It’s no revelation that the Biden administration’s Justice Department has come under intense scrutiny for its overtly politicized maneuvers, such as strong-arming parents who raise their voices against public schools or chasing down those who, although unruly, were essentially unarmed protesters at the Capitol. Given this backdrop, the recent indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) raises as many questions as it answers.
Sen. Menendez is no stranger to legal troubles. He was previously investigated in 2013 by the FBI for alleged indiscretions, and he dodged another federal indictment in 2017 after a jury deadlocked on corruption and bribery charges. After repeatedly avoiding legal consequences, Menendez is now facing federal corruption charges related to what prosecutors describe as a “corrupt bribery agreement” that benefited him, his wife, three New Jersey businessmen, and the government of Egypt.
The rot of the DOJ is beginning to smell like a dead rat.
Biden’s Corrupt Justice Department Gets No Credit For Indicting Bob Menendez, The Easiest Democrat Target It Could Find https://t.co/xWGojRWoyK
— Gary Doyle (@GetInTheGame18) September 23, 2023
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged with accepting, among other things, a $60,000 Mercedes Benz C-Class sedan, 13 gold bars, and $566,000 in cash in exchange for providing nonpublic U.S. government information and lobbying for the release of $300 million in aid to Egypt. Despite these grave accusations, Menendez has refused to resign, choosing instead to fight the charges and continue representing New Jersey in the Senate.
In what could be construed as a diversionary tactic, the Senator has claimed that the calls for his resignation are motivated by bias against his Latino ethnicity, stating, “It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat.” However, several of his fellow Democrats, including New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and former Attorney General Eric Holder, have decried Menendez’s alleged actions as “deeply disturbing” and have called for his immediate resignation.
Given the persistent accusations of politicization faced by the Biden administration’s Justice Department, some might see the prosecution of Menendez as a calculated move to divert attention away from other questionable actions and decisions. The compliant corporate media might be quick to spin this story as evidence of impartiality and adherence to justice by the DOJ. Still, a closer examination reveals a more nuanced reality.
Menendez, a vocal critic of President Biden on occasions, condemned actions like the poorly executed Afghanistan withdrawal. It was a convenient target for the Department to exhibit its supposed commitment to accountability. But such symbolic gestures do little to mask the numerous other instances where allies of the current administration have been spared legal repercussions for their actions.
While it’s imperative to uphold the principle of innocence until proven guilty, the timing and the choice of target, in this case, have certainly provided a convenient narrative for those looking to deflect attention from the DOJ’s more controversial actions.
The move by Biden’s Justice Department, prosecuting a Democrat who, by all accounts, was the easiest target it could find, should not mislead us into offering undeserved accolades to a Department that appears to be deeply mired in political biases and selective enforcement.
