Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus tells Breitbart News that the relationship Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has with Democratic Party megadonor Dr. Salomon Melgen—a relationship that is set to result in criminal corruption charges against Menendez from the Department of Justice—“stinks to high heaven.”
“I remember you were the first person to bring this stuff up with the flights and connecting Melgen to all of this and the flights and what not, so I’m sure you have to be following this very closely,” Priebus said in an interview on Monday when asked for his reaction to the charges against Menendez that are forthcoming. Those charges stem from a relationship that this reporter first uncovered more than two years ago while writing for The Daily Caller.
There has to be an investigation into all these charges. I think it would be silly to try to make the case that there shouldn’t be an investigation into these charges—if you look at the timing of the trips, the timing of the donations, the timing of the meetings that Menendez put together that apparently also included Sen. Reid and some other folks that were involved, obviously something is wrong.
I would also add onto that though that it’s also logical for people to question the timing of the DOJ’s charges. I mean, after a couple of years now—you started part of this investigation yourself—but now a couple years have passed and right after Menendez goes after the president, we have a declaration that charges may be pending.
I think that the whole thing stinks to high heaven as far as what Menendez was doing with his donor and at the same time we know that there are no bounds apparently to how the Obama administration will use the DOJ to exact revenge.”
Priebus’ comments come after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) questioned whether the administration’s decision to move against Menendez at this time is politically motivated, something that former federal prosecutor Andy McCarthy questioned as well in a recent column.
The administration’s timing is certainly suspect, as this Department of Justice under outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder has been one of if not the most political in history. Nonetheless, despite Menendez’s protestations at a press conference in Newark Friday night, there are certainly legal concerns—echoed by career prosecutors and FBI agents who have been digging into this case for more than two years—with his official activities on Melgen’s behalf in both Medicare dealings and with regard to a port contract in the Dominican Republic.
Menendez has also avoided answering any questions for more than two years about flights he took on Melgen’s private jet.
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