars in his house, and jacket pockets stuffed with cash.
Or he could run as a Republican based on giving sensitive information to a foreign government. They consider that a virtue.
And it’s not as if changing your party is a new phenomenon.
It would be funny if he changed parties and the Republicans started demanding that the Justice Department got defunded even more (except for the Hunter Biden special counsel, of course).
Anyway, my preference would be to keep this thread focused on the sleazeball in question, rather than another anti-GOP thread if possible.
It’s good to see Menendez upholding the fine tradition of Hudson County politics passed down from Frank Hague. I understand why he’s not stepping down. The FBI seized his retirement jacket/fund. He needs the money.
McGreevey didn’t step down because he was a Gay American. He was pushed out because a lot of other stuff was about to come to the surface. There were a lot of lies about that time that haven’t come out. He’s a fool if he wants to put himself back in the spotlight.
Sorry, wasn’t trying to divert the discussion. He’s enough of a sleazeball already without needing to change parties. Democrats aren’t immune to corruption and disloyalty. This will be a test of their principals. Easy to call for him to step down when they know he won’t do so without a fight.
Yet few Republicans in Congress were willing to do the same regarding Santos.