美国国家公共电台 NPR Accused Of Accepting Lavish Trips And Gifts, Sen. Menendez Goes On Trial

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MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The federal corruption¹ trial of New Jersey²'s senior senator starts tomorrow. Democrat³ Bob Menendez faces a dozen charges for his alleged⁴ role in a bribery⁵ scheme, a scheme involving one of his close friends. The senator denies wrongdoing, and as Joe Hernandez from member station WHYY reports, the outcome may turn on a Supreme⁶ Court decision in a different corruption trial from another state.

JOE HERNANDEZ, BYLINE⁷: From the moment the indictment⁸ was handed down in 2015, Senator Bob Menendez has been defiant⁹.

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BOB MENENDEZ: I'm angry and ready to fight because today contradicts my public service career and my entire life.

HERNANDEZ: Tomorrow the two-term senator will finally have his day in court to contest the 12 counts of conspiracy¹⁰, bribery and fraud charges he's facing. Prosecutors¹¹ at the Justice Department are accusing Menendez of using his public office to help friend and Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen. They say Menendez intervened on Melgen's behalf to sort out a shipping¹² contract, secure immigrant visas for Melgen's girlfriends and try to settle a multimillion-dollar Medicare billing dispute involving Melgen's ophthalmology practice.

In return, prosecutors say, Melgen flew Menendez around on his private jet, paid for trips to Paris and the Dominican Republic and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars in political contributions. Menendez denies the charges. He says he was only doing what he would do for any constituent¹³.

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MENENDEZ: I'm angry because prosecutors at the Justice Department don't know the difference between friendship and corruption and have chosen to twist my duties as a senator and my friendship into something that is improper¹⁴.

HERNANDEZ: But prosecutors will be facing an uphill battle at trial. A Supreme Court decision last year overturned the guilty verdict of former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell who was convicted of receiving gifts in exchange for promoting a donor's dietary supplement. The justices said McDonnell didn't break the law simply by setting up meetings. He would have had to take what's known in government jargon¹⁵ as an official act. Here's former federal Judge Stephen Orlofsky.

STEPHEN ORLOFSKY: For example, if a senator received a gift of a Rolex in exchange for voting a particular way on a bill pending¹⁶ before Congress, that would be an official act.

HERNANDEZ: Menendez's defense¹⁷ team will argue he never did that, and may get a boost from the McDonnell decision.

ORLOFSKY: It narrows the grounds on which a bribery conviction can be obtained. So they have to prove more, for example, than setting up meetings.

HERNANDEZ: Menendez has risen through the ranks of the Senate. He became the first Latino to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before stepping down due to the 2015 indictment, which is why the charges come at a bad time for Democrats¹⁸. President Trump's effort to scrap¹⁹ the Affordable²⁰ Care Act failed by only one vote in the Senate. But what happens to Menendez's seat if he's convicted and resigns remains²¹ unknown. Republican Governor Chris Christie may get to appoint a replacement²², but if the seat opens after January, New Jersey will have a new governor who may appoint a Democrat.

Still, supporters say the larger issue at stake is Menendez's legacy²³. The son of Cuban immigrants, Menendez's political rise has made him a local hero to the Cuban community in northern New Jersey. Cuban immigrant Sergio Gonzalez lives in Union City, where Menendez served as mayor.

SERGIO GONZALEZ: (Through interpreter) Menendez is a nice person. What happened is there are a lot of people who wanted to get rid of him, to be done with him. He doesn't deserve this. He's a good man, a man that has always done for Cubans and fought for Cubans.

HERNANDEZ: With his trial starting tomorrow, Menendez will be taking on a new fight all together. For NPR News, I'm Joe Hernandez.