Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Donald Trump have each found themselves in a heap of trouble.
Politics:
Sen. Menendez was indicted last week after claims emerged that he accepted bribes and abused his power as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in order to benefit Egypt. Although the senator has since denied all charges and insisted that he is innocent until proven guilty, federal prosecutors provided photographic proof of more than $480,000 in cash that they found “stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe” inside his New Jersey home. Additionally, fingerprints of one of the businessmen alleged to have bribed Menendez were found on some of those envelopes.
During a press conference on Monday, Sen. Menendez said the alleged bribes (including cash and gold bars in exchange for helping a New Jersey company secure a monopoly on US imports to Egypt) were fabricated and non-existent. However, even his own Democratic colleagues on Capitol Hill were not buying his explanation.
On Tuesday, Sen. Cory Booker — who is the junior senator from New Jersey and has long been a close friend and fierce defender of Mr. Menendez — went public with his belief that the “shocking allegations of corruption” were “hard to reconcile with the person I know.”
He added: “I believe stepping down is best for those Sen. Menendez has spent his life serving.”
According to The New York Times, his bold words opened the floodgates and prompted calls from Democrats running for re-election next year in politically competitive states, who are eager to distance themselves from Menendez ASAP. Some of the names calling for Menendez to step down include Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada.
With the overwhelming groundswell of opposition developing against Sen. Menendez, he may not last very long. However, since New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is a Democrat, it’s a safe bet that he’d appoint another Democrat to fill the seat should it become available.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is also under fire after suggesting that his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff deserves death.
On Tuesday, Trump and Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona called the outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, US Army Gen. Mark Milley, a traitor who deserves to be executed.
Trump accused Milley of going behind his back to make phone calls to Chinese counterparts, which may have occurred during the final months of Trump’s term when he was believed to be unhinged and unpredictable before being forced out of The White House.
“If the Fake News reporting is correct, [Milley] was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States,” Trump posted on his Truth Social site. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been death!”
Gosar cosigned Trump’s words by saying: “In a better society, quislings like the strange sodomy-promoting General Milley would be hung.”
The Trump trouble came on the day a tell-all book by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson was released. Hutchinson appeared Tuesday on CNN to warn Americans that Trump will not have guardrails if he is handed a 2nd term and that he should be disqualified from the White House.
“I think that Donald Trump is the most grave threat we will face to our democracy in our lifetime, and potentially in American history,” she added.
OK WASSUP! discusses Politics:
Menendez and Trump in trouble.
So regarding Sen. Menendez:
Unless I’m mistaken, this isn’t the first time he’s been accused of being criminally corrupt. But I think it’s the first time the law has been able to get overwhelming evidence against him!
In other words, the Dems should have kicked his corrupt rear-end to the curb a long time ago!