Larry Downing/Reuters
The Justice Department reportedly plans to charge Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey with corruption for doing political favors for a donor and friend. “People briefed on the case say Attorney General Eric Holder has signed off on prosectors’ request to proceed with charges,” CNN reports. The FBI has been investigating Menendez’s relationship with Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, on whose plane the senator flew to the Dominican Republic in 2010. In 2013, Menendez paid back Melgen $58,000 after not disclosing the flight. Menendez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. Menendez, a Democrat, was reelected in 2012 and is considered a leading hawk on Iran and Russia in the Senate.
"Let me be very clear, I have always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with the law," Menendez said at a press conference on Friday. "Every action that I and my office have taken for the last 23 years that I have been privileged to be in the United States Congress has been based on pursuing the best policies for the people of New Jersey and this entire country."