Sen. Pumpkinhead Menendez Employed Registered Sex Offender & Illegal Immigrant

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...-to-Lobby-for-Doctor-Official--448401283.html

Staffer Used Menendez's Name to Lobby for Doctor: Official
Published 6 hours ago

A former health administrator has testified a staffer to U.S. Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez used Menendez's name to lobby for a Florida eye doctor in a multimillion-dollar Medicare dispute.

The official testified Wednesday in the bribery trial of the New Jersey Democrat and the doctor, Salomon Melgen.

An indictment accuses Menendez of exchanging his political influence for gifts, including flights on Melgen's private jet and luxury hotel stays. The two longtime friends say there was no bribery arrangement. :rolleyes:

The former administrator testified a Menendez staffer told him on the phone in 2009 that Melgen "was a personal friend of the senator" and that the staffer was "argumentative and persistent."

Defense attorneys contend Menendez got involved because Melgen's dispute demonstrated how Medicare reimbursement policies were inconsistently applied. :rolleyes:
 
http://nypost.com/2017/09/27/medicare-official-dumbstruck-by-menendez-pals-defense/

Medicare official dumbstruck by Menendez pal’s defense
By Priscilla DeGregory and Kaja Whitehouse
September 27, 2017 | 11:01pm

A former official with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said he was so dumbstruck by arguments thrown at him by staffers for Sen. Robert "Pumpkinhead" Menendez — over what turned out to be a rich doctor’s Medicare fraud — that he stood up in the middle of a conference call and walked out.

Dr. Louis Jacques, a former director at CMS, testified in Newark federal court Wednesday that a female aide to Menendez argued over the phone in 2009 that Dr. Salomon Melgen should be excused for overbilling Medicare by $8.9 million because “bad medicine is not illegal.”

“Doctor Melgen is a personal friend of the senator. Bad medicine is not illegal. Medicare should pay these claims,” Jacques recalled the staffer saying.

“It was then I thought, ‘I should stand up stretch and clear my head,’ ” Jacques told the jury.

“I stood up and stood outside the door for a period of time and then walked back in.”

Menendez, 63, stands accused of accepting bribes from the West Palm Beach, Fla., ophthalmologist — including private-jet trips and vacations — in exchange for favors, such as help with Melgen’s Medicare dispute.

Melgen, who is on trial alongside Menendez, was convicted of 67 counts of Medicare fraud in a separate trial earlier this year.

Retired Sen. Tom "Dungheap" Harkin (D-Iowa) also took the stand Wednesday to describe a 2011 “courtesy” meeting he had with Melgen over the same Medicare issue.

“I did it as a courtesy,” Harkin said of the meeting, which he took at the request of fellow Democrat Menendez.

At the time, Harkin chaired a Senate health committee that shared oversight of Medicaid and Medicare, but he took no action to help Melgen, the jury was told.

As Harkin left the courtroom, he shook hands with Menendez. :mad:
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...-checks-damage-in-puerto-rico/#comment-361362

Menendez Trial Takes A Day Off, Senator Checks Damage In Puerto Rico
September 28, 2017 9:30 PM By David Madden

NEWARK, NJ (CBS) — New Jersey Senior Senator Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez is taking advantage of a day off at his federal corruption trial in Newark to travel to Puerto Rico to get a personal look at the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Menendez and several colleagues were ready to take a military plane, only to be told by the White House that wouldn’t be possible.

“I would get on a cargo plane,” Menendez told reporters in Newark as he prepared to take two commercial flights to San Juan. “I’ve done that in Iraq. I’ve done it in Afghanistan when things are being taken. I would have sat on a cargo plane to get to Puerto Rico.”

He will meet Friday with the island’s Governor and view some of the damage before returning to New Jersey no later than Saturday, well before his trial resumes on Monday.

The senator continued his criticism of how the Trump Administration has responded to the hurricane in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

“This may very well be President Trump’s Katrina :rolleyes:,” Menendez added, “because if you knew it’s an island in a very big ocean, and you knew two major hurricanes buffeted it and one directly squarely on, a category 5, you should have had all of your command and control being able to get ready to deliver what you knew you had to deliver.”

Not only are things like water, food, and gas in short supply. So apparently is law enforcement, with 70 percent of the police not on duty. Menendez would like to know why.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/03/medica...s-hostile-toward-him-on-behalf-of-doctor-pal/

Medicare big says Menendez was ‘hostile’ toward him on behalf of doctor pal
By Priscilla DeGregory
October 3, 2017 | 12:47am

Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez met with former Majority Leader Harry Reid and then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to advocate on behalf of a wealthy eye doctor pal over the doctor’s dispute with Medicare, a Medicare official testified Monday.

