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Bob Menendez, Al Franken, and the presumption of innocence Judd Legum
“Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey. He has a right to due process and a fair trial.”
That was the response of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to the indictment of Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on Friday. Federal prosecutors accused Menendez and his wife, Nadine, of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using his official position to benefit the Government of Egypt and others. Schumer’s description of Menendez as a “dedicated public servant” who is “always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey” is belied by the granular evidence of brazen corruption laid out by prosecutors in the indictment.
As Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez had the power to approve or place holds on “foreign military financing and sales of military equipment to Egypt.” In exchange for approving the sale of military equipment to Egypt, the indictment alleges, a New Jersey businessman with close ties to Egyptian officials, Wael Hana, agreed to pay Nadine Menendez though his company.
According to the indictment, Bob Menendez would text Nadine advanced details of official actions approving arms sales. Nadine would then forward these messages to Hana, who would pass the information to the Egyptian government.
Hana’s company, IS EG Halal, provided certification that food exports from the United States to Egypt were “compliant with halal standards.” Although Hana had no experience in halal certification, this became a lucrative enterprise when Egypt granted IS EG Halal a monopoly over Halal certification in 2019. When “the USDA contacted the Government of Egypt and sought reconsideration of its grant of monopoly rights to IS EG Halal,” Menendez intervened and “called a high-level USDA official and insisted that the USDA stop opposing IS EG Halal’s status as sole halal certifier.”
Hana and another individual allegedly involved in the scheme, Joe Uribe, also agreed to buy Nadine Menendez a $60,000 Mercedes in exchange for Bob Menendez’s help in resolving a fraud investigation of one of Uribe’s associates. According to the indictment, Bob Menendez “contacted a senior state prosecutor at the [New Jersey Attorney General]’s Office who supervised the prosecution” at least twice and “attempted to pressure [the prosecutor] to resolve the prosecution more favorably to the defendant.”
There are several other allegations in the indictment of instances where Menendez used his position as a powerful U.S. Senator to secure bribes. In the end, authorities found over $480,000 in cash at Bob and Nadine Menendez’s house, much of which was hidden in closets and clothing — including a jacket featuring Bob Menendez’s name and the U.S. Senate seal.
Authorities also recovered over $100,000 in gold bars.
Despite the prodigious evidence of criminal conduct presented in the indictment, Schumer is correct that Bob Menendez and the other defendants have a “right to due process and a fair trial.” Menendez also has a right to the legal presumption of innocence. But Menendez will be afforded due process in a court of law. There is not, however, a Constitutional right to be a member of the U.S. Senate. Whether Menendez should retain his Senate seat is a political matter, not a legal one.
The issue centers around the distinction between legal innocence and actual innocence. Absent a plea deal, a jury will decide whether Menendez broke the law. But a jury will not decide whether Menendez is “innocent.” It will decide whether he is legally guilty, meaning the prosecutors proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt, or legally not guilty.
The Constitution contemplates a higher standard for elected officials than avoiding criminal convictions. The U.S. Senate is empowered to expel any member “for disorderly behavior” — it requires a two-thirds vote.
As a practical matter, the political calendar does not afford Schumer and other Senate Democrats the luxury of waiting until the conclusion of a trial before making a judgment on Menendez’s conduct. Menendez is facing reelection next year, and the New Jersey primary will be held in June 2024, which is likely before Menendez’s case goes to trial. Democrats will have to decide whether to support Menendez’s reelection campaign or back a different candidate.
High-ranking elected Democrats in New Jersey, including the Governor, have called on Menendez to resign. Most of the New Jersey Democrats in the U.S. House are also calling for his resignation. But thus far, most Senate Democrats — the people with the power to remove Menendez — have decided to stay silent. Only Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has called on Menendez to resign.
