Fours year ago, Senator Bob Menendez was under investigation for corruption but the charges were dropped however on Wednesday he acknowledged the existence of an ongoing federal investigation with him as the target.
According to an NBC News report, the criminal investigation of Menendez the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan involves more allegations of corruption, this time with a different set of people than four years ago.
NBC News has also reported that at least one subpoena has been issued into the probe against the Senator.
In a statement issued by a Menendez advisor, Michael Soliman, read “Senator Menendez is aware of an investigation that was reported on today, however he does not know the scope of the investigation. As always, should any official inquiries be made, the Senator is available to provide any assistance that is requested of him or his office.”
The Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office has issued no statements and declined to comment on any possible investigations.
Senator Menendez has been in the political realm for decades. He first ran for school board at the age of 20 and went on to be elected mayor of Union City. He then was elected to the New Jersey State Assembly and Senate followed by more than a decade in the U.S. House of Representatives. Menendez was first appointed to the U.S. Senate by New Jersey Governor Corzine and won a reelection bid for two more terms.
His corruption scandal began in 2015 when a federal grand jury indicted him on bribery, conspiracy, and fraud charges involving gifts from a Florida doctor in exchange for the Senator using his power to benefit the doctor. The trial ended in 2017 when the jury could not come to an unanimous decision for a guilty verdict and the prosecutors declined to re-try him.
The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee did however “severely admonished” Menendez because accepting any gifts is a violation of Senate rules and ruled he must repay any gifts received.
Even after the trial ended, his popularity decreased slightly and was still able to win reelection in 2018 to the Senate.