“[Menendez’s] tone was very angry, very hostile. I found I was being put on the defensive and it was a very angry exchange,” Jonathan Blum, of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Newark federal court jurors of an August 2012 meeting in Reid’s Senate office.

Menendez lobbied for ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, who is on trial alongside the New Jersey senator, claiming the Medicare billing policy was confusing and unfair.

Prosecutors have argued that Menendez used his power in the Senate to help get Melgen out of paying the $8.9 million bill he owed to Medicare after overcharging for an expensive eye medicine.

In exchange, they allege, Menendez received gifts and private jet flights from Melgen.

Blum told the jury he thought Menendez wanted the CMS “to relieve, forgive, or lessen” Melgen’s bill.

He recounted at the end of the meeting Menendez saying, “He was not going to let the issue rest and he was going to use the authority he had as a member of the Finance Committee to continue pressing the issue,” and Menendez then leaving without shaking Blum’s hand.

Blum was surprised that Menendez advocated for a doctor who wasn’t even a constituent, noting that normally senators lobbied for policies that effect “many stakeholders” and not just one.
 
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...Trial-New-Jersey-Investigation-449269243.html

Meeting With Sebelius Is Focus of Menendez Trial
Published at 6:30 AM EDT on Oct 4, 2017

The bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez, AKA Carlito Moreno, is focusing on a 2012 meeting with then-Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

An indictment charges the New Jersey Democrat met with Sebelius in 2012 to advocate on behalf of Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in Melgen's $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute. It alleges Melgen bribed Menendez with trips on his private jet and luxury hotel stays.

A former agency official testified Monday that Menendez reacted angrily when the staffer disagreed with the senator's claim that Medicare billing policy was being applied inconsistently.

During cross-examination Tuesday by Menendez's attorney, the official said Menendez discussed policy issues and didn't mention Melgen's name.

While Cabeza de Calabaza has claimed he sought out Sebelius because of inconsistencies in Medicare billing practices, prosecutors allege he was acting solely on Melgen's behalf.

Former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official Jonathan Blum also testified that though Menendez didn't mention Melgen's name during the meeting, he understood that it was Melgen's dispute that was the underlying reason for the meeting.

Sebelius could testify later this week.

Former Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also was at the 2012 meeting and could testify.

Melgen eventually paid back the $8.9 million. In a separate case not involving Menendez, he was convicted in Florida in April on multiple counts of health care fraud, submitting false claims and falsifying patients' records. Sentencing in that case was postponed until after the current trial concludes.
 
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...arge-New-Jersey-Senator-Melgen-449436253.html

$600K in Political Donations Eyed at Menendez Bribery Trial
Published 5 hours ago | Updated at 4:06 PM EDT on Oct 4, 2017

Prosecutors at the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez have presented evidence that a wealthy donor on trial with him contributed $600,000 to organizations that supported the New Jersey Democrat.

They are trying to tie the donations by Florida eye doctor (((Salomon Melgen))) in 2012 to actions Menendez took around the same time that prosecutors say were to lobby for Melgen's business interests.

A fundraiser testified Wednesday that Melgen donated the money to a political action committee earmarked for New Jersey.

Earlier testimony described Menendez meeting with health and homeland security officials on issues that affected Melgen's medical practice and his port security company.

Menendez and Melgen, who are longtime friends, deny the charges. :rolleyes: They say there was no bribery arrangement. :rolleyes:

The trial is in its fifth week.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/10/menendez-called-in-favor-to-help-doctor-pal-solve-medicare-dispute/

Menendez called in favor to help doctor pal solve Medicare dispute
By Priscilla DeGregory
October 10, 2017 | 10:19pm

A week after a wealthy doctor pal of Sen. Robert "Pumpkinhead" Menendez received an $8.9 million Medicare bill, the Garden State lawmaker sent an e-mail to his chief of staff saying they needed to figure out “who has the best juice” to help with the billing dispute.

Menendez sent the e-mail on Aug. 12, 2009, to Daniel O’Brien after Dr. Salomon Melgen of Florida received the bill for allegedly overcharging Medicare.

“Dr. Melgen is still in the nonlitigant stage, so we should determine who has the best juice at CMS [Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services] and Dept of Health,” a prosecutor read to jurors in Newark federal court Tuesday.

