Top New Jersey officials asked for a court’s assistance in legally preventing scandal-plagued former Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., from ever seeking or holding office in the Garden State again.
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, a Democrat, said Monday that Menendez – sentenced in January to 11 years for bribery, extortion, obstruction and charges he was acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Egypt – abused his Senate role for his “own personal and financial benefit.”
“[He] betray[ed] the people who elected him and the oath he swore to serve their interests and not his own,” Platkin said in a statement.
“Today, my office sought a court order ensuring he will be given no such opportunity again in New Jersey.”
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Platkin added he wants to ensure the rule of law is applied equally regardless of political affiliation. “[C]orruption has consequences,” said Platkin, whose office of Public Integrity and Accountability filed the suit in Mercer County state superior court. He said he wants the court to confirm Menendez is “forever disqualified” from seeking or holding public office or employment from the municipal level up.
His office noted that former Paterson Democratic Mayor Joey Torres, convicted on corruption charges as well, has been successfully barred in that regard under a similar order. At the same time, the state legislature’s Republican minority wants to see Menendez lose his state-funded pension from his elected roles prior to his time in Congress.
Menendez first served as mayor of Union City in the 1980s, before rising into an assembly and later a state Senate seat centered around West New York, New Jersey, until his move to Congress in 1992.
State Assemblymember Aura Dunn, R-Boonton, is seeking to have him stripped of his continuing $1,066-per-month pension of more than 30 years.
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Dunn has drafted a bill that prevents people like Menendez from receiving such a taxpayer-funded payout.
“Most people assume this would happen automatically, especially here in the Soprano State. The fact that we need a court order to bar a convicted felon like ‘Gold Bar Bob’ from public work is absurd,” Dunn told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Dunn’s bill, A4430, would require state and local pension trustees to order forfeiture of earned service credits or benefits to any member convicted of a state or federal crime, or who is found to have committed misconduct.
“What’s worse? He’s still collecting a taxpayer-funded pension. That’s the real outrage. If the law doesn’t keep up with common sense, I’ll change it,” Dunn said.
Menendez has routinely professed his innocence, while saying publicly after his sentencing that he now understands President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the justice system during his trial in New York.
“President Trump is right. This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,” Menendez said.
The ex-lawmaker’s wife, Nadine, was convicted on similar charges in April, including facilitating bribes in the form of the infamous gold bars. She will be sentenced June 12.
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