Politico
By Seung Min Kim
May 10, 2015
Just
days before Robert Menendez was hit with federal corruption charges,
Bill Richardson reached out to his longtime friend with a simple
question: How can I help?
Details
of the Justice Department’s case against Menendez — that he had
improperly used his Senate office to aid a wealthy donor — had been
leaking out for weeks. So Richardson,
who’s known Menendez since their days together as back-bench Latino
members of the House, pledged over breakfast in the Senate Dining Room
that he would defend the senator.
“I
told him I wanted to stand behind him,” the former New Mexico governor
and Energy secretary said in a recent interview. “I stand behind Bob
Menendez’s integrity, his
word, his values.” Since then, Richardson said he has donated $5,000 to
Menendez’s legal defense fund and plans to raise more to aid his
friend.
Richardson’s
unwavering allegiance mirrors how the larger Latino community has
rallied behind Menendez — and remained by his side in the weeks since
the indictment — as
he faces 14 federal corruption charges spanning bribery accusations to
making false statements. As he fights to keep alive a four-decade
political career, Menendez is relying on support from Latino
politicians, advocacy groups and voters to bolster his public
image, raise money and give counsel behind the scenes.
The
U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce talked with New Jersey’s other
Democratic senator, Cory Booker, about efforts to show public support
for Menendez, according to officials
at the group. Menendez has been asked to be the grand marshal at the
Elizabeth, New Jersey, Cuban Day Parade later this month, and he’s
scheduled to be honored as the distinguished Cuban-American of the year
at another Cuban Day Parade in North Bergen, New
Jersey.
About
two weeks after Menendez was indicted, La Casa de Don Pedro — a
community development and social services organization based in Newark —
bestowed the group’s annual
award on Menendez to honor him for his work on immigration reform. On
Thursday, Menendez rushed for the train home to New Jersey as one of two
dozen honorees by the newspaper El Cambio, a Spanish-language
publication that covers northern New Jersey, for work
on behalf of the Latino community.
Even
in Latino-heavy West New York — adjacent to Union City, where Menendez
grew up — school officials have fielded just a “couple” of phone calls
about whether the name
of the Robert Menendez Elementary School should be changed, according
to the Bergen Record.
“When
he was the only … Hispanic senator, he would get issues from California
to Texas that had very little to do with New Jersey. And he would
repeatedly step up for
the Latino community,” said Javier Palomarez, president of the U.S.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “Because of that record, we are stepping
up and saying, ‘Listen. We can talk about the Bob Menendez we know.’”
Aides
and groups say Menendez is not directly soliciting support from outside
groups, as emissaries like Richardson have worked behind the scenes to
marshal support for
the senator.
If
Menendez were to be found guilty, it would lead to the loss of the only
Latino Democrat currently serving in the Senate — and so the broader
Hispanic community is rallying
behind Menendez not just because of their histories with the senator,
but to prevent losing their core of influence in the chamber.
“I
can tell you that back home, he has very strong support,” said Rep.
Albio Sires (D-N.J.), who represents the House seat Menendez once held.
“I think people are concerned
that we’re gonna lose our voice … so everybody’s nervous that this
could hurt him.”
Sires added: “A lot of people feel that this may not be right, what they’re doing to him.”
The
accusations laid out by federal prosecutors in a 68-page indictment are
serious: Menendez allegedly took nearly $1 million worth of gifts and
contributions from a
wealthy Florida ophthalmologist, Salomon Melgen, and then used the
resources of his Senate office to bolster the eye doctor’s business
interests, while supporting visa applications for three of Melgen’s
girlfriends. Melgen was also charged in the Menendez
indictment.
Menendez
has pleaded not guilty and defiantly proclaimed he will be vindicated.
Meanwhile, Melgen is facing 76 additional federal charges, separate from
the Menendez case,
in Florida, where he is accused of engaging in an elaborate Medicare
scheme that included falsely diagnosing patients for eye conditions and
then profiting off them.
A
Fairleigh Dickinson University poll last month found that 58 percent of
New Jersey residents believe Menendez is likely guilty of the charges.
Over the last year, his
favorability ratings have dropped from 30 percent to 23 percent, the
poll said — although Latino officials say their view of Menendez hasn’t
changed.
“What’s
in the best interest of the Latino community, the best interest is for
Sen. Menendez to stay in the Senate,” said Brent Wilkes, national
executive director of
the League of United Latin American Citizens. In terms of defending him
publicly, Wilkes added: “No question it is the right thing for us to
do.”
If
Menendez were to be forced out of the Senate, “the little access that
we would have would be gone,” Wilkes added. “We would not have someone
we could go to be the champion
for our issues.”
In a brief interview, Menendez called the support of Latinos “very meaningful.”
“It’s
a lifetime of work that I’ve had with the community, and I think they
know who I am and what I stand for,” he said. “And so I’m very blessed
to have their support.”
In
the few weeks he’s spent in Washington since the April 1 indictment,
Menendez has kept up a business-as-usual appearance as he’s shuffled
between committee hearings
and floor votes. The one major difference is that Menendez has been
sidelined as the ranking member on the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, with the mild-mannered Ben Cardin of Maryland replacing him
as the top Democrat and playing a key role during the
floor machinations over the Iran review bill, which passed the Senate
last week. Menendez was the first Latino chairman of the influential
Senate committee.
As
the Senate wrapped up work on the Iran legislation, Cardin praised
Menendez for his work on the legislation as the Democratic Caucus gave
him an ovation, one source
said — a recognition that occurred as new Attorney General Loretta
Lynch, a guest at the Democratic lunch, watched. Her department is
overseeing the investigation into Menendez.
He
remains a point person for Democrats on immigration; Menendez was among
the lawmakers who strategized with Senate Democratic leadership as well
as key members of the
Congressional Hispanic Caucus in mid-April, when Menendez said
Democrats need to keep pushing for a comprehensive immigration reform
bill, according to an aide. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is in the
middle of drafting legislation on that end.
Rep.
Luis Gutiérrez, a longtime Menendez friend, waited for hours on April 1
until the indictment was made public. Once he saw the charges were
official, Gutiérrez dialed
Menendez on his iPhone and left him a voicemail: “I want you to know
that when you pick up tomorrow’s clips, my statement should be in there,
and I’m with you.” In a recent interview, Gutiérrez said he is also
willing to help beef up Menendez’s legal defense
fund, although the Illinois Democrat acknowledges he’s not a prolific
fundraiser.
Gutiérrez
and Menendez have been close allies since they met in 1992, when
Gutiérrez was dispatched to New Jersey by then-presidential candidate
Bill Clinton’s campaign
to rally the Puerto Rican community. Both men are proud liberals who
like to spend as little time in Washington as possible and have a track
record of irking their own party on policies such as immigration and
Cuba. They’ve even shared immigration staffers
— Alice Lugo left Gutiérrez’s office last year to be Menendez’s chief
counsel.
During
dinner with President Barack Obama last November, the night before the
president announced his executive actions on immigration, Gutiérrez and
Menendez — sitting
at opposite ends of the oval dining table — would shoot glances and
signals to each other as Obama laid out his plan. Gutiérrez recalled: “I
wasn’t going to say something positive until I made sure he liked it.”
Gutiérrez stressed that he was fully behind Menendez during his legal fight.
“Everybody
hides [when lawmakers face trouble]. I don’t understand it. I really
don’t,” Gutiérrez said. “He was my friend. I believed in him then, I
believe in him today,
and I’m gonna stand with him.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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