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Thread: U.S. to charge democratic Senator Menendez of New Jersey with corruption: CNN

  1. #31
    Two sides to this.

    One: is Menendez corrupt? Beyond a reasonable doubt, he is.

    Two: Is Menendez being charged because he is corrupt? No, if that were the case almost every politician would be under arrest. Menendez was targeted for persecution, and in this kind of surveillance/security state once that happens there's no end to the ability of the government to harass you.

    This is a rather shrewd move on the part of the Obama team because no one is going to argue with a straight face that Menendez is honest.



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  3. #32
    Beware the Jabberwocky.....
    FJB



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  5. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Valli6 View Post
    Incidently, Ted Cruz has been defending him, saying he's being targeted for his pro-Israel statements.
    Another example of ludicrous American rhetoric. Menendez sided with Bibi against Obama. Being pro-Bibi is not the same as being pro-Israel.

    Isaac Herzog and the Zionist Union party would strongly disagree with Cruz. Bibi doesn't represent what they want. They would like to "to end the diplomatic isolation of Israel" and end the adversarial relationship with Obama over Iran.
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
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    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  6. #34
    Well, look at this. Menendez and McCain take money from terrorists. And we have some ISIS connections here. Menendez was blocking helicopters for the Iragi government to use against ISIS. The plot thickens. Nothing to see hear, move along.

    Already unpopular with Iranians, the Mojahedin’s international stock plummeted when the U.S. government officially designated them as a terrorist group in 1997, due to their history of attacks against Iranian government targets and, dating back to the Shah’s era, American civilian and military personnel stationed there.
    ...
    “It’s their Hill outreach strategy that accomplishes nearly everything they’re able to do,” the former staffer explained. “Given how small they are and how marginal they actually are, the amount of influence they wield is actually kind of amazing.”

    Congressional hawks like Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and the frequently eye-roll-worthy Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Ted Poe, R-Texas, could be counted on to bring up the Mojahedin again and again.
    ...
    Most of the group’s lobbying focuses on its members’ well-being in Iraq, said a current Hill staffer, who works in foreign policy. But, the staffer added, “undergirding this is all this neocon-friendly warmongering, this intense push for regime change, this intense hatred for [Iranian president Hassan] Rouhani — they’re not subtle about this at all.”

    Menendez’s advocacy for the Mojahedin at the October hearing wasn’t new, but it signaled that by 2013 the group had come full circle: from an outlaw terrorist outfit to a player on Capitol Hill. How that happened is a classic story of money, politics and the enduring appeal of exile groups promising regime change.
    ...
    The group’s origins date to the mid-1960s, when a small circle of mostly middle class university students pored over revolutionary and religious tracts, creating a unique Islamo-Marxist ideology and eventually forming the Mojahedin-e Khalq, meaning “Holy warriors of the people.”
    ...
    Before de-listing, from the start of 2009 until September 2012, John McCain and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., topped The Intercept’s survey of Mohajedin-related campaign contributions, receiving $11,350 and $11,150, respectively.

    Menendez only received two donations from supporters tracked by The Intercept before September 2012, but after the State Department removed the group from the terrorist list, the money started to flow. In the past two years, Menendez took in more than $25,000 from donors with ties to the Mojahedin, making him the largest recipient in the study over this period. (The next two top recipients received less than half of Menendez’s total during the same period. McCain, still top recipient of the study’s Mojahedin-related donations after de-listing, received $10,800, and Rohrabacher received $10,300.)

    But the campaign contributions alone don’t explain Menendez’s advocacy for the Mojahedin. The first former Hill staffer, who described efforts to move the Mojahedin back at hearings, said some Congressional offices were wary of the group, but described an alternative approach where “even if your constituent is crazy, you take the meeting and you listen carefully and you try to help them.”

    The former staffer said of Menendez, “Sometimes it gets him into trouble when his staff doesn’t vet people well enough.” He also noted another dynamic at play: “Menendez is sort of known for these immigrant minority groups. He has a special place in his heart for them, based on his Cuban background, and I think sometimes it clouds his judgment — sometimes he doesn’t make the best decisions.”
    ...
    According to data collected by the Huffington Post, the pro-Mojahedin roster included former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Bush White House chief of staff Andy Card, former Vermont governor Howard Dean and former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., among many others.
    ...
    The Mojahedin, perhaps chastened by their own labeling as terrorists, rely heavily on the word “extremism” in conjunction with ISIS, warning that the Iranian regime, with its “puppet” government in Iraq, represents the most significant terrorist threat.

