NJ Scandal: Wake Us When It’s OverSo, what’s going on in New Jersey?
A U.S. attorney is investigating the arrangement between U.S. Senate incumbent Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and a community charity who rents out his former Union City home, the Newark Star-Ledger reports today.
“[S]ure to rock New Jersey’s hotly contested Senate race” is how the Star-Ledger described the revelation.
Far be it from me to question a paper’s motives. But I note that the Star-Ledger broke the story of the unethical arrangement two weeks ago, reporting that the senator helped the group qualify to apply for a federal grant program. So they may have a bit of institutional ego wrapped up in seeing a federal investigation boost the fiasco.
Others have been less excitable about the flap. Here’s how the Philadelphia Inquirer reacted to the Menendez-NHCA relationship:
“The Senate campaigns should save these “gotcha” moments for discoveries of real significance,” the paper wrote in an editorial headlined “Skip the charges, focus on the issues,” noting that the news was unlikely to sway voters.
Is there a conflict of interest? Yes. But to be honest, it’s a morsel, not a smorgasbord. For a couple of guys who’ve been thriving on a steady diet of Rolls Royces, hooker allegations, bundles of cash in a freezer, hundreds of millions of dollars in sham contracts and grants to politically connected organizations, and a waitress named “Brandy” — we’d have trouble picking our teeth with this Menendez stuff.
Was Menendez squeezing the group for thousands more in rent than the market would bear? Was he earmarking funds for the group? Did the group have a history of underperformance, bankruptcy, vote-buying? Was Menendez getting kickbacks in the form of bundled donations from the charity’s employees? Did the charity buy him a boat? Get him hookers?
So far, the answer to all these questions is “no.” In fact, New Jerseyans didn’t even get to witness the group’s offices getting raided by federal agents — no helicopters, no boxes of “evidence” being wheeled out by G-men wearing rubber gloves — nothing. The group simply received a subpoena asking for their rental documents.
We love a good scandal. And we’ve watched enough seasons of the Sopranos to wonder: when it comes to political scandals, can’t New Jersey offer up a lot better than this?