The case of Al Franken
In 2017, Leeann Tweeden, a conservative radio talk show host, accused then-Senator Al Franken (D-MN) of “having forced an unwanted kiss on her during a 2006 U.S.O. tour.” Over the next couple of weeks, seven other women accused Franken of inappropriate touching or kissing. About half of Franken’s accusers remain anonymous. There were no criminal charges or any investigation of Franken’s alleged conduct.
Nevertheless, Schumer called on Franken to resign immediately, urging not to wait for the “due process” of an Ethics Committee investigation:
Senator Franken should resign. I consider Senator Franken a dear friend and greatly respect his accomplishments, but he has a higher obligation to his constituents and the Senate, and he should step down immediately.
Schumer was joined by more than 30 of his Democratic colleagues, many of whom are in the Senate today, who also called on Franken to resign. “As national leaders, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard,” Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said. “[W]e must lead by example to ensure every person is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. This isn’t about Democrats or Republicans, it’s about our society.” John Tester (D-MT) said Franken should resign because “[e]lected officials must be held to a high standard.”
But Schumer, Duckworth, Tester, and the dozens of other Democrats who called for Franken to resign prior to any investigation have not held Menendez to the same standard.
For example, in 2017, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Franken “should resign from the Senate.” Asked on Sunday if Menendez should resign, Durbin said Menendez was entitled to the “presumption of innocence.” Durbin said Menendez should decide whether or not resignation was appropriate.
Unlike Franken, Menendez was a member of Senate leadership and, as former chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Menendez has personally assisted the campaigns of many Senators, including by raising money.
Menendez and Dr. Melgen
This is not the first time Menendez has been charged with public corruption. He was also indicted in 2015 “in connection with a bribery scheme in which Menendez allegedly accepted gifts” from Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen “in exchange for using the power of his Senate office to benefit Melgen’s financial and personal interests.” There was a three-month trial that ended in a hung jury, which means they were unable to come to a consensus about Menendez’s legal guilt. Ultimately, some of the charges were dismissed by a judge and the government decided not to pursue a new trial on the charges that remained.
In a statement, Menendez cited the Melgen trial as evidence he would be vindicated again:
I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent.
The government was not able to establish legal guilt beyond a reasonable doubt with all members of the jury before. But was the trial proof that Menendez was actually innocent? Not according to the Senate Ethics Committee. After the conclusion of Menendez’s trial, the Committee conducted its own investigation of Menendez’s conduct. Here was the Committee’s conclusion:
The Committee has found that over a six-year period you knowingly and repeatedly accepted gifts of significant value from Dr. Melgen without obtaining required Committee approval, and that you failed to publicly disclose certain gifts as required by Senate Rule and federal law. Additionally, while accepting these gifts, you used your position as a Member of the Senate to advance Dr. Melgen’s personal and business interests. The Committee has determined that this conduct violated Senate Rules, federal law, and applicable standards of conduct.
Despite this stark conclusion, the Committee issued a mild punishment. Menendez was required to “repay the fair market value of all impermissible gifts not already repaid,” and the Committee issued a “Public Letter of Admonition.”
According to the indictment this week, by the time the Committee issued its letter in April 2018, Menendez had already begun his next scheme to abuse his official position for cash, gold, and luxury cars. How much longer will Menendez’s Senate colleagues treat him with kid gloves?
Yesterday, U.S. officials arrested Ismael Zambada García, or “El Mayo,” cofounder of the violent and powerful drug trafficking organization the Sinaloa Cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of its other cofounder. That other cofounder, Joaquín Guzmán Loera, or “El Chapo,” is already incarcerated in the U.S., as are another of El Chapo’s sons, alleged cartel leader Ovidio Guzmán López, and the cartel’s alleged lead hitman, Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas, or “El Nini.”
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said: “Fentanyl is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, and the Justice Department will not rest until every single cartel leader, member, and associate responsible for poisoning our communities is held accountable.” El Mayo has been charged with drug trafficking and money laundering.