    Iraq, meanwhile, had been pushing its main military supplier, the United States, for more weapons to combat ISIS, specifically advanced attack helicopters called Apaches. The Obama administration advanced a proposal to supply Iraq with the Apaches — a deal that would eventually involve 24 by a sale and six by a lease that would allow the Iraqis to field the equipment more quickly.
    ...
    The administration launched a back-room offensive on Capitol Hill to clear the way for the deal. Officials from the Departments of State and Defense “in their briefings before Congress made it very clear that sending these Apaches to the Iraqis was crucial to beating back the threat coming from ISIS to Iraq from Syria,” said another former Hill aide, who attended the briefings. “State was terrified that without these helicopters,” the Iraqis “didn’t have the capability to kill these guys.”

    Most would eventually be convinced to lift their holds, but Menendez held firm, creating palpable tension with the administration.
    ...
    “There are a lot of good reasons they” — Congress — “might have held up a sale,” said Sam Brannen, recently a fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Pentagon employee. But Brannen, who said he has no special insight into Menendez’s reasoning, added, “That there might be some more parochial reasons, that aren’t as good, would not surprise me.”

    A U.S. official, who also wouldn’t speak to Menendez’s motivations, confirmed Congress’s focus on the Mojahedin. “The MEK issue was clearly a concern for members of Congress,” the official said. “Whether that played a role holding up the arms sales, I don’t know. But it was certainly an issue for Congress.”
    ...
    Adam Sharon, a spokesman for Menendez, did not respond to any questions about the senator’s relationship with the Mojahedin. “The direct concern with the Apaches was what safeguards were in place to ensure that minorities weren’t being attacked,” Sharon said.
    ...
    ISIS took over more Iraqi cities starting last June, and the United States began its own air war to beat the group back in August. In October, the U.S. military ended up using its own Apache attack helicopters in raids against ISIS positions.

    FOR THE MOJAHEDIN, stalling the Iraq Apache deal was just a small victory. The real goal has always been regime change in Tehran.
    ...
    http://firstlook.org/theintercept/20...-march-yellow/
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
    "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul

    Proponent of real science.
    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  7. #35
    AIPAC will leave Menendez to hang. He was always just a pawn anyways. The only interesting thing that can come out of this is in a few years when Menendez gets out of jail. Will he have some juicy secrets to tell? Blowback is a bitch.

  8. #36

  9. #37

    Brilliant move by Boehner to invite Netanyahu; Jewish lobby behind Dems is getting fractured

    Protestors arrested, "Senators Menendez and Booker, The Blood is on your hands" banner


    ADL Blasts HuffPo for Anti-Semitism
    "We are shocked that a version of the anti-Semitic theme that 'Jews manipulate the U.S. Government' was boldly featured on your site."
    12.21.2013

    On Friday, Anti-Defamation League president Abraham Foxman blasted Huffington Post for its anti-Semitic splash page pushing against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who is pushing for harsher sanctions against Iran. The page showed Menendez speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, and carried the headline, “SABOTEUR SEN. LAUNCHING WAR PUSH.”
    http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/adl-...-anti-semitism




    Watch out other NJ Sen. Cory Booker, he could be next on Obama team's "price tag" list.


    CNBC: Cory Booker was elected to bomb Iran

    Did this AIPAC puppetbag from NJ call for Iraq invasion too?


    Mondoweiss @Mondoweiss · Mar 13

    Barney Frank says Israel and AIPAC lobbied Congress to support war in Iraq
    http://bit.ly/1BfNj31

    102 retweets 32 favorites





    On a related note, suddenly it is fashionable among left wing moderate war apologists to attack moderates like Menendez and Christie:

    Jon Stewart Blasts Corrupt New Jersey ‘Prostitutes’ Christie and Menendez
    by Matt Wilstein | 11:37 pm, March 12th, 2015



    Jon Stewart opened The Daily Show Thursday night with an update on one of his favorite potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates who has somehow been flying under the radar of late: “Master negotiator” and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
    Specifically, Stewart dug into New Jersey’s $9 billion lawsuit of Exxon in 2004 for a massive chemical spill in that state. After Christie stepped in to handle the negotiations, he got the company to cough up a whopping $225 million. “Christie said he was a great negotiator, he didn’t say which side he was working for,” the host remarked. Perhaps it had something to do with Exxon’s large donations to the Republican Governors Association?
    “Yes, Chris Christie, your amazing negotiating skills will get New Jersey a lot less money than almost everybody associated with this case, including Exxon, thought it would get,” Stewart said.

    http://www.mediaite.com/tv/jon-stewa...-and-menendez/



    Realted

    Christie calls for 'forceful' defense of Israel, says Obama not 'decisive'

  10. #38
    I don't know the details of this particular case, Menendez may be targeted, but it isn't without presidence. If I'm not mistaken, Duke Cunningham went through something similar.
    Quote Originally Posted by thoughtomator View Post
    Two sides to this.

    One: is Menendez corrupt? Beyond a reasonable doubt, he is.

