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For the first time in nearly four decades, a sitting US senator goes on trial Wednesday on federal bribery charges in a case that could have profound political impact. Prosecutors have laid out a strong case against New Jersey Democrat Robert Menendez in their indictment. But in the two years since it was unveiled, the Supreme Court has made it much harder to win a conviction. The senator is charged with taking nearly $1 million in personal gifts and campaign cash from a longtime friend, allegedly in return for political favors.

Where’s the wall-to-wall coverage … Something hidden in the New York Times … An initial version of a story about the corruption trial of Senator Robert Menendez in the New York Times didn’t mention that he is a Democrat. According to Josh Jordan on Twitter, the information was “quietly added” to the story. If this was a Republican, the headline would have screamed “GOP Senator faces corruption trial tomorrow.” This is the Times’ subtle bias at work. Unfair to Democrats … The Hill published a laughable op-ed by defense lawyer Joel Cohen that said prosecuting Menendez for corruption “unfairly punishes...

Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) is about to go on trial in New Jersey for corruption offenses. Both he and the government are entitled to a fair trial, whatever the charged offenses, just as in the case of every criminal defendant. No defendant deserves special treatment because he’s a big shot public figure — even the former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and current member and ranking member of several other committees, as Menendez is.

The New York Times published an almost 1300-word news story in Tuesday’s paper about Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, without ever mentioning Menendez’s party affiliation. Both in print and on social media, the NYT failed to inform its readers that Sen. Menendez is a Democrat. “For the first time in 36 years, a sitting United States Senator is facing a federal bribery trial,” read a NYT tweet promoting the story, which was titled: “Menendez Trial Set to Begin With Tensions High and Washington Watching.” The NYT wasn’t without opportunities to inform its readers which party Menendez belonged...

As Sen. Robert Menendez prepares to face corruption charges, Republicans are confident and Democrats fearful that the taint of a weekslong trial will snare other prominent Democrats in New Jersey and Washington. The trial kicks off Wednesday in New Jersey, where the 11-year incumbent senator is accused of using his office to try to assist and protect a longtime friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen, in disputes with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. One high-profile Democrat already has been caught in the backwash. Former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who retired last year, was fingered as trying to help Mr....

A new state law is in effect aimed at stopping people from littering and the solution may lie in putting offenders to work. According to House Bill 1884, litter bugs could face up to 60 hours of community service and hefty fines for dropping trash. It's something local business owners told NBC 5 that they welcome. Business is booming at Brain Dead Brewing in Deep Ellum and co-owner Jeff Fryman says he takes great pride in making sure his customers are comfortable. "Even if it means going out and sweeping to show the people that I work with you've got...

Yes, to not ask questions about climate change is indeed dumb, as Senator Sanders pointed out. It is dumber to not also question the current global economic system and policies perpetuating racial inequalities. The conversation must shift toward climate justice. Climate justice explicitly confronts basic inequalities: the world’s biggest polluters are not those directly affected by climate change. The big polluters are also the biggest “winners” in this economic system. It is no coincidence that higher climate vulnerability communities are largely communities of color and disenfranchised communities within the Global South. To achieve climate justice requires making sure that communities...

A multi-billion-dollar government program launched by Obama to help families hit by the housing crisis squandered millions on parties, employee bonuses, cars, and superfluous data storage. The program is known as Hardest Hit Fund and operates under the Treasury Department, which does little to oversee it and sits by as federal audits expose pervasive fraud and waste. The findings of the latest probe were released this month by the inspector general of another reckless Treasury gem, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), Obama’s disastrous initiative to rescue the nation’s ailing financial institutions. The findings are documented in an exhaustive 93-page...

Grassley, Graham seek documents linked to Hatch Act investigation of former FBI head WASHINGTON – Transcripts reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee reveal that former FBI Director James Comey began drafting an exoneration statement in the Clinton email investigation before the FBI had interviewed key witnesses. Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, requested all records relating to the drafting of the statement as the committee continues to review the circumstances surrounding Comey’s removal from the Bureau. “Conclusion first, fact-gathering second—that’s no way to run an investigation. The FBI should be...

The thing to understand, what has always been the most important thing to understand, is that Jim Comey was out in front, but he was not calling the shots. On the right, the commentariat is in full-throttle outrage over the revelation that former FBI Director Comey began drafting his statement exonerating Hillary Clinton in April 2016 – more than two months before he delivered the statement at his now famous July 5 press conference. The news appears in a letter written to new FBI Director Christopher Wray by two senior Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans, Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Lindsey...

