Free Republic

Rubio’s right that this is a hypothetical and that nothing like the Gang of Eight bill could pass the House right now. But Mickey Kaus is right that it’s a darned fine gotcha, a way to gauge how far Rubio’s willing to go in renouncing his signature “achievement” as a senator. What if Rubio defeated Hillary next year and the party’s leadership decided to capitalize by doing something splashy to show Latino voters that the new, Rubio-led GOP was ready to engage them like never before? A bill like the Gang of Eight bill getting past the House isn’t...

Immigration reform advocates are rushing to the defense of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) following his indictment Wednesday on federal corruption charges. “My fervent hope is that Senator Menendez emerges from the current troubles stronger than ever,” said Frank Sharry, executive director of immigration rights organization America’s Voice. “For he is not only the senior Senator for New Jersey; he’s also the senior senator for Latinos,” he continued.

They are the models who could bring down a senator. Sen. Robert Menendez mobilized his staff to secure a visa for a Brazilian actress who posed nude on the cover of Sexy magazine; he stepped up for a sultry Ukrainian student who wanted a plastic-surgery consult; and he directd a staff member to “call Ambassador asap” in order to reverse a visa denial to a 22-year-old Dominican model. The young women were all paramours of Dr. Salomon Melgen, 60, a married eye doctor and one of Menendez’s biggest donors, prosecutors charge. The New Jersey Democrat’s efforts on behalf of Melgen’s...

Dr. Salomon Melgen is being held in a Florida jail without bond on a second set of charges. The Florida ophthalmologist is one of three men involved in an August 2012 meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. That gathering is at the center of criminal charges of corruption brought by a New Jersey federal grand jury against Melgen and one of the other two key players, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The third key player, the man who actually organized that August 2012 meeting, is Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). He’s being protected by a selective Department...

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez said Sunday that he’s pushing ahead with his legislation to give Congress a full overview of the Iran nuclear deal, amid purported pressure from the White House to stop his effort. “I’m not backing off,” Menendez, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told “Fox News Sunday.” “I honestly believe it’s a congressional duty to review any agreement that comes about.” Menendez, a frequent critic of President Obama’s foreign policy, declined to discuss whether fellow Democrats or White House officials have asked him to stop pressing for congressional review of the framework deal reached...

Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, said Sunday on Fox News that the legislation that would force Preisdent Barack Obama to bring a deal on Iran’s nuclear program before the Senate is close to achieving the support of a veto-proof majority. The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, sponsored by US Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), would mandate that the president submit to Congress the text of any pact with Iran, and bar the administration from suspending congressional sanctions on Iran for 60 days. …

The Obama Justice Department has filed its much anticipated corruption indictment against Senator Robert Menendez. He is the New Jersey Democrat who, from his powerful senior seat on the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, has vehemently opposed President Obama’s negotiations with the jihadist regime in Iran, as well as his outreach to Castro’s Cuba. Two things about the Obama administration cannot be denied. First, the president is desperate to cut a deal with the mullahs on their nuclear program, so much so that he has erased virtually every red line he ever purported to draw and has not been shy about...

How do you know The New York Times is all in for protecting Barack Obama? When its editorial board turns on a fellow Democrat who bucked him on the Iran deal. "The New York Times is calling for New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez to resign in the face of criminal charges of bribery."

Sen. Bob Menendez has been charged with using his office to improperly benefit a Florida eye doctor and political donor. […] Prosecutors had been investigating whether Menendez improperly advocated for the business interests of Dr. Salomon Melgen, including by intervening on the doctor’s behalf in a medical billing dispute. …

PM Netanyahu at Cabinet: I just met US Senate Republican leader McConnell. Over the weekend I spoke with US Senate Democratic leader Reid. » I heard from both of them about strong and continuing bipartisan support for Israel and of course this is very important. » I expressed our concern over the agreement formulated with Iran in the nuclear talks, which appears to confirm all of our concerns and more» Even as meetings proceed on this dangerous agreement, Iran's proxies in Yemen are overrunning large sections of that country, » and are attempting to seize control of the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb...

Feds reportedly plan to charge US senator with corruption THIS WEEK as grand jury reaches decision on government favors going to top Democratic donor**SNIP** On a new website called ByeBob.com, the group claims he 'unethically, and likely criminally, compromised his ability to represent the people of New Jersey.' CNN reported that the investigation into Menendez is reaching a crescendo, with prosecutors under pressure to complete their work before the statute of limitations runs out on some charges. Attorney General Eric Holder, according to the network, has already given his approval. But he insisted 'I can't comment on that' when a...

