FBI Focusing On Menedez

[Kathianne]

http://theothermccain.com/2013/02/06/is-senator-menendez-doomed/


Is Senator Menendez Doomed? (http://theothermccain.com/2013/02/06/is-senator-menendez-doomed/)Posted on | February 6, 2013 | 4 Comments (http://theothermccain.com/2013/02/06/is-senator-menendez-doomed/#disqus_thread)
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GqyJeePeIuU/UQk1dXr5WkI/AAAAAAAAPAI/vzSl4uk2ORU/s400/Robert_Menendez_New_Jersey_Dominican_Sex_Scandal.J PG (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GqyJeePeIuU/UQk1dXr5WkI/AAAAAAAAPAI/vzSl4uk2ORU/s1600/Robert_Menendez_New_Jersey_Dominican_Sex_Scandal.J PG)
Short answer: Hell to the yes!

(http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/06/fbi-sources-menendez-investigation-moved-to-newark-nj/)

Two FBI sources have told The Daily Caller that the bureau’s inquiry into Democratic New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is now based in New Jersey, not Miami. One added that pressure is mounting from the highest levels of the Justice Department to pursue the investigation.

The change of focus away from the bureau’s Miami field office indicates that the government is focused primarily on Sen. Menendez — and not on his longtime donor Dr. Salomon Melgen, as political observers have speculated.

Menendez is embroiled in a scandal sparked by allegations that he slept with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.


(Hat-tip: Viral Read (http://viralread.com/2013/02/06/fbi-probe-turns-attention-to-menendez/).) There are rumors that powerful Democrats are now working to hasten the downfall of Menendez. Why do you think mainstream reporters are getting the greenlight for stories like this one by Shane Goldmacher of National Journal (http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/senator-bob-menendez-spent-up-to-87-of-his-savings-to-repay-donor-for-dominican-republic-flights-20130205)?


When Robert Menendez arrived in the U.S. Senate in 2006, he was a relative pauper in a chamber often called a millionaires’ club. The New Jersey Democrat ranked 97th out of 100 senators in terms of his personal wealth, according to financial records filed that year and compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

So Menendez’s decision last month to use his personal funds to reimburse a prominent political contributor $58,500 for two flights to the Dominican Republic came at a major cost. The repayment amounts to between 32 percent and 87 percent of the assets Menendez reported holding in bank accounts and stock, according to his latest financial-disclosure form, which was filed last year.

Menendez repaid Florida eye doctor and political donor Salomon Melgen only after his free flights aboard Melgen’s plane became public and the subject of a Senate ethics complaint.


Attempts by certain liberal journalists (e.g., Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/02/05/what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-about-bob-menendez-salomon-melgen-and-the-dominican-republic/)) to minimize the seriousness of this scandal will prove ineffectual, because if Senator Menendez tries to hang on, it might inspire greater scrutiny to other politicians connected to Dr. Melgen, and those other politicians don’t need that scrutiny.


Say hello to the underside of the Democrat bus, Senator Menendez.

[Kathianne]

http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/06/fbi-sources-menendez-investigation-moved-to-newark-nj/

[QUOTE]FBI sources: Menendez investigation moved to Newark, NJ 2:59 PM 02/06/2013


Two FBI sources have told The Daily Caller that the bureau’s inquiry into Democratic New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is now based in New Jersey, not Miami. One added that pressure is mounting from the highest levels of the Justice Department to pursue the investigation.


The change of focus away from the bureau’s Miami field office indicates that the government is focused primarily on Sen. Menendez — and not on his longtime donor Dr. Salomon Melgen, as political observers have speculated.
Menendez is embroiled in a scandal sparked by allegations that he slept with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic. (RELATED: Handwritten account recalls sex with Menendez “when I was 16 years old”)

(http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/05/anonymous-prostitutes-shocking-handwritten-account-recalls-sex-with-bob-menendez-when-i-was-16-years-old/)

The Daily Caller first reported in 2012 on the allegations, publishing videotaped interviews with two women (http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/01/women-sen-bob-menendez-paid-us-for-sex-in-the-dominican-republic/), neither of whom was under 18 years old, who said they were paid to have sex with the senator.


...


[QUOTE]

[Anton Chigurh]

He took the trips, accepted them gratis, tried to hide the fact by not disclosing or paying up, the trips weren't for work.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

[Kathianne]

He took the trips, accepted them gratis, tried to hide the fact by not disclosing or paying up, the trips weren't for work.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

it's all about money. That's his problem. Sex? What's new. Smoke and Fire, follow the money:

http://reason.com/blog/2013/02/04/star-ledger-sees-plausible-scandal-surro


...Nevertheless, where there’s smoke the Star-Ledger does see fire (http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2013/02/menendez_prostitution_allegati.html):

But there is more. Menendez took free rides to the Dominican Republic in 2010 in a private jet owned by a major donor, prominent eye doctor Salomon Melgen. And he kept that gift secret in what seems a certain violation of Senate rules (http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/menendez_doctor_prostitution_f.html#incart_river), revealing the trips only last month after critics raised questions about his relationship with Melgen. Menendez has since reimbursed Melgen $58,500 for the flights…

The relationship with Melgen is at the heart of another piece of this scandal as well. According to a report in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/01/nyregion/senator-menendezs-ties-to-political-donor-are-scrutinized.html?pagewanted=all), Menendez used his position on the Foreign Affairs Committee to advocate for Melgen’s shady business dealings in the Dominican Republican.