“James Comey had the nerve to testify under oath..." Revelations that allege former FBI Director James Comey started work on his statement clearing Hillary Clinton of any charges against her long before the FBI’s investigation into her email scandal was complete have led one of President Donald Trump’s lawyers to brand the FBI investigation “a fraud on the American people.” " This new evidence proves that the whole #FBI investigation of the #HillaryClinton email scandal was a sham. #JayLive https://t.co/sCYtMehqMO " — Jay Sekulow (@JaySekulow) September 1, 2017 " The American people have been lied to. #Comey pre-determined the outcome...

Full title: Retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Sues Justice Department for Records About Top FBI Official Ties to Top Clinton Ally Sues for Records on Links Between FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe (Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced that it today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit on behalf of Jeffrey A. Danik, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, against the U.S. Department of Justice for records concerning FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe ( Jeffrey A. Danik v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-01792)). Danik worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for...

Former FBI Director James Comey began drafting a letter exonerating Hillary Clinton from any wrongdoing related to the email scandal long before the FBI investigation was over, according to a letter released by a top GOP senator. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Subcommittee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC), in a letter dated August 30, requested more information from the FBI on Comey’s actions, as part of an investigation into his firing by President Trump in June. But the letter revealed that the committee had received interviews of Comey’s staff that showed he began drafting the letter in late...

President Trump on Friday slammed what he called a “rigged system” following reports that former FBI Director James Comey began drafting an “exoneration statement” for Hillary Clinton before interviewing her in connection with her private email use as secretary of state. “Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over…and so much more. A rigged system!” Trump tweeted early Friday. "Wow, looks like James Comey exonerated Hillary Clinton long before the investigation was over...and so much more. A rigged system! " — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 1, 2017 {..snip..}

Jason Chaffetz said former FBI Director James Comey has a lot of "explaining to do" in light of new reports that he began drafting a statement exonerating Hillary Clinton even before interviewing key witnesses, including the former secretary of state. "He's certainly got a lot of explaining to do. He could have perjured himself," the former House oversight committee chairman said on "Fox & Friends." Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley and fellow GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote a letter to the FBI this week, expressing concern over whether Comey made up his mind about the email investigation months before...

A judge has denied a request from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to delay his corruption trial so he can cast votes in the Senate, calling the request "nigh frivolous." "Defendant Menendez, granted, as are all defendants, with the presumption of innocence, need not appear in court if he does not wish or wants to be absent," Judge William H. Walls said in his reply to Menedez's legal team. "He may voluntarily absent himself. This is his prerogative. All defendants have that right. Such right is not new nor recent. Practically speaking, during any absence his lawyers will be present to...

Election Fraud You know, something like this could lead to compromised elections - illegal aliens could vote, dead people could cast ballots, all sorts of bad things could happen: More than 14,000 votes were cast in Chicago during the 2016 general election than there were voters to cast them, based on separate figures released by the Chicago Board of Elections, the chairman of the Chicago Republican Party has reported. Chris Cleveland told the Chicago Wire that "on a whim," he filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the board, which provided him with a list of 1,101,178 people...

Rep. Rubén Kihuen (D-Nev.) and Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the first members of Congress who came to America as undocumented immigrants, joined the chorus of Democrats calling for the extension of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, with a letter telling President Trump to consider their life stories before making a decision. “We both remember arriving in the United States, speaking limited English, and being fearful of deportation,” Kihuen and Espaillat wrote. “Our backgrounds and the trajectory of our careers have been humbling, and show how, with the right opportunities, anyone can achieve the American Dream.

A federal judge ordered the FBI Thursday to disclose more details about how it handled its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s secret email account. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg said court papers describing the grand jury subpoenas the FBI obtained to compel information from Mrs. Clinton’s Internet service providers can be made public. In doing so, he overruled objections by the Trump administration that had insisted making the information public would violate grand jury secrecy rules. “After reviewing the document in camera, the Court concludes that it largely rehashes information already made public, thus obviating any need for secrecy,” the...

Full title: CONFIRMED: Comey Decided He Wasn't Going to Refer Hillary For Prosecution Long Before FBI Investigation Was Over According to new transcripts released by the Senate Judiciary Thursday afternoon, former FBI Director James Comey made the decision not to refer then Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for prosecution long before ever interviewing key witnesses. Members of the Committee allege Comey made the decision months before FBI agents were finished with the criminal investigation of her mishandling classified information during her time as Secretary of State. The transcripts were revealed in a letter sent to current FBI Director Christopher Wray,...