Melgen, who was convicted of Medicare fraud, is on trial with Menendez for allegedly bribing the Democrat for favors in exchange for all-expense-paid vacations, trips on his private jet and campaign contributions.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/11/judge-to-mull-tossing-corruption-charges-against-menendez/

Judge to mull tossing corruption charges against Menendez
By Priscilla DeGregory and Lia Eustachewich
October 11, 2017 | 12:17pm | Updated

A federal judge in New Jersey will consider whether to dismiss corruption charges against Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez after prosecutors rested their case Wednesday.

Defense lawyers filed a motion over the summer arguing that charges should be dropped against the Democrat on the grounds of a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the legal definition of “official act” when it comes to corruption charges.

Menendez is accused of accepting lavish Caribbean vacations and trips on private jets in exchange for using his political power to help his wealthy doctor pal Salomon Melgen, who is also on trial.

Newark federal Judge William Walls has said he would wait until prosecutors rested their case to rule on the defense’s motion to dismiss based off the High Court ruling, which overturned the conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Recently, the 2015 corruption convictions against ex-New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and ex-Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos were also tossed under McDonnell.

Walls made it clear the McDonnell decision weighed heavily on his mind during an attorneys-only hearing last week and called prosecutors’ case “circumstantial.” :mad:

He noted that some prosecution witnesses testified that although they believed Menendez set up meetings with them to help out Melgen in his $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute and stalled port security contract in the Dominican Republic, the pol never dropped Melgen’s name during the meetings. :rolleyes:

“I am very careful because of you know what, and that being McDonnell,” Walls said.

Under the McDonnell ruling, certain political favors — such as taking a meeting, talking to another official or organizing an event — no longer constitute official acts.

Prosecutors now must prove that an official committed a decision or action involving “a formal exercise of governmental power, and must also be something specific and focused that is pending or may by law be brought before a public official.”

During the six-week trial, prosecutors have argued that Menendez set up meetings with homeland security and health officials as Melgen, an ophthalmologist from Florida, made campaign donations and flew him on his private jet to his villa in the Dominican Republic.

Lawyers for the two men have insisted the gifts and favors were the result of a decades-long friendship – and not bribes.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/16/judge-wont-toss-bribery-case-against-menendez/

Judge won’t toss bribery case against Menendez
By Kaja Whitehouse
October 16, 2017 | 1:10pm

A Newark federal judge ruled to let the high-profile bribery case against Sen. Robert "Pumpkinhead" Menendez move forward despite objections from the senior senator’s lawyers that the government failed to prove its case when it rested last week. :rolleyes:

“The jury will decide whose version of what happened what did not happen is likely or not,” Newark federal judge William Walls ruled from the bench on Monday.

The judge made the ruling after the defense requested that the judge dismiss the case — or at least some charges — based on a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that dramatically narrowed the definition of bribery.

Menendez stands accused of accepting all-expense-paid trips and private jet flights from Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Palm Beach eye doctor, in exchange for official favors, including help with the doctor’s $8.9M Medicare bill and help obtaining visas for the ophthalmologist’s young girlfriends.

The defense argued that much of the government’s case rested on allegations that fall short under the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling overturning the bribery conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. In that case, the high court said that a public official must take an “official action,” like pushing legislation, to be convicted of bribery.

Mere meetings do not count as an official act that can be done in exchange for a bribe, according to the Supreme Court.

The defense seized on that ruling to argue that much of what Menendez is accused of consisted of meetings with public officials, including Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, who met with Melgen at Menedez’s urging because Harkin was in a position to help change Medicare billing laws.

“Ultimately, Senator Harkin explained that all he did was take the meeting and listen, and that he never discussed the issue with Senator Menendez or Dr. Melgen again,” the defense argued in court papers.

But the judge on Monday ruled that the jury could determine that Menendez held the meetings because he “sought to pressure or advise” other officials to take official action, which counts as bribery under the McDonnell ruling.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/16/menendez-begins-defense-in-corruption-trial/

Menendez begins defense in corruption trial
By Kaja Whitehouse
October 16, 2017 | 7:47pm | Updated

Robert "Pumpkinhead" Menendez was ordered Monday to face 18 counts of corruption — dashing his hopes for an early acquittal based on the same Supreme Court decision that overturned convictions for Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos.

“The jury will decide whose version of what happened, what did not happen, is likely or not,” Newark federal judge William Walls ruled on Monday.

Menendez stands accused of accepting all-expense-paid trips and private jet flights from Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Palm Beach eye doctor, in exchange for help with the doctor’s $8.9 million Medicare bill and in obtaining visas for the ophthalmologist’s young girlfriends.

The defense asked the judge to dismiss the case — or at least drop some of the charges — after the government rested its case last week.