The deal concerns a contract to screen cargo leaving ports in the Dominican Republic. Melgen is no expert on port security, but in 2010 he bought an ownership interest in the firm that had won that contract, worth an estimated $500 million.

Melgen’s role seems to have been to provide political grease…

Why, then, did Menendez put pressure on officials at the State Department and Commerce Department over the contract during a hearing? Was he using his position on the Foreign Affairs Committee to advocate for his friend’s business interests? Keep in mind, Melgen was not a constituent; he was a money man who had given generously to Menendez.

This is tawdry stuff. For all his talents, Menendez seems to have behaved like a slippery Hudson County pol. We are eager to hear his explanation. Meanwhile, the Star-Ledger’s Paul Mulshine’s, a conservative columnist, explains (http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2013/02/menendez_should_put_up_or_shut.html) that Menendez, a politician from Hudson County, is in fact like a lot of Hudson County pols:

Last week, Menendez issued a statement denying any contact with prostitutes. That sounds good. But like a lot of Hudson County pols, Menendez does not always have the best memory. When I interviewed him during his first Senate run in 2006, I asked about a rowhouse he owned in the 1980s when he was the mayor of Union City. When he bought it, the rowhouse was zoned residential. But he sold it years later for commercial use at a big profit. When I asked whether he got a variance, Menendez couldn’t quite recall.

This time around, the FBI may offer some memory aids. Read the rest of Paul Mulshine’s op-ed here (http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2013/02/menendez_should_put_up_or_shut.html) and the Star-Ledger editorial here (http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2013/02/menendez_prostitution_allegati.html).

[aboutime]

Like nearly every other politician in Congress today. I now understand why I have never liked, or trusted this man.

Double-speak, double-standards, hypocrisy, finger-pointing, and law breaking are just Natural aspects of being in politics.

This time. Another Democrat has been caught. He's in denial. Nothing new.

The administration will protect him. He'll probably get re-elected, and the Stupidity of Americans will go on.

[Anton Chigurh]

Sex? What's new. It isn't sex, it's predatory assault if the victim is underage.

But yeah... The money is what led to the rest of the investigation.

[Kathianne]

It isn't sex, it's predatory assault if the victim is underage.

But yeah... The money is what led to the rest of the investigation.

The money is the focus, for good cause.

[Anton Chigurh]

The money is the focus, for good cause.The human trafficking and predatory assault is going to bag alot more pukes than just Menendez - alot more of them. Watch.

But I agree with you. The money is where the immediate meat is.

[Kathianne]

The human trafficking and predatory assault is going to bag alot more pukes than just Menendez - alot more of them. Watch.

But I agree with you. The money is where the immediate meat is.

Not to sound harsh, but I really only care about congressional critters. The sex angle is for other countries. If they wish to extradite, fine.

[Anton Chigurh]

Not to sound harsh, but I really only care about congressional critters. The sex angle is for other countries. If they wish to extradite, fine.No madam, the predatory assault on underage children by a American, no matter where it's done, is a federal crime HERE.

And carries a hall of alot more prison time than little money deals. He can easily get 10 years for every count they can tie him to. And of course, he or someone else will RAT to avoid some of that.

And I am talking Menendez and likely more congresscritters. THAT is what this investigation is REALLY about. The FBI doesn't give a durkie about the money, it's only the trail to get the traffickers and the predators like Menendez. The big stinky fish.

You think a little money is gonna lock up these creeps? Think about $80K in the freezer, that dude got nothing. Charlie Ringel?

[Kathianne]

No madam, the predatory assault on underage children by a American, no matter where it's done, is a federal crime HERE.

And carries a hall of alot more prison time than little money deals. He can easily get 10 years for every count they can tie him to. And of course, he or someone else will RAT to avoid some of that.

And I am talking Menendez and likely more congresscritters. THAT is what this investigation is REALLY about. The FBI doesn't give a durkie about the money, it's only the trail to get the traffickers and the predators like Menendez. The big stinky fish.

You think a little money is gonna lock up these creeps? Think about $80K in the freezer, that dude got nothing. Charlie Ringel?

I don't really care, that's not the issue. The issue is did he pave the way for crime and did he benefit from it? If so, nail him. Rico and loss of office.

