By Alan Caruba
I’d be surprised to learn that anyone
in the Obama and Holder Department of Justice even knows how to spell
“justice.”
On the same day it announced an
indictment of New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez (D) for allegedly taking bribes
and engaging in various forms of corruption, it also announced that it would not
pursue a criminal contempt of Congress resolution against Lois Lerner, the
member of the Internal Revenue Service at the center of the effort to deny
conservative groups the right to be certified for non-profit tax
status.
Without such status, the group’s
ability to raise funds and pursue their issues and agenda was significantly
impacted. If you were a liberal group, however, you sailed right through. That’s
that way the Obama administration has functioned in all aspects of governance
since it began in 2009.
In what is now becoming a standard way
of avoiding an investigation, last June the IRS announced that it had “lost” two
years’ worth of Lerner’s emails in a 2011 computer crash. An IRS inspector
general, however, unearthed the backup tapes believed to contain them. Lerner
would not speak to lawmakers, but she has reportedly cooperated with the
FBI.
In an April 1 Politico.com article,
“Don’t Blame Menendez, Blame New Jersey” Jeff Smith and Brian Murphy would have
you believe that New Jersey is a steaming heap of political corruption that has
no equal. When was the last time a New Jersey senator was found guilty of
bribery? 1981. Thirty-four years ago. An entire generation has been born and
grown up in the Garden State since then.
I am born, bred, and live in New
Jersey. Illinois has ex-Governors in jail and no New Jersey Governor ever shared
that distinction.
Our current one, Chris Christie, came
to statewide attention when, as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, he put a
number of our politicians in jail for corruption in addition to a slew of
convictions for sexual slavery, arms trafficking, and racketeering by gangs,
along with other federal crimes.
He was a very good lawyer and had also
been politically ambitious, rising through the ranks, campaigning for Bush 41
and 43, the latter who appointed him to the State Attorney post. In a very
Democratic state, he would handily defeat Joe Corzine in 2009 to become Governor
because Corzine was as incompetent then as Obama is today.
The rap on New Jersey is that
politicians and those who donate a chunk of money to support their election are
somehow different or special in some way. I doubt there is a political reporter
or blogger in any other state that could not regale you with a history of their
crooked politicians and appointees that would not equal or exceed ours.
Now, let’s get to the heart of the
charges against Sen. Menendez. More to the point, when the charges were announced. In
early March he gave a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee,
Menendez made no secret of his displeasure that the Obama administration was
negotiating with Iran. “When it comes to defending the U.S.-Israel
relationship,” he told the group, “I am not intimidated by anyone—not Israel’s
political enemies and not by my political friends when I feel they’re wrong.” He
said that as long has he had an ounce of fight in him, “Iran will never have a
pathway to a (nuclear) weapon.”
And Menendez had also made it clear
that he opposed the normalizing of a diplomatic relationship with Cuba. “The
deal achieved nothing for Americans.”
When the DOJ indictment was announced,
the state’s largest daily newspaper virtually pronounced him guilty. “The litany
of travel arranged by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez’s good friend, Salomon Melgen,
reads like the operation of a small airline.” It salivated over the 68-page
indictment and the favors alleged between him and “his wealthy benefactor” that
included “more than $1 million to various political campaigns connected to the
senator.” No question about it, Melgen was Menendez’s friend and supporter. That
is, however, not against the law.
I doubt there is a member of the U.S.
Senate that does not have such wealthy supporters, nor any that have not
accepted an invitation to vacation as their guest. Did Menendez reply by using the influence of
his office to facilitate visas or the approval of deals by which Melgen would
benefit? In one cited case that influence did not have any effect on the
outcome, but simply stated this is part of the job. It is the quid pro quo of
politics and always has been.
The Department of Justice indictment
came at the same time the Obama administration had squandered 18 months in
useless, senseless negotiations with Iran to arrive at an agreement that would
ultimately permit Iran to produce nuclear bombs. No other nation wants that.
Iran had never ceased to tell the world it intended to “wipe Israel off the
map”, nor cease to call America the “Great Satan.”
The level of hubris from the President
to the Secretary of State to those engaged in the negotiations is beyond
measurement. It blinds them to the obvious.
The White House clearly could not
permit a prominent Democratic senator to tell the Israelis and the world what a
bunch of jackasses they were. They feared losing control of the rest of the
Democratic senators and thus Menendez is being subjected to a long, costly
indictment as a lesson to the others.
The indictment suggests a pattern of
corruption based solely on the relationship between Menendez and Melgem, both
longtime friends. If Menendez broke the law the DOJ should have been able to
come up with comparable charges involving others for whom he intervened. If I
was a gambling man, I would bet that Sen. Menendez beats the
charges.
© Alan Caruba, 2015
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