Dem
51
GOP
49
If this was a movie, nobody would buy it, because it would be just too much. However, truth is often stranger than fiction, and so it was announced yesterday that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was the subject of a fourth indictment in his ongoing criminal case (there was the original indictment, and then three superseding indictments). The new indictment adds 12 charges to the original four, meaning that Menendez is now at 16 charges in total, or 17.6% of the way to catching Donald Trump.
As we have written many times, the feds aren't supposed to charge unless they believe the case is a slam dunk. And their judgment is pretty good, such that they have a conviction rate north of 95% in criminal cases that go to trial. So, Menendez was in bad shape, even before yesterday. But yesterday's indictment makes things considerably worse, because it is the product of testimony from Jose Uribe, a businessman who was previously charged as a co-conspirator, and has now turned state's evidence, spilling his guts of all he knows.
Speaking to the press yesterday, Menendez sounded exactly like Trump. I'm totally innocent, blah blah blah, abuse of power, blah blah blah, I will be exonerated, blah blah blah. We think it rather unlikely that Menendez will escape the long arm of the law, since he hardly has the advantages Trump has, like the ability to spend eight figures on attorneys, or a pliant Supreme Court. What really matters for our purposes, however, is the Senator's political prospects. He was already a lead-pipe cinch to be defeated for re-nomination, much less reelection, and now that has been replaced by a uranium-pipe cinch. (Z)