If you pay any attention to the news, you’ve surely heard about that one prominent politician facing a bevy of very serious legal issues threatening to fracture his party right now, right?
No, not former President Donald Trump, whose legal issues keep looking smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror.
This sordid tale of power running amok involves New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.
Unlike Trump, who’s a pretty clear victim of targeted lawfare from the left, Menendez violated a number of very serious laws.
On Tuesday, the Democratic senator was found guilty on all 16 counts in his federal corruption trial. Sentencing is set for Oct. 29, according to CNN, which noted that he “faces decades in prison.”
Trending:
“Prosecutors successfully argued that the senator tried to use his power to advance Egyptian military interests, interfere in criminal prosecutions and secure investment from Qatari officials, among other things,” the outlet reported. “Menendez and his wife allegedly received gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and other bribes in exchange for his influence.”
It should be noted that these charges were levied against a man who was chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee before his September indictment.
The charges included bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt — or, in other words, they’re the sorts of charges that the left so desperately wishes it could pin on Trump.
But while the former president is defiantly (and death-defyingly) marching toward the November general election with a groundswell of momentum and a seemingly unified party behind both him and his freshly announced running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Democrats are limping toward the finish line in a somewhat fractured state.
Do you think Menendez should face serious jail time?
Yes: 100% (90 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
And Menendez is a root cause of some of those issues.
The 70-year-old senator already announced he won’t seek re-election, but now there are growing calls for him to immediately resign.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, for instance, came out with a public call for Menendez to resign following his conviction.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” the New York Democrat said.
In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) July 16, 2024
Others, including fellow Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, have lambasted the “ethically challenged” Menendez.
“Ethically challenged” might be putting it lightly. In a September news release, federal prosecutors said he and his wife (Nadine Menendez has pleaded not guilty, but her trial was postponed following a cancer diagnosis) received gold bars from foreign agents.
What did the good senator do with those ethically dubious contributions? He Googled “kilo of gold price” on his computer.
Menendez wasn’t exactly trying to cover his tracks.
Look, this is an obvious black eye for Democrats and their supporters, and the jokes do write themselves given the way the left had been so unhealthily focused on Trump being a foreign asset for “Russia, Russia, Russia.”
But it’s still a serious reminder that, even within a democratic republic, absolute power can so easily corrupt absolutely.
And that’s why everyone — of all political persuasions — should avoid deifying any politician.
