New Jersey Senator Menendez found guilty in corruption trial – National & International News – TUE 16Jul2024

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez found guilty in corruption trial.

Dems’ Biden ouster efforts, muted by Trump shooting, continue quietly.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez found guilty in corruption trial

Senior New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez was found guilty of 16 charges today, including bribery, extortion, acting as an undeclared foreign agent, obstruction of justice and several conspiracy counts. The verdict followed a 9-week trial in which prosecutors detailed how Menendez and his wife Nadine received bribes, including gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz. In return, Menendez used his position on the Senate Foreign Relations committee to push policies that benefitted the Egyptian government and several Egyptian-American businessmen. Menendez also used his position. Attorneys for Menendez have said they will appeal the verdict.

Despite the highly-publicized FBI raid of his home last year, the trial and the conviction, Menendez remains a serving Senator. Following the convictions, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) as well as Menendez’s fellow New Jersey Senator Cory Booker called on him to step down today. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says he is prepared to replace Menendez and has called on the Senate to vote to expel Menendez if he will not step down willingly.  

Menendez, a Democrat until recently, has represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2006. He is running for re-election in November as an Independent in a three-way race with Democratic nominee Andy Kim and Republican Curtis Bradshaw.

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Dems’ Biden ouster efforts, muted by Trump shooting, continue quietly

Earlier in the week, there were signs that Washington Democrats were backing down from their calls for President Biden to step down as the 2024 nominee, at least publicly. Following Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Trump, even some Democratic lawmakers who had publicly defected made statements this week signaling that this moment called for “unity”. However, reports indicate that some Democratic operatives are continuing to push quietly from behind the scenes.

Former House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who retains much of her former clout and particularly her pull with donors, was working the phones last week with other Democratic leaders, looking for an opening to pierce the tightly-closed ranks around Biden. Some of the messaging attempts to appeal to Biden’s ego. As one person privy to these conversations told Politico, the message Pelosi has transmitted is that Biden shouldn’t allow his legacy to be that of the President that destroyed the Democratic party.

It’s unclear whether or to what extent the former Speaker’s efforts have continued since Saturday’s shooting. However, CNN pointed to the continuing efforts of Stanley Greenberg, a respected pollster, who has been sounding the alarm about the harm Biden could do to down-ballot races if he remains at the top of the ticket.

A YouGov poll published earlier this week demonstrates Greenberg’s point. The poll shows Biden trailing Trump in each of 7 key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The same poll shows Democrats running for Congress from those states significantly outperforming Biden, handily defeating their Republican opponents.

While the polls are promising for these down-ticket candidates, leading Democrats fear that won’t be translated to reality. With Biden at the top of the ticket, a lack of enthusiasm among voters could cause Democrat candidates to lose very winnable House and Senate races.