They argued that the feds failed to meet the standards of a 2016 Supreme Court ruling that dramatically narrowed the definition of bribery. That case has already led to new trials for Silver, former speaker of the Assembly, and Skelos, former majority leader of the state Senate, by ruling that politician must take “official action,” like pushing legislation, to be guilty of bribery.

Judge Walls said the Newark federal jury could determine that some of Menendez’s meetings were official acts if they feel he “sought to pressure or advise” other officials to take action on behalf of Melgen.

After the judge ordered the trial to continue, the defense kicked off their case — starting with Robert Menendez Jr., 32, who testified that Melgen, 63, and his dad are “like brothers.”

“It’s different than all other friendships. It’s definitely his closest friendship,” Jr. said.

He was followed by Melgen’s wife, Flor, who also testified that the two men are like brothers before mistakenly assuring the jury that she never had an affair with the senator.

“I am married and loyal to my husband,” Flor defensively told one of her husband’s defense lawyers after misunderstanding his question about whether she had a relationship with Menendez, 63, that was “independent” of her husband’s.

The courtroom burst out in gut wrenching laughter, including Mendendez and Melgen, who looked across the defense table at each other as they laughed.

The feds sought to undermine Jr.’s testimony by raising the number of times the senator’s son has actually met Melgen, who he said he calls “tio” or “uncle” in Spanish.

“You’ve only met Dr. Melgen about six times in your life?” prosecutor Amanda Rose Vaughn asked.

“More or less, yeah,” Jr. replied.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/17/doctor-accused-of-bribing-menendez-met-with-other-politicians-too/

Doctor accused of bribing Menendez met with other politicians too
By Elizabeth Rosner and Kaja Whitehouse
October 17, 2017 | 6:46pm

menendez-crist-split.jpg

Salomon Melgen, Robert Menendez and Charlie Crist
AP


A wealthy West Palm Beach eye doctor accused of bribing Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez wined and dined other politicians, including former Florida governor Charlie Crist, it emerged in Newark federal court on Tuesday.

Flor Melgen, the wife of Dr. Salomon Melgen, testified Tuesday about a weekend in October 2010 when Crist showed up at her house unexpectedly, ate dinner — consisting of Capital Grille takeout — and stayed the night.

He then handed Flor a $100 check for the cost of the meal and his stay.

“He knew that my husband was Bob’s [Menendez] friend and he was wondering if he might be with him,” Flor told the jury about the surprise visit.

The defense said the purpose of the testimony was to illustrate to the jury that Menendez, who flew Melgen’s private jet that same weekend, was in Florida for an official political function.

As such, the flight on Melgen’s private jet as well as a leg on a commercial flight Melgen paid for should have been reimbursed for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee — not Menendez, according to Melgen’s lawyers.

The Garden State Democrat stands accused of accepting all-expense-paid trips and private jet flights from Melgen in exchange for political favors, including help with the doctor’s $8.9 million Medicare bill and in obtaining visas for the ophthalmologist’s young girlfriends.

The feds took a different spin on the Crist tale — using it as an opportunity to contrast Crist’s $100 check with Menendez’s history of accepting freebies from his rich friend.

“So at least this politician knows how to pay your husband back for things?” prosecutor Monique Tara Abrishami asked Flor before being chastised by the judge.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/18/menedezs-former-chief-of-staff-refutes-prosecutors-allegations/

Menedez’s former chief of staff refutes prosecutor’s allegations
By Elizabeth Rosner and Kaja Whitehouse
October 18, 2017 | 6:42pm

Sen. Robert "Pumpkinhead" Menendez smirked and leaned back in his chair at the defense table in Newark federal court Wednesday as a former aide battled with prosecutors over allegations that he went out of his way to help a wealthy pal.

Menendez’s former chief of staff Karissa Willhite vehemently denied telling a Medicare official in 2009 that “bad medicine is not illegal” in defense of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a wealthy eye doctor accused of bribing the Garden State Democrat.

“Absolutely not. That’s not anything I said. It’s not anything I ever heard,” Willhite insisted.

The “bad medicine” remark came from the testimony of Dr. Louis Jacques, a former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services official who told the Newark federal jury that a female aide to Menendez argued with him that Melgen should be excused for over-charging Medicare by $8.9 million because “bad medicine is not illegal.”

Melgen, who has been convicted of Medicare fraud, used a single vial of eye medicine Lucentis for multiple patients and then billed Medicare for the full cost of an entire vial for each dosage, according to prosecutors.

But Willhite, who was on the 2009 call, denied ever using the term “bad medicine” — or hearing anyone else use it. She said the senator’s staff was pursuing legitimate policy issues tied to the practice of “multi-dosing,” or using one vial of medicine for multiple patients.

