Corruption in the Senate: Bob Menendez (D-NJ) Strikes Again

New Jersey Democrat Senator Bob Menendez is in the news again, and again, it's not for a good reason: The New Jersey Democrat looks to have been caught in more of his usual shenanigans.

Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is facing additional bribery accusations, according to a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Menendez is now accused of accepting bribes and gifts in exchange for helping to benefit Qatar as part of a yearslong corruption scheme from 2021 through 2023, one year longer than originally thought, the Justice Department said.
He is already facing federal charges for allegedly acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to benefit the Egyptian government through his power and influence as a Senator.

It's like he just can't help himself.

Let's say the quiet part out loud: If the federal government were tightly restricted, as the Founders intended, within the bounds of the Constitution, these people wouldn't have nearly as much influence to peddle, and that would greatly reduce this sort of thing. Unfortunately, that ship has well and truly sailed. We can take some solace in noting that Senator Menendez's constituents aren't too happy with him — but how much difference will that make in deep-blue New Jersey?

In this latest allegation, Senator Menendez is accused of trading "items of value," including luxury watches, in return for supporting a Senate resolution about Qatar.

The new allegations accuse Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty to all prior counts, of making positive comments about Qatar in exchange for items of value, including luxury wristwatches.
The luxury wristwatches Menendez was allegedly offered were valued between $10,000 and $24,000, according to the new indictment.
"How about one of these," the indictment quoted co-defendant Fred Daibes as saying in a message he sent to Menendez along with photos of the watches.
Menendez and Daibes had attended an event in Manhattan hosted by the Qatari government, prosecutors said.
Two days later, September 29, 2021, Daibes sent Menendez a message about a Senate resolution supportive of Qatar as the Qatari Investment Company considered a real estate investment with Daibes.
By March of 2022 the Qataris were offering Nadine Menendez tickets to the Formula One Grand Prix in Florida, prosecutors said, and by 2023 the Qatari Investment Company completed a joint venture with Daibes worth tens of millions of dollars.

There's way too much smoke there for there not to be a fire someplace.

As I've written before in these virtual pages, there seem to be two major ways that people view morality and the law: Some people understand that certain things are illegal because they are wrong. Others — like, apparently, Senator Menendez — think that things are only wrong because they are illegal, and if they can find a way to evade or skirt the law, they will. That a sitting United States Senator would sell out his oath of office for an expensive watch just makes matters worse. If the voters of the state of New Jersey have any sense of justice, they will vote Senator Menendez out of office and have a bucket of tar and a few bags of feathers awaiting him on his return to the Garden State.

Some of Menendez's fellow Democrats are starting to turn up the heat — and, once again, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is making me say, "Dammit, John, stop making me agree with you!"

Years ago, Democrat President Harry Truman — he of the famous "The Buck Stops Here" sign — observed, "An honest public servant can't become rich in politics. He can only attain greatness and satisfaction by service." Truman, unlike today's crop of Democrat pols, retired after his presidency and returned to Independence, Missouri, where he lived quietly and in modest circumstances for the rest of his life. It's too bad that today's Democrats can't follow his example.