Uh oh, now a federal grand jury is investigating Bob Menendez and Salomon Melgen

It's only a matter of time now before these too long-time friends are sharing a cell. Bobby says he "welcomes" the grand jury investigation. Yeah, kinda like how I "welcomed" another hemorrhoid.

That's called influence peddling Bob. And it's a crime.

In January Menendez admitted he had accepted two free flights on Melgen's private plane to the Dominican Republic in 2010. He said he later wrote the doctor a personal check for more than $58,000 to cover the trips.

A check that nobody has acknowledged having cashed. Your canceled check is your receipt Bob. And we need to see your receipt.

Um, sure Bob. Anything you say. Grand juries convene all the time to do nothing. C'mon Bob, let's be serious, OK?

The "review" first took the form of a federal investigation, which no one welcomes. If investigators take the evidence to a federal grand jury, they're not looking for a clarification or to produce an independent exoneration. Law enforcement can end investigations on their own if they don't find any reasons to continue them. The fact that they have gone to a grand jury — and after only a month of investigating Menendez — says that this is not just a review, but a plan to get an indictment.

And of course the Star-Ledger has to repeat a discredited "exoneration" of their Patron Senator.

A conservative website earlier this year linked Menendez's Dominican travels with two prostitutes he allegedly patronized. But the Washington Post reported last week that an escort said in a sworn court statement that she was paid to fabricate claims of sex with the senator.

Hey fellas? The Post walked back their report, after it was pointed out to them that the escort they interviewed was not one of the prostitutes who were cited by The Daily Caller. I know it's hard to keep up with all the facts here, but isn't that why you guys get the big bucks?

Meanwhile Patterico tears that "sworn court statement" to shreds. He calls its mysterious discovery "Rathergate II". Because there's a virtual certainty the escort in question does not actually exist, and thus her "affidavit" is a forgery.

A Real Journalist might want to look into stuff like that. But it's been a long time since any Real Journalists worked at the Star-Ledger, or the Washington Post. So their stable of bylined DNC operatives dutifully writes what Menendez tells them to write, and then goes back to covering the Really Important Stuff — high school wrestling.

Posted at 10:06 by Chris Wysocki   [/democrats]   Comments | Perm Link |
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