“It’s just an absurd thing to say, and particularly in this context when we’re focusing on getting the policy right,” she said.

Menendez, 63, has been charged with accepting all-expense-paid trips and private jet flights from the rich wealthy ophthalmologist in exchange for political favors.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/19/judge-in-menendez-trial-calls-feuding-lawyers-a-hen-party/

Judge in Menendez trial calls feuding lawyers a ‘hen party’
By Elizabeth Rosner and Kaja Whitehouse
October 19, 2017 | 6:47pm

A fed-up Newark federal judge in the trial of Sen. Robert "Pumpkinhead" Menendez compared two squabbling female lawyers to a “hen party” — and blasted a couple of male attorneys for getting into a “cock fight.”

“At the risk of being chauvinistic, that’s a hen party. You’re talking over each other,” Judge William Walls told two female lawyers who wouldn’t stop arguing.

The chicken references didn’t end there.

“And now we have a cock fight,” the annoyed judge said when two male lawyers started going at it.

Menendez, 63, has been on trial since Sept. 6th over allegations that he accepted bribes from his rich eye doctor friend, Salomon Melgen, who was convicted earlier this year of Medicare fraud.

The judge’s critiques may have helped two opposing lawyers bond outside the courtroom. At one point, Jenny Kramer, a lawyer for Menendez, gave Amanda Rose Vaughn of the Justice Department the thumbs up.

“Hen party,” Kramer said.

“I’ll bring the wine,” Vaughn responded.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/23/ex-state-dept-official-i-didnt-think-menendez-was-threatening/

Ex-State Dept. official: I didn’t think Menendez was threatening
By Elizabeth Rosner and Kaja Whitehouse
October 23, 2017 | 7:47pm

A former State Department official testified Monday that he didn’t interpret remarks by Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez about a Dominican Republic port security contract held by his co-defendant as a threat. :confused: :confused: :confused:

William Brownfield, who retired from the State Dept. three months ago, brushed off the New Jersey Democrat’s 2012 threats to hold a senate hearing unless the State Dept. helped his wealthy West Palm Beach doctor pal, Salomon Melgen, settle a multi-million dollar contract dispute with a foreign government.

“I didn’t take Senator Menendez’s threat to hold hearings over Dr. Melgen’s Dominican contract seriously :confused: :confused: :confused:,” Brownfield told the Newark federal jury.

Brownfield made the stunning remark in response to questions from the defense — which called him as its witness. The long-term government official and three-time ambassador was not called as a government witness even though his 2012 meeting with Menendez is a big part of the fed’s case.

“Was there ever any threat to you, sir?” defense lawyer Kirk Ogrosky asked Brownfield.

“If we use it in a loose term, then perhaps so,” Brownfield said. “But as the word has meaning in the English language, no,” he responded. :confused: :confused: :confused:

Brownfield then went on to compare Menendez’s threat to hold a senate hearing into the State Dept. with his wife’s threats to “kill” him if he’s late for dinner.

“By the same token, it’s threatening to rain outside,” Brownfield said. “My wife threatens to kill me if I am late for dinner.”

Menendez and Melgen, both 63, are on trial over allegations that Melgen bribed Menendez with a series of lavish gifts — including free private jet flights, a free hotel in Paris and $750,000 in campaign contributions — in exchange for Menendez’s political influence.

A cornerstone of the government’s case is Menendez’s 2012 threat to hold a senate hearing unless the State Dept., through Brownfield, helped Melgen with a dispute he was having with the Dominican Republic over his port security business, ICSSI.

If resolved with the help of the State Dept., Melgen stood to make upward of $100 million on the deal the feds have said.

The feds have introduced emails showing that Menendez made the threat during a March 2012 meeting with Brownfield, who was then assistant secretary of state for the State Dept.’s bureau of international narcotics and law enforcement affairs.

“The senator noted displeasure very clearly with current state of affairs and threatened to hold a hearing on the matter if we don’t meet his deadline,” read an email about the meeting from State Dept. official Todd Levett, who died in 2014.

Levett’s email, which CCed Brownfield, also warned that Menendez wanted action on his friend’s business interest by July 1.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/24/menendez-judge-to-prosecutors-knock-it-off/

Menendez judge to prosecutors: Knock it off
By Elizabeth Rosner and Emily Saul
October 24, 2017 | 5:38pm

A Newark federal-court judge smacked down prosecutors’ attempts Tuesday to dredge up a scandal that plagued US Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez during his first campaign for office more than a decade ago.

