Former Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), as far as I can tell, has been corrupt since nearly the first day he took his seat in the Senate.
He was finally convicted on bribery charges after slithering out of them prior, and his attempt to avoid jail time has just failed.
I have been after Menendez since long before I actually started to write about politics.
I grew up in this area, and lived in New Jersey for more than a decade, so I saw firsthand how corrupt this man was, but he always managed to get away with it.
Even though he regularly faced corruption allegations, the people of New Jersey continued to put this man in office, once right in the middle of a corruption trial.
However, when the DOJ announced in September 2023 that he was being indicted on bribery charges, among others, the house of cards started to fall.
In July 2024, Menendez was found guilty on all charges, bringing a huge smile to my face.
U.S. Attorney Damien Williams took a victory lap, telling the media, "This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption—hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, a Mercedes Benz. This wasn't politics as usual. This was politics for profit.
"Now that a jury has convicted Bob Menendez, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end."
Menendez remained defiant, insisting that he had done nothing wrong and had only served the people of the state of New Jersey with his actions throughout his career.
Menendez was hoping to stay out of prison while his appeals process plays out, so he threw a Hail Mary attempt to the court, but his plea failed to register with the court.
The court ruled 2-1 against Menendez, with only a Biden-appointed judge offering Menendez some compassion.
Now it would appear that his only hope is to have Trump pardon him, and believe me, Menendez and his allies have been working that angle for months.
Trump has not ruled out pardoning Menendez as of yet, but I can tell you now, if Trump lets another corrupt politician off the hook, I am going to lose it. One of the lowest forms of life is a public official who betrays the trust of the American people, and corrupt officials need to pay for betraying that trust, not get a pardon.