What has gone wrong with the U.S. government in the past month? Just about everything, from the fundamental to the ridiculous. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the United States to warn Congress about the dangers of a nuclear Iran. He spoke without the invitation of an irritated President Obama, who claimed that he did not even watch the address on television. Obama declined to even meet with the Israeli prime minister, announcing that it would have been improper for him to have such a meeting so close to Netanyahu's re-election bid. But if Obama was so concerned about not...

Senator Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) bucked the Obama administration and expressed doubt about administration concessions to the Iranians. Other Democrats could join him But almost immediately after weighing in on Iran, Menendez found himself the target of a federal investigation into purported corruption Meanwhile, the aforementioned Hillary Clinton is bogged down in another trademark Clinton scandal. Clinton never used a standard government e-mail account while secretary. And rather than submitting her actual e-mails to the State Department back in December, Clinton submitted 55,000 printed pages of e-mails — making it much harder for those e-mails to be searched. Obama’s own...

The next 22 months until President Barack Obama leaves office promise to be the most challenging period in the history of US-Israel relations. Now unfettered by electoral concerns, over the past week Obama exposed his ill-intentions toward Israel in two different ways. First, the Justice Department leaked its intention to indict Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez on corruption charges. Menendez is the ranking Democratic member, and the former chairman, of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is also the most outspoken Democratic critic of Obama’s policy of appeasing the Iranian regime. As former US federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy wrote this week...

Forty-seven Senate Republicans are signaling in an open letter to Iran and the White House that a deal over Tehran’s nuclear program will be at risk once President Obama leaves office. “It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system,” the senators wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Bloomberg. “Thus, we are writing to bring to your attention two features of our Constitution — the power to make binding international agreements and the different character of federal offices — which you should seriously...

A defiant Sen. Robert Menendez declared, “I am not going anywhere,” Friday night amid reports the Justice Department is preparing to charge the New Jersey Democrat with corruption counts over allegations he used his office to help a Democratic donor. A person familiar with a federal investigation of Menendez told the Associated Press the Justice Department is expected to bring criminal charges against him in the coming weeks. The pending charges were first reported by CNN. Menendez told a press conference about four hours after the reports surfaced that he had “always conducted myself appropriately and in accordance with the...

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz alleged Saturday that the Justice Department's pending criminal corruption charges against New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez may be retaliation by the Obama administration. He told reporters at the Iowa Agricultural Summit in Des Moines that it was "awfully coincidental" that the charges would be soon forthcoming against Menendez, The Hill reports. Menendez, 61, the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, has long attacked Obama's international policy, including his plans to rebuild ties with Cuba and the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran. He chaired the Senate panel before the Republicans won control of the...

At a hearing this morning on Capitol Hill, Democratic senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey blasted the Obama administration talking points on Iran: "I have to be honest with you, the more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran," Menendez. "And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization when they are the ones with original sin--an illicit nuclear weapons program, going back over the course of 20 years, that they are unwilling to come clean on." Menendez is the highest Democrat on the Senate Foreign...

In December, Democratic Senator Bob Menendez blasted the Obama administration for the historic bad deal they reached with the Castro regime in Cuba. Senator Bob Menendez was also a top critic of Barack Obama’s foolish Iranian nuclear deal. This week Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-NJ) spoke about the U.S.-Israel relationship and said that he was not intimidated by anyone, including Israeli’s political enemies or his political friends, when he feels they are wrong.  Today the Obama Department of Justice charged Senator Bob Menendez with corruption. CNN reported: The Justice Department is preparing to bring criminal corruption...

Alternate headline via Dave Weigel: “DOJ confirms that Bob Menendez is a New Jersey politician.”There’s no louder Democratic critic of Obama’s Iran deal than Menendez and now here he is, about to be indicted. Hmmm. Maybe I spoke too soon in questioning Lee Smith’s theory that the White House has decided to start destroying the Iran-deal skeptics on its own side. People briefed on the case say Attorney General Eric Holder has signed off on prosecutors’ request to proceed with charges, CNN has learned exclusively. An announcement could come within weeks. Prosecutors are under pressure in part because of...