[Anton Chigurh]

I don't really care, that's not the issue. The issue is did he pave the way for crime and did he benefit from it? If so, nail him. Rico and loss of office.The guy whose office they raided is the advance man, arranging the trips for menendez and cohorts to do their assaults... It's part of a larger network of these creeps that's well known by LE but usually really hard to bust. I have no doubt they are now using a larger seining net, no telling what they gonna find. But no doubt, Menendez is going up river. There's simply NO reason for those trips other than engaging in underage prostitution.

A RICO beef would be only one of the many charges, if half of what I smell is true. And he'll rat, getting himself a little bit better deal but still going down for a good stretch.

[Kathianne]

Concerns? What concerns?

http://www.jammiewf.com/2013/clever-menendez-hires-former-holder-spokesman-to-defend-against-doj-investigation/


<header> Clever: Menendez Hires Former Holder Spokesman to Defend Against DoJ Investigation Posted by Jammie (http://www.jammiewf.com/author/jammie/) on Feb 06, 2013 at 7:42 pm

</header> Gee, isn’t this a bit of a conflict of interest (http://www.politico.com/story/2013/02/robert-menendez-mounts-defense-87290.html?hp=t1_3)?

In one key move, Menendez has begun to rely for guidance on trusted aides and former advisers, including one who is very close to Attorney General Eric Holder. Menendez’s campaign has hired Matt Miller, a former top spokesman for the Justice Department — which is investigating a campaign donor caught up in the scandal — under Holder.


“Bob Menendez has been a friend and a mentor for years,” Miller said. “And like a lot of people, I want to do anything I can to help fight these ridiculous smears.”
His entire defense seems to rely on calling everything a “smear” and hoping his low-information voters blame those evil right-wing blogs and Fox News. It’s a useful strategy to employ the useful idiots.

Menendez has also quietly started to distance himself from Melgen, even though he enjoys a long personal relationship with the Florida doctor and tried to intervene on Melgen’s behalf with the State and Commerce departments in relation to a port security contract a Melgen-owned company has with the Dominican government.


Menendez allies are now privately pushing the line that the FBI raid in West Palm Beach was focused on Melgen alone.
Good luck with that considering the investigation has now moved to Newark (http://dailycaller.com/2013/02/06/fbi-sources-menendez-investigation-moved-to-newark-nj/).

Miller, a respected former aide to both Menendez and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), left Justice in 2011. Miller has now been hired by Menendez’s campaign to help out on the scandal, though he would not offer details on how long or how much he will be paid or how long the assignment will be.


Menendez is already being advised by Democratic attorney Marc Elias on ethics-related issues, but it is not clear if Menendez has hired a criminal-defense attorney at this time.
Considering he might be tapped out (http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/senator-bob-menendez-spent-up-to-87-of-his-savings-to-repay-donor-for-dominican-republic-flights-20130205) after paying for his flights to the Dominican, it’ll soon be time for a legal defense fund, although such an unlikable scumbag like Menendez may have a hard time finding donors.

[Anton Chigurh]

:dance:

Here we go!

[Kathianne]

:dance:

Here we go!

and no purported 'insider' stuff needed. :beer:

[Anton Chigurh]

and no purported 'insider' stuff needed. :beer:It's obvious Holder is gonna try real hard to protect Menendez. That was a given even without a report on it.

The REAL question becomes - at what point does that water get to be too much to carry?

[Kathianne]

It's obvious Holder is gonna try real hard to protect Menendez. That was a given even without a report on it.

The REAL question becomes - at what point does that water get to be too much to carry?

Time will tell, as with so many other issues.

[Kathianne]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sen-menendez-contacted-top-officials-in-friends-medicare-dispute/2013/02/06/e01bf928-6fd4-11e2-aa58-243de81040ba_story.html


Sen. Robert Menendez raised concerns with top federal health-care officials twice in recent years about their finding that a Florida eye doctor — a close friend and major campaign donor — had overbilled the government by $8.9 million for care at his clinic, Menendez aides said Wednesday.

Menendez (D-N.J.) initially contacted federal officials in 2009 about the government’s audit of Salomon Melgen, complaining to the director overseeing Medicare payments that it was unfair to penalize the doctor because the billing rules were ambiguous, the aides said.

...


Federal investigators and health-care auditors have had concerns about Melgen’s billing practices at various times over the past decade, two former federal officials said. In part, they have examined the volume of eye injections, surgeries and laser treatments performed at his West Palm Beach clinic.


But a Menendez aide said Wednesday that the senator did not know Melgen was under formal investigation for possible fraud until the well-publicized raid last week.


“Senator Menendez was never aware of and has not intervened in any Medicare fraud investigation on behalf of Vitreo Retinal Consultants,” his office said in a statement.

...

[red states rule]

It is amazing to watch the liberal media try to ignore this story about a middle aged liberal Dem have sex with an underage girl

We all no damn well if this were a Republican the story would be the lead and would be talked about 24/7

Even a recovering liberal friend of mine admitted that much

On Fx News Bob Beckle so tactfully asked "who would take the word of a hooker?" Sounds like desperate spin to me