--- title: Robert Menendez: Criminal Charges Expected for New Jersey Senator description: Alleged political favors at play for Sen. Robert Menendez canonical: https://time.com/3735825/robert-bob-menendez-criminal-charges/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-06T20:25:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-15T05:51:11.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Criminal Corruption Charges Expected Against New Jersey Senator og:description: Alleged political favors at play for Sen. Robert Menendez og:url: https://time.com/3735825/robert-bob-menendez-criminal-charges/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec66594e8fa5f849/69878297f887dc730be8a7c5/bob-menendez1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" on Feb. 24, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Criminal Corruption Charges Expected Against New Jersey Senator twitter:description: Alleged political favors at play for Sen. Robert Menendez twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltec66594e8fa5f849/69878297f887dc730be8a7c5/bob-menendez1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Criminal Corruption Charges Expected Against New Jersey Senator by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Updated: Dec 15, 2023 5:51 AM UTCPublished: Mar 6, 2015 8:25 PM UTC  Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" on Feb. 24, 2015. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives for the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on "The Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congress" on Feb. 24, 2015.Bill Clark—AP by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Updated: Dec 15, 2023 5:51 AM UTCPublished: Mar 6, 2015 8:25 PM UTC Federal authorities are expected to bring criminal corruption charges against longtime New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez over an allegedly improper relationship with a friend and donor, according to [multiple](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/us/menendez-expected-to-face-federal-corruption-charges.html) [reports](http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/06/politics/Robert-Menendez-criminal-corruption-charges-planned/). CNN and the New York _Times_, citing unnamed officials, report that the Department of Justice will charge Menendez in the coming weeks. The investigation into alleged political favors for Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen has been public for two years, since the FBI raided Melgen’s offices. The government will focus on whether Menendez improperly acted on behalf of Melgen to change Medicare reimbursement policies, the _Times_ reports. CNN, which first reported the story, notes that Melgen’s practice has been a top recipient of Medicare reimbursements in recent years. Menendez and Melgen have denied any wrongdoing. “Let me be very clear: I have always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with the law,” Menendez said late Friday. “Every action I and my office have taken for the 23 years that I have been privileged to serve in the U.S. Congress has been based on pursuing the best policies for the people of New Jersey and of this entire country.” “I am not going anywhere,” he added. As the [top Democrat](http://swampland.time.com/2013/01/14/meet-bob-menendez-kerrys-successor-on-the-foreign-relations-committee/) on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez has been an influential voice in international affairs, as well as an occasional thorn in the Obama Administration’s side on its diplomatic maneuvering with [Iran](http://time.com/3684288/bob-menendez-obama-iran/) and [Cuba](http://time.com/3637812/cuba-obama-senate-congress-alan-gross/). He’s also one of the few Cuban Americans on Capitol Hill and the only senator in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. ### Photos: 6 Congressional Leaders Who Resigned Over Scandals  Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tx.) stepped down from his post as House majority leader in 2005 when a Texas grand jury indicted him on a conspiracy charge in his management of campaign finances. His corruption conviction was overturned in October. Carolyn Kaster—AP  In 1989, Rep. Jim Wright (D-Texas) became the first House Speaker to resign over scandal. He abdicated his post after a yearlong ethics investigation found he had accepted improper gifts and mishandled his speaking profits, among other finance violations. Diana Walker—Time and Life Pictures/Getty Images  Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.) faced a sex scandal at the exact worst time: right as Republicans were calling for the impeachment of President Clinton. Livingston stepped down from the speakership in 1998 amid threats that details of his own affairs would be brought to light. Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images  Rep. Tony Coelho (D-Calif.) was the third-ranking member of House Democratic leadership and resigned from Congress altogether as he faced a 1989 ethics probe into his personal finances. Paul Morigi—WireImage  Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott resigned as the Senate majority leader in 2002 after he made comments supporting the segregationist 1948 presidential campaign of Strom Thurmond. But Lott made a comeback five years later when he was elected minority whip. Jason Reed—Reuters  Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was formally reprimanded by the House and forced to pay a $300,000 penalty for violating tax law and lying to the investigating panel. He didn’t resign over the scandal, but it weakened his support among his Republican base. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3735825/robert-bob-menendez-criminal-charges/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3735825/robert-bob-menendez-criminal-charges/"},"headline":"Criminal Corruption Charges Expected Against New Jersey Senator","datePublished":"2015-03-06T20:25:39.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-15T05:51:11.000Z","description":"Alleged political favors at play for Sen. 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