“Why would you want to bring that junk in from 1999?” Judge William Walls snapped when prosecutors said they wanted to ask New Jersey lawyer and author Donald Scarinci about a recording he made in 1999 in which he purportedly tried to get a psychiatrist to hire another physician for his practice as a favor to Menendez.

“Why, pray tell, would you want to do that?” the jurist scowled at prosecutors. “I’m really surprised at you.”

“Well, not really,” he added snarkily.

This isn’t the first time the judge has blasted lawyers from both sides during Menendez’s current bribery case. Just last week, he compared two quarreling female lawyers to a “hen party”— just moments before he described two male attorneys as engaging in a “cock fight.”

Prosecutors allege that Menendez traded his powerful political influence for bribes.

Scarinci testified that he collected two checks totaling $600,000 from Menendez’s buddy, Dr. Salomon Melgen, in 2012 for a Majority PAC. Prosecutors allege the money was actually Melgen bribing Menendez in order to resolve a port security dispute and secure visas for Melgen’s foreign gal pals.

Menendez and Melgen, both 63, are standing federal trial amidst allegations that the eye doctor cajoled :confused: Menendez with private flights, Parisian hotels, and nearly $1 million in campaign donations for access to the senator’s political influence.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/25/menend...se-of-friendship-exception-ex-chief-of-staff/

Menendez didn’t disclose gifts because of ‘friendship exception’: ex-chief-of-staff
By Priscilla DeGregory
October 25, 2017 | 8:34pm

Bob "Pumpkinhead"Menendez didn’t disclose gifts from his wealthy doctor friend on U.S. Senate financial disclosure forms because of a “friendship exception :rolleyes:,” a staffer to the New Jersey senator testified during his boss’ corruption trial Wednesday.

Robert Kelly, Menendez’s deputy chief-of-staff, told jurors in Newark Federal court that he helped the Democrat prepare the forms yearly since 2010 and said he didn’t ask him about gifts from West Palm Beach ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, “because it fell within the friendship exemption.”

Melgen is on trial alongside Menendez for allegedly bribing the senator with flights on his private jet, all-expense paid vacations, and campaign contributions in exchange for official favors from Menendez to help him with his business endeavors.

One of the charges against Menendez is that he falsified statements on his senate disclosure forms never listing the gifts he received from Melgen.

​On cross examination, ​Justice Department attorney Monique Abrishami pressed Kelly on the friendship exception, which wasn’t explicitly listed under exemptions on the form instructions. :p

“You are familiar with these instructions?” the prosecutor asked.

“I glanced through these. I wouldn’t say I read every word,” Kelly answered.

Judge William Walls jumped in asking Kelly, “You were preparing these forms without having done more than scan these instructions?” prompting Kelly to respond, “I have not read through all these instructions here. I am vaguely familiar having scanned them.”

Kelly nervously explained that he thought a hospitality exemption was the rule that allowed for gifts from a friend to remain undisclosed but Abrishami said, “There actually is no friendship exception?” and Kelly responded, “[the hospitality exemption] was my understanding of the friendship exemption at the time.” :rolleyes:

But Abrishami added, “Even if you hadn’t asked [Menendez] about any gifts, it was still his obligation to report any gifts he received regardless of what you asked him?”

“That’s correct,” Kelly responded.

Abrishami also noted that Menendez, having been in public office since 1993, had been filling out these types of forms for years and thus would have been known that even if he was allowed to receive the gifts from Melgen he still would have had to report it on the forms.

Kelly’s testimony also touched on a story allegedly connecting Menendez to underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic that prompted the investigation into Menendez’s relationship with Melgen in 2012. A conservative website made the allegation before the 2012 election, and it was later discredited. :noway:

​Jurors didn’t hear details of the allegations, but Kelly testified the “salacious, false press article :rolleyes:” led him to comb through the senator’s travel records, a process that took a full year and Menendez’s office eventually sent out a press release in 2013 saying that Menendez flew on Melgen’s plane three times.​​ :rolleyes:

“This statement issued on Sen. Menendez’s behalf said Sen. Menendez had only been on the plane on three occasions even though he had actually been on the plane more than that…this is false, correct?” Abrishami asked Kelly.

“I would later find out that there were more flights,” he responded.
 
http://nypost.com/2017/10/26/clinton-lawyer-linked-to-trump-dossier-to-testify-at-menendez-trial/

Clinton lawyer linked to Russia dossier not allowed to testify at Menendez trial
By Mark Moore and Priscilla DeGregory
October 26, 2017 | 11:14am | Updated

​The judge presiding over the corruption trial of Sen. Robert 'Pumpkinhead" Menendez won’t allow a Hillary Clinton campaign lawyer, who commissioned the controversial dossier that contained unsubstantiated but salacious claims about President Trump, to testify.

marcelias.jpg

Marc Elias
Getty Images


The judge refused to let Marc Elias take the stand, saying he would be testifying to hearsay.