U.S. officials exploited rifts in the cartel to get Guzmán López to bring El Mayo in. The successful and peaceful capture of the two Sinaloa Cartel leaders contrasts with Trump’s insistence that the U.S. must bomb or invade Mexico to damage the cartels, a position echoed by Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and increasingly popular in the Republican Party. Mexico, which is America’s biggest trade partner, staunchly opposes such an intervention. Opponents note that such military action would do nothing to decrease demand for illegal drugs in the U.S. and would increase the numbers of asylum-seekers at the border as their land became a battleground.
Trump seems to think that governance is about dominance, but that approach often runs afoul of the law. Today the Justice Department reached a $2 million settlement with former FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who became the butt of Trump’s attacks after their work on the FBI investigation into the ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian operatives. Trump’s Department of Justice released text messages between the two journalists. Today’s settlement appears to reflect that the release likely violated the Privacy Act, which bars the government from disclosing personal information.
Tonight, speaking to Christians at the Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, Trump made his plans to become a strongman clear: “Get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what: it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians…. Get out, you’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.”
This chilling statement comes after Trump praised autocratic Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in his speech at the Republican National Convention last week and then publicly praised China’s president Xi Jinping for being “brilliant” because he “controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist.” It should also be read against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s decision in Donald J. Trump v. United States that a president cannot be prosecuted for crimes committed as part of his “official duties.”
The Harris campaign reacted to Trump’s dark statements by ridiculing them, and him: “Tonight, Donald Trump couldn’t pronounce words [he mispronounced “landslide” as “land slade], insulted the faith of Jewish and Catholic Americans, lied about the election (again), lied about other stuff, bragged about repealing Roe, proposed cutting billions in education funding, announced he would appoint more extremist judges, revealed he planned to fill a second Trump term with more criminals like himself, attacked lawful voting, went on and on and on, and generally sounded like someone you wouldn’t want to sit near at a restaurant—let alone be President of the United States.
“America can do better than the bitter, bizarre, and backward looking delusions of criminal Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris offers a vision for America’s future focused on freedom, opportunity, and security.”
Harris continually refers to Trump as a criminal in her speeches, but her campaign has taken the approach of referring to him and J.D. Vance as weirdos. On Tuesday, Minnesota governor Tim Walz said, “These guys are just weird.” Senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Brian Schatz of Hawaii recorded a video together about Vance’s “super weird,” “bananas,” and “offensive” idea that people with children should be assigned additional votes for each child, making their wishes count more than people without children.
As J.D. Vance continues to step on rakes, the “weird” label seems correctly to label the MAGAs as outside the mainstream of American thought. Today, Vance doubled down on his denigration of women who have not given birth as “childless cat ladies” but assured voters he has nothing against cats. In addition, a video surfaced of Vance calling for the federal government to stop women in Republican-dominated states from crossing state lines to obtain abortions.
Mychael Schnell of The Hill reported today that while MAGA Republican lawmakers like Vance, a number of House Republicans are bashing his selection as the vice presidential candidate. “He was the worst choice of all the options,” one said. “It was so bad I didn’t even think it was possible.”
“The prevailing sentiment is if Trump loses, [it’s] because of this pick,” another said, a sentiment that suggests Vance will be a scapegoat if Trump loses. Considering what happened to Trump’s last vice president after Trump blamed him for an election loss, Vance might have reason to be concerned.
Last night’s “Answer the Call” Zoom has now raised more than $8.5 million for Harris; the organizers thanked Win With Black Women “for showing us how it’s done.” Today the Future Forward PAC, which had threatened to hold back $90 million in spending if Biden stayed at the head of the ticket, began large advertising purchases in swing states for Harris.
Carl Quintanilla of CNBC reported that a week ago, those on a phone call of more than 400 people from Bank of America’s Federal Government Relations Team believed that a Trump victory was a “foregone conclusion.” Now that conviction is gone. “[T]here’s been a palpable sentiment reversal.”
The Harris campaign announced that it will launch 2,600 more volunteers into its ground game in Florida, a state where abortion rights will be on the ballot this fall, likely turning out voters for the Democratic ticket. The volunteers will write postcards, make phone calls, and knock on doors.
