re: #184 Mattand

The supposed prostitution scandal is a smear campaign from the Dominican Republican using less than trustworthy “witnesses”. They have little to no credence, but they’ve got the salaciousness so they wont go away.

Menendez’s much more immediate problem is relevant to campaign finance issues. He’s already paid back the costs for the round trip flights.

Menendez spokesman Paul Brubaker today said the senator reimbursed Melgen for the flights on Melgen’s private jet until Jan. 4 of this year. Both were round trips — one between Florida and the Dominican Republic in August 2010, and one between Teterboro and the Dominican Republic in September 2010.

The total amount Menendez (D-N.J.) paid back was $58,500 , Brubaker said.

On Nov. 3 of last year, state Sen. Sam Thompson, who chairs the Middlesex County Republican Committee, wrote to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics to request an investigation of Menendez’s flights to the Caribbean nation. Thompson’s letter came after a conservative blog posted allegations from two anonymous women it said were prostitutes who said they had sex with Menendez in the Dominican Republic.

“In the weeks that ensued, after that very extensive review which was a time consuming laborious project, the issue of these two trips came up, and the senator had basically consulted with the campaign’s legal counsel and found that he had two options,” said Brubaker. “Basically he could, according to Senate ethics rules, use an exemption under the personal friendship rule, or simply pay the reimbursements for the flights. In order to just demonstrate full compliance he decided to pay the reimbursement.”

Senate rules, however, only allow members to claim the personal friendship exemption for gifts valued under $250. Otherwise they must seek written approval from the ethics committee.

As I noted above, the allegations about the prostitution aren’t substantiated, but the rules about the flights were such that he should either have gotten clearance from the ethics committee or paid for them. He ended up paying for the flights.

What else explains Menendez’s dip in the polls? Gee, it could be that he’s not seen as being as delivering on Sandy reconstruction aid as others in the NJ delegation, including Sen. Lautenberg, Pallone, Pascrell, or even Garrett, let alone Christie. As a result, he’s seen as a weak link.

/disclosure statement: I’ve never thought much of Menendez and his legislative abilities, let alone the ability to protect the state’s interests. The sooner the state’s Democrats can find a replacement, the better.