​Elias, part of Clinton’s legal team during the 2016 presidential campaign, was expected to talk about how he gave Menendez advice about filling out Senate financial disclosure forms, the Washington Post reported.

Two US senators – Cory Booker, a Democratic from New Jersey and Miss Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South – will also testify on behalf of Menendez :rolleyes: at his federal trial in Newark, the newspaper reported.

Booker and Graham are close colleagues in the Senate who will speak to Menendez’s character. :rolleyes: Graham will be the first Republican to appear for Menendez, a Democrat.

Menendez is accused of accepting gifts from a wealthy donor, Salomon Melgen, that included flights on a private jet and all-expense paid vacations in exchange for helping the Florida ophthalmologist with business endeavors.

Menendez allegedly failed to disclose those gifts on his Senate disclosure forms.

“Graham is testifying as a character witness for the defense :rolleyes: and traveled to the trial at his own personal expense,” said a statement issued by the senator’s office, according to CNN.

Booker, who has been friends with Menendez since being elected to the Senate four years ago, said he supports his “good fight.” :rolleyes:

“My loyalty is to a guy that is fighting the good fight,” Booker told the Washington Post.

​Elias’ appearance in court comes days after the newspaper revealed that he commissioned Fusion GPS to conduct the research that led to the dossier that includes unverified claims :rolleyes: that Trump colluded with the Russians during the 2016 election.
 
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...ial-Lindsey-Graham-Cory-Booker-453327763.html

Menendez Gets Support of Colleagues as Mistrial Motion Looms
By David Porter
Published 4 hours ago

Sen. Bob 'Pumpkinhead" Menendez got a hand from colleagues on both sides of the political aisle in his corruption trial Thursday, with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham :rolleyes: and fellow New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker :eek: testifying that he is trustworthy and honest. :cough:

After their testimony, the trial devolved into heated arguments between the judge and defense attorneys, who said they planned to file for a mistrial based on his rulings that, they said, hamstrung their case by preventing the jury from hearing certain witnesses and seeing certain exhibits.

The defense was expected to file a formal motion later Thursday or Friday. It comes as the trial winds down after eight weeks, during which neither Menendez nor co-defendant Salomon Melgen has testified.

Menendez is charged with accepting free trips on a private jet and other gifts from Melgen, a longtime friend, in exchange for lobbying government officials on behalf of Melgen's business interests, including an $8.9 million billing dispute with Medicare.

Defense attorneys called Graham, who has known Menendez since their days in Congress in the early 1990s, and Booker, who has served alongside Menendez for the last four years.

"In very difficult circumstances he always keeps his word :rolleyes:," Graham, from South Carolina, lisped during about six minutes of testimony. "A handshake is all you need from Bob. He's a very honest, hardworking senator."

The political stakes of the trial are high, with Democratic senators facing pressure from national Republicans to push Menendez out of the Senate if he's convicted. If Menendez resigns or is voted out of the Senate by a two-thirds majority before Republican Gov. Chris Christie leaves office in January, Christie would get to choose a replacement for the last year of the term.

Menendez is up for re-election next year.

Graham said he got to know Menendez when they worked on immigration reform and on national security issues affecting Israel. :mad: :mad:

"He can push back against a lot of political pressure, which is very hard to do in my business," Graham said.

The trial has been punctuated by numerous animated debates between defense attorneys and U.S. District Judge William Walls. On Thursday, with the jury sent home early, they accused Walls of allowing prosecutors more leeway in introducing witnesses and documents while denying defense requests to call witnesses and show the jury documents that could cast doubt on the prosecution's theory of a bribery scheme.

One example brought up by defense attorneys was that Walls didn't let them introduce documents that could have shown Menendez sought to discuss Medicare policy, rather than advocate for Melgen, when he met with federal health officials.

"We have been precluded, both during cross-examination and repeatedly in our case, from putting on our defense case," Melgen attorney Kirk Ogrosky told Walls.

Menendez attorney Abbe Lowell chided Walls for not allowing him to introduce a letter Marc Elias, then representing Menendez, wrote to Senate ethics officers in 2013 saying they were doing an internal review of Menendez's flights — evidence, Lowell said, that could contradict the government's contention that Menendez was engaged in concealment.

Elias was scheduled to testify Thursday but wasn't called.