Today, Vice President Kamala Harris filled out the paperwork officially declaring her candidacy for president of the United States.
Notes:
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/25/us/sinaloa-cartel-ismael-zambada-custody-report/index.html
https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/mexico-surpasses-china-us-biggest-trading-partner-exports/
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/10/gop-bomb-mexico-fentanyl-00091132
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/26/peter-strzok-lawsuit-settlement-00171498
https://www.vox.com/culture/363230/jd-vance-couch-sex-hillbilly-elegy-rumor-false
https://thehill.com/homenews/4793818-vance-vp-trump-house-republicans/
https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Amendment_4,_Right_to_Abortion_Initiative_(2024)
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Oh, no, it’s the sister again, for another slow news week. Let’s get to it.
→ Biden dropped out: Six years ago emotionally, but technically this past Sunday, Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race. He did it via X and promptly threw his support (and cash) behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Then he got Covid and hunkered down in Delaware—or depending on what hooch you’ve been drinking, died and was reanimated so he could appear before the cameras on Wednesday to address the nation. Joe’s family, including Hunter, sat along the wall of the Oval Office as he spoke. The president talked about the cancer moonshot, ending the war in Gaza, putting the party over himself, and Kamala’s tenacity, as Kamala’s pistol dug ever-so-slightly harder into his back. Right after, Jill, the First Lady of passive aggression, who apparently wanted to outdo her heart emoji, tweeted a handwritten note “to those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed.” I respect a First Lady who stands by her man and her energetic stepson. A First Lady who sees the high road way up there and says to herself, “If they want us out of here so bad, they can clean out the fridge and strip the beds themselves!”
→ Kamala is brat, Biden is boots, please God send the asteroid today: I’ve learned the hard way—and by that I mean my parents once asked me what “WAP” meant—that certain things should never be explained with words. It’s not that it’s impossible, it’s just that it embarrasses everyone.
That’s how I feel about the whole Kamala-is-brat thing. Brat is a good album about partying and getting older and having anxiety that was released earlier this summer by Charli XCX. But it’s since been adopted by too-online and very young people as a personality, and by Kamala Harris’s campaign as a mode to relate to those very young people. Her campaign is leaning into the whole green look of the album to try and win over Gen Z, and generally recasting her many viral moments—“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?” “I love Venn diagrams” “What can be, unburdened but what has been”—as calling cards. It’s like when Hillary went on Broad City, only this time more cringe.
And now we have Jake Tapper and Greg Gutfeld grappling with the “essence” and the “aesthetic” and overall vibe of brat girl summer. We used to be a serious country. We used to make things.
Here’s the thing about Kamla: she is hilarious and campy, but unintentionally so. Any goodwill that her goofy dances or weird turns of phrase garner should be considered bonus points, not game play. Was there ever any doubt that Fire Island would go blue? We’ve been debating whether Kamala’s meme campaign is a good move for her prospects in the Free Press Slack, and here I’ll borrow from my older and wiser colleague Peter Savodnik: “There is nothing more pathetic than an older person who cares what a younger person thinks is cool.”
→ Boomer behavior: While Kamala’s campaign is being run by a 24-year-old twink with an Adderall prescription, J.D. Vance’s speechwriter seems to be a drunk Boomer who just got kicked out of a 7-11. Vance, appearing this week at a rally in Middletown, Ohio, riffed, “Democrats say that it is racist to believe. . . well, they say it’s racist to do anything. I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today, and I’m sure they’re going to call that racist too.” Crickets. Horror. Major “Thanks, Obama” energy. There was also a bit on fried bologna sandwiches and a lot of “lemme tell you another story.” The guy is 39 but sounds older than Biden.
Fresher, 35-to-60-year-old blood is exactly what we’ve been begging for. Let the Boomers boom, let the Zoomers zoom. Kamala and J.D.: act your age.
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