https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senator-menendez-charged-with-corruption-prosecutors-2023-09-22/
He accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash and gold bars, the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said.
In general I agree, but this kind of corruption has become pretty normalized in Congress, I think.
Look at how many Senators and other congresspeople have become millionaires (or much, much wealthier) while in office. It's not all insider trading - there's so many special favors being done, "consulting fees" being paid to family members. Campaign "contributions" that find their way into pockets via thinly veiled (or deeply hidden) laundering, special payments/contracts for existing business interests, etc. I don't usually go for "both sides" arguments but the kind of corruption is widespread. Even if the GOP seems to be doing it more.
I'm just really happy to see someone actually investigated and charged for a change. No matter which party. This kind of corruption needs aggressively stamped out everywhere, it should be in the top 3 priorities for our government.
But I'll be amazed if it isn't shut down like the last charges against this piece of garbage.
Book deals are, imo, one of the main vehicles of money transfer. Get a ghost writer, publish a book, your friendly superPAC orders 100000, clean cash in your pocket.
Bribery is perfectly legal as long as it goes though the right systems and they call it lobbying. Some one missed some paperwork.
If you think this has to do with party you're delusional.
They're all doing it. Yes, even your favorite one. Every time they do this budget shutdown thing, what do you think they're doing? Trying to get smaller government? Trying to reduce greenhouse gasses? No. They're holding each other's money makers over each other's heads to get more of what they want.
Every time the president signs a 100k page omnibus bill into law, what do you think all those pages have in them? The omnibus bill is a free for all, where everyone crams some special interest of theirs in, complete with kickbacks, and holds the possibility of a government shutdown over everyone's heads. Every single congressperson works for at least one special interest group. Some of those special interest groups are foreign nations. All of them, every single one, is selling the US down the river to line their own pockets. They'd sell you into slavery for a buck. They take their peanuts, live a decadent life, make their kids rich and hollow out this country for a living. Every single fucking one of them.
Money is really the engine of the political system and so many safeguards have been removed, then Citizens United just put a nail in it. It's always been like this but the money involved is so much more significant then when the country was founded. It also corrupts the whole system including "good" actors. Look at someone like Fetterman and how he quieted up about Israel once he was in, he knows it will harm his political goals to make it an issue, so he is forced to comply to the Israel lobby. When things are so partisan even campaign dollar counts.
Well, this leads me to conclude that the only reason to get into politics is the money.
It doesn't have anything to do with party. That's the point I was making.
Criminals are criminals and will join any political leaning that serves their personal goals best. Usually, the choice is 'conservative' simply because authoritarian parties tend to protect their own more readily than liberal leaning parties do.
Let’s take it to the Supreme Court - because I’m sure judge Clarance Thomas would have so much to say on receiving bribes and remaining in office…
It's quickly becoming very clear, at least to me, that power will have to be taken back. These people will not give it up until they are met with deadly force. I absolutely do not condone violence because I feel it should always be the last option. At the rate power is being consolidated and our rights taken away it is looking like the only way to force a pause and possibly a disruption is to drag one of these CEOs/politicians/crazy religious zealot into the street and execute them in cold blood.
Again, I am not condoning violence but the ease in which civilian's lives are being taken by law enforcement agencies and the like gives us very little recourse.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan said Menendez, 69, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash and gold bars in exchange for using his power and influence as New Jersey's senior senator to benefit the government of Egypt and interfere with law enforcement probes into the businessmen.
Menendez has been an important ally to fellow Democrat Joe Biden as the president has sought to reassert U.S. influence on the world stage, rally support for congressional aid to Ukraine, and push back against a rising China.
Prosecutors are seeking to have Menendez forfeit assets including his New Jersey home, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz convertible, and about $566,000 in cash, gold bars and funds from a bank account.
Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, noted that Menendez's website says that as a senator he cannot compel an agency to act in someone's favor or influence matters involving a private business.
Federal prosecutors in New Jersey dropped a case in January 2018 in which Menendez was charged with accepting private flights, campaign contributions and other bribes from a wealthy patron in exchange for official favors.
In exchange, Hana, 40, put Nadine Menendez on the payroll of a company he controlled that had the exclusive right to certify halal meat shipped to Egypt from the United States, prosecutors said.
The original article contains 1,083 words, the summary contains 218 words. Saved 80%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cash and gold bars
GOLD BARS?
Isn't that difficult to spend?