Donations and favors flowed to the Senator from the doctor,
and in return, the allegedly Senator sought to help the doctor avoid deserved
scrutiny for an elaborate and lucrative project of Medicare fraud -- in
addition to sundry other favors, such as securing visas for the doctor's
overseas mistresses. Menendez's attorneys argue that the prosecution,
initiated during the Obama administration, is political payback for the New
Jerseyan bucking the former president on foreign policy issues such as
the Iran nuclear deal and Obama's rapprochement with the
Castro regime in Havana. Nonsense, say prosecutors:
"This
case is about serious questions of fact and law related to the corruption of
one of the highest elected offices in the United States government. It is not
about anonymous tips, Cuba, Iran, party politics, or the political consequences
of a conviction." Speaking of those "political
consequences," two points: First, the Justice Department says that former
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid also lobbied on Melgen's behalf,
highlighting the political and financial ties between the Nevadan and the
convicted felon. Reid has declined to comment.
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