    Two: Is Menendez being charged because he is corrupt? No, if that were the case almost every politician would be under arrest. Menendez was targeted for persecution, and in this kind of surveillance/security state once that happens there's no end to the ability of the government to harass you.

    This is a rather shrewd move on the part of the Obama team because no one is going to argue with a straight face that Menendez is honest.
    Quote Originally Posted by BuddyRey View Post
    Do you think it's a coincidence that the most cherished standard of the Ron Paul campaign was a sign highlighting the word "love" inside the word "revolution"? A revolution not based on love is a revolution doomed to failure. So, at the risk of sounding corny, I just wanted to let you know that, wherever you stand on any of these hot-button issues, and even if we might have exchanged bitter words or harsh sentiments in the past, I love each and every one of you - no exceptions!

    "When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." Frederic Bastiat

    Peace.

  11. #39

  12. #40
    http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf...uption_ch.html

    WASHINGTON — The federal government charged U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez on Wednesday with conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud in a 14-count indictment. Also indicted was Menendez's friend and campaign donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, a West Palm Beach, Fla., ophthalmologist. The two men were indicted on one count of conspiracy, one count of violating the travel act, eight counts of bribery and three counts of honest services fraud. Menendez (D-N.J.) additionally was charged with one count of making false statements.

    "Government corruption - at any level of elected office - corrodes the public trust and weakens our democratic system," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in announcing the indictments. "It is the fundamental responsibility of the Department of Justice to hold public officials accountable by conducting thorough investigations and seeking an indictment when the facts and the law support it."
    ...more at link



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  14. #41
    Quote Originally Posted by Brian4Liberty View Post
    History repeats itself. Stalin is going after Trotsky.
    What's your take on this? Who did Menendez piss off in the establishment?

  15. #42
    Menendez legal defense contributors include developer jailed for kickbacks

    Published April 17, 2015Associated Press









    TRENTON, N.J. – Sen. Bob Menendez's legal defense fund raised nearly $1.3 millionup until the day before he was indicted on bribery and corruption charges, including $10,000 from a retired New Jersey developer who served two years in prison for making illegal kickbacks.

    Menendez's fund also received $10,000 from the wife of the developer, Joseph Barry, and another $130,000 from executives of the development firm founded by Barry's two sons, and their families, according to a review by The Associated Press of financial disclosure forms filed with the IRS and Senate.
    The fund had paid for about $850,000 in legal expenses through March 31, the day before he was indicted on 14 counts accusing him of using his influence to help a Florida eye doctor in exchange for lavish vacations and campaign donations. He has pleaded not guilty and has vowed to fight the charges. Contributions and expenses made after March 31 aren't yet publicly available.
    Menendez's chief of staff, Fred Turner, called the Barrys "longtime friends and supporters of the senator" and said that Menendez has no issue accepting money from them.

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015...legal-defense/






    Quote Originally Posted by thoughtomator View Post
    Two sides to this.

    One: is Menendez corrupt? Beyond a reasonable doubt, he is.

    Two: Is Menendez being charged because he is corrupt? No, if that were the case almost every politician would be under arrest. Menendez was targeted for persecution, and in this kind of surveillance/security state once that happens there's no end to the ability of the government to harass you.

    This is a rather shrewd move on the part of the Obama team because no one is going to argue with a straight face that Menendez is honest.
    Dershowitz says Menendez indictment related to senator's foreign policy views




    By Matthew Speiser | The Jersey Journal

    on April 12, 2015 at 6:24 PM, updated April 13, 2015 at 8:57 AM




    SECAUCUS - Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz believes New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez may have been indicted by the Obama administration due to differing stances on foreign policy.

    http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2...ed_to_sen.html

    Lawyer of Jeffrey Epstein and OJ Simpson and is right for once.

  16. #43
    it will be interesting who Christie appoints when (not if, because they all say they won't resign, and they always do) Menendez resigns

  17. #44
    One down, 90 some to go, ............................. in the Senate.

  18. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by cindy25 View Post
    this is probably a combo of politics and actual corruption. there has been rumors against Menendez for years. and they are most likely true. the trigger was probably political. the senate is already gone, so losing the seat doesn't matter that much. it will bring other Dems in line, might even prevent war with Iran. Christie will probably pick a neo-con Republican to hold the seat. maybe Whitman.
    An appointed replacement for someone who resigns from office is pretty much always the same party as the departed, regardless of the Governor. Most states have laws requiring this. Those that do not are governed by similar traditions.