Walls seemed unimpressed by the attorneys' arguments.

"This is your argument and you're entitled to it, but at this point you really have no standing by way of merit," he said.

The defense is expected to rest its case soon, after which the two sides are expected to spar over how Walls is to instruct the jury on the law.

The definition of official bribery was narrowed by a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that has been responsible for the recent overturning of several politicians' corruption convictions.
 
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/inve...File-Mistrial-Corruption-Trial-454020733.html

Menendez Defense Rests Case in Bribery Trial After Judge Denies Mistrial Motion
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is charged with accepting free flights on a private jet and other gifts from Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in exchange for political influence
By David Porter
Published at 9:14 PM EDT on Oct 29, 2017 | Updated at 2:28 PM EDT on Oct 30, 2017

The defense in the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez rested its case Monday, shortly after the judge turned down a bid to have a mistrial declared over his rulings during the trial.

Neither the Democratic senator from New Jersey nor co-defendant Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor, testified during the trial, which in its ninth week. Closing arguments are expected later this week after the judge and attorneys settle on instructions for the jury.

An indictment charges Menendez and Melgen with a long-running bribery scheme in which Menendez allegedly traded political influence for gifts including flights on Melgen's private jet between the U.S. and Melgen's home at a Dominican Republic resort.

Both men have claimed the gifts were an expression of their longtime friendship, and that there was no bribery arrangement.

The most serious charge they face, honest services fraud, carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

Among witnesses the defense team called were two U.S. senators — Republican Miss Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has known Menendez for more than two decades, and Democrat Cory Crooker Booker, who represents New Jersey alongside Menendez.

Both testified last week that they knew Menendez to be honest and trustworthy.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge William Walls began by chastising defense attorneys for a mistrial request he said was devoid of "even palpable merit."

Attorneys had accused Walls during a weekend filing of tying their hands by limiting what evidence and witnesses they could present to the jury.

The filing alleged Walls' rulings deprived the defendants "of their Fifth and Sixth Amendments rights to a fair trial, to an adequate defense, and to confront the witnesses against them."

In strongly worded remarks Monday, Walls chided the defense for "failing to acknowledge that they are bound by the rules of evidence.

"There's not even palpable merit to what you wish," he added.

Central to an indictment that charges the men with bribery, fraud and conspiracy is that in return for the gifts, Menendez pressured executive branch officials to help the ophthalmologist with his $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute and with a stalled port screening contract in the Dominican Republic.

Defense attorneys alleged they weren't allowed to introduce evidence that would show Menendez's intent in meeting with those officials was to discuss broad policy issues and not Melgen's specific concerns.

Walls frequently has justified his rulings by saying the defense's evidence is either irrelevant or repetitive and that Melgen's disputes aren't an issue for the jury to decide — only whether a bribery arrangement existed.

On Monday, the judge didn't budge.

The defense "wants to spend morning, noon and night" discussing details of the port contract and the Medicare dispute," he said. "It's a question for this court to determine when enough is enough."

Walls already has denied previous requests to have the case thrown out, most recently two weeks ago when defense attorneys alleged prosecutors hadn't proved evidence of bribery under a narrowed definition of the crime stemming from a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year.

That decision, which overturned the conviction of former Republican Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, will weigh heavily over the instructions Walls give to jurors this week.

The McDonnell decision has led courts to overturn the convictions of at least three other public officials in recent months, including former Democratic U.S. Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana, primarily based on the content of the jury instructions.
 
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http://nypost.com/2017/11/02/menendez-prays-with-clergy-before-closing-arguments/

Menendez prays with clergy before closing arguments
By Priscilla DeGregory
November 2, 2017 | 10:33pm | Updated

Sen. Bob "Pumpkinhead" Menendez is appealing to a higher court during his corruption trial — heaven. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

The embattled New Jersey Democrat gathered with a circle of clergy members in the hallway of Newark federal court on Thursday to pray, moments after being hammered by a damning closing argument by the prosecution.

Menendez and his ordained supporters had just heard Justice Department prosecutor J.P. Cooney tell jurors that a wealthy donor had bribed him.

Cooney said Menendez accepted gifts from West Palm Beach, Fla., ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen in exchange for using his official power to do valuable favors, such as getting visas for his mistresses.

“Sen. Menendez was determined to hide his bribery with Dr. Melgen. He was determined to hide the fact that he was bought to serve as Dr. Melgen’s own personal senator,” Cooney said in his summation.

Menendez’s lawyers make their closing arguments Monday.

“I look forward to my attorney … making a very compelling case as to why the jury should be finding us innocent,” Menendez said outside court.
 
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