Sources familiar with the probe say the Justice Department’s Public Integrity unit, which prosecutes federal officials, along with the FBI have cast a wide net, looking at his public actions even before he first came to Congress as a House member in 1993. Menendez was appointed to the Senate in 2006, and won reelection in 2012. In his 2006 and 2012 races, Menendez faced scrutiny over whether he improperly used his office to help his allies.
...
The charges imperil the career of the powerful New Jersey Democrat, who has emerged as a prominent Democratic skeptic of the White House’s dealings with Iran and Cuba.
In 2009 and 2012, Menendez intervened with top officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the agency that oversees the Medicare program — about a CMS ruling that Melgen had overbilled the Medicare program by nearly $9 million. Melgen has repaid those funds. FBI agents and investigators from the Department of Health and Human Services have searched the Florida ophthalmologist’s offices twice as part of the probe.
Other actions by Menendez have also come under scrutiny. He contacted the State and Commerce departments for help in pressuring the Dominican Republic’s government to honor a contract with a port security company owned by Melgen. The senator had traveled repeatedly on Melgen’s private plane, and Menendez was forced to repay $70,000 from his own pocket for some unreported flights after they came to light.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/bob-menendez-federal-corruption-charges-115834.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
