As we have seen in so many cases – from former HUD secretary Mike Espy’s in 1999 to former senator Ted Stevens in 2007 to former senator John Edwards two years ago – prosecutors in the Justice Department often get it wrong. These charges are the latest mistakes.
This investigation started with false and salacious allegations made by political and other opponents of Senator Menendez; it was fueled by heavy-handed actions of agents pressuring witnesses; and then it had more than its fair share of improper leaks to the press. I have asked the Justice Department to investigate this misconduct and I can only hope they do so with as much vigor and as many resources they have used against Senator Menendez.
Prosecutors get to write the indictment they want, after a secret, one-sided presentation in a grand jury. But, they do not get those advantages now. Now, they have to make good on those charges. Now, they have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a 20 year friendship between Senator Menendez and Dr. Melgen was something else. And now, they have to prove that the consistent and proper policies and actions Senator Menendez took were for a corrupt purpose and not to protect the security of Americans after 2001, and the safe and efficient workings of the health case system. And — because there was a real friendship and not a corrupt relationship, and because Senator Menendez’s actions were proper, this case too will become another of those mistaken cases that should not have been brought.
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