  19. #46
    The Fall of The Roman Empire:

    http://www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/r...man-empire.htm

    Antagonism between the Senate and the Emperor
    Decline in Morals
    Political Corruption and the Praetorian Guard
    Fast expansion of the Empire
    Constant Wars and Heavy Military Spending
    Barbarian Knowledge of Roman Military Tactics
    Failing Economy
    Unemployment of the Working Classes (The Plebs)
    The 'Mob' and the cost of the 'Games'
    Decline in Ethics and Values
    Slave Labor
    Natural Disasters
    Christianity
    Barbarian Invasion
    The major causes for the Fall of the Roman Empire


    I'd say were on track.

    We're being governed ruled by a geriatric Alzheimer patient/puppet whose strings are being pulled by an elitist oligarchy who believe they can manage the world... imagine the utter maniacal, sociopathic hubris!

  20. #47
    Quote Originally Posted by enhanced_deficit View Post
    Lawyer of Jeffrey Epstein and OJ Simpson and is right for once.
    uhhhh....yeah, his opinion is worth a lot, considering Menendez thing for young island girls. I haven't seen a specific link yet but spidey sense says Menendez and Epstein are connected, along with Bill and others.
    "Let it not be said that we did nothing."-Ron Paul

    "We have set them on the hobby-horse of an idea about the absorption of individuality by the symbolic unit of COLLECTIVISM. They have never yet and they never will have the sense to reflect that this hobby-horse is a manifest violation of the most important law of nature, which has established from the very creation of the world one unit unlike another and precisely for the purpose of instituting individuality."- A Quote From Some Old Book

  21. #48



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  23. #49
    Menendez pissed off the wrong guy. In current America, what he did is the political equivalent of jaywalking. Never voted for the guy, but I know there's somethin' stinking
    A savage barbaric tribal society where thugs parade the streets and illegally assault and murder innocent civilians, yeah that is the alternative to having police. Oh wait, that is the police

    We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
    - Edward R. Murrow

    ...I think we have moral obligations to disobey unjust laws, because non-cooperation with evil is as much as a moral obligation as cooperation with good. - MLK Jr.

    How to trigger a liberal: "I didn't get vaccinated."

  24. #50
    Quote Originally Posted by Warrior_of_Freedom View Post
    Menendez pissed off the wrong guy. In current America, what he did is the political equivalent of jaywalking. Never voted for the guy, but I know there's somethin' stinking
    There is new sheriff in town and his name is Barack Hussein Obama.. no war/civil war can be started unless it goes through him first.

    Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio face defeat on Iran

    Senate leaders are expected to shut down debate on a nuclear review bill, clearing the way for passage.
    By Burgess Everett
    5/3/15 5:28 PM EDT

    Republican leaders are preparing to clamp down on Sen. Tom Cotton’s efforts to derail a bipartisan compromise on legislation giving Congress review power over a nuclear deal with Iran, clearing the way for it to be passed this week.
    The Senate is set to resume work Monday on the long-considered bill, but lawmakers in both parties agree debate on the measure has run its course, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is widely expected to wrap up consideration of the time-sensitive bill and free it from parliamentary gridlock.

    “I would like to have seen more amendments. But in light of the circumstances, that route is now unfortunately over,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the bill’s author and chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
    In a bid to pressure President Barack Obama to take a tougher negotiating line with Tehran, Cotton (R-Ark.) made a surprise move Thursday to try and force a vote on his amendment, which would require Iran to disclose the history of its nuclear program and shutter all its nuclear facilities, and a proposal from Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio that would require Tehran to recognize Israel’s statehood.

    “There are between 70 and 80 members who are very pleased for this process to be over, and they want to pass this bill,” Cardin added. “It’s not just Democrats.”

    Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said “it’s pretty ironic” that because of the way the debate has played out over the Cotton and Rubio proposals, it will be the senators’ fellow Republicans who will be blocked from making further revisions.


    Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/iran-nuclear-cotton-rubio-senate-israel-117585.html

  25. #51
    Quote Originally Posted by thoughtomator View Post
    Two sides to this.

    One: is Menendez corrupt? Beyond a reasonable doubt, he is.

    Two: Is Menendez being charged because he is corrupt? No, if that were the case almost every politician would be under arrest. Menendez was targeted for persecution, and in this kind of surveillance/security state once that happens there's no end to the ability of the government to harass you.

    This is a rather shrewd move on the part of the Obama team because no one is going to argue with a straight face that Menendez is honest.

    Updated:

    Two sides to this.

    One: is Adelson corrupt? Beyond a reasonable doubt, he is.

    Two: Is Adelson being charged because he is corrupt? No, if that were the case almost every politician would be under arrest. Adelson was targeted for persecution, and in this kind of surveillance/security state once that happens there's no end to the ability of the government to harass you.

    This is a rather shrewd move on the part of the Obama team because no one is going to argue with a straight face that Adelson is honest.

  26. #52
    Quote Originally Posted by Ronin Truth View Post
    A corrupt New Jersey politician, really?

    What are the odds?
    Wonder who he pissed off in the halls of power?...

  27. #53

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