Democratic New Jersey senator on trial for official corruption
By Philip Guelpa
30 September 2017
US Senator Robert
Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, is currently on trial on charges of political
corruption. He is specifically charged with twelve counts, including six of
bribery and three of honest services fraud.
Among the accusations are three acts undertaken to benefit a
friend and wealthy doctor, Salomon Melgen, who had made large political
contributions to the senator, reportedly totaling more than $700,000. In one
action, Menendez personally intervened to obtain visas for three female friends
of Dr. Melgen. Menendez is also accused of having intervened with the
departments of State and Commerce for favorable treatment for Melgen regarding
a contract dispute in the Dominican Republic. Lastly, the Department of Health
and Human Services is alleged to have been pressured by the senator to resolve
a billing dispute with Melgen. The prosecution alleges that there was a close
correspondence in the timing of substantial political contributions with
favorable actions taken by Menendez.
In addition to large campaign contributions, court testimony
indicates that Melgen gave lavish gifts to Menendez. In one instance, he is
reported to have arranged for the senator to stay for three days in a luxury
hotel in Paris, in a room with luxurious amenities, using nearly 650,000
American Express rewards points. These and other gifts, which the indictment
characterizes as bribes, were initially not disclosed by the senator, as
required.
The defense argues that all of this, the gifts and donations on
the one hand, and the political favors on the other, were merely expressions of
friendship rather than evidence of corruption.
In reality, all three acts are examples of the use of official
position to obtain tangible benefits for a wealthy donor, actions above and
beyond what would have been undertaken on behalf of ordinary citizens who could
not afford such expensive expressions of “friendship.”
Earlier this year, Dr. Melgen was convicted of all 67 counts in a
scheme to defraud Medicare of an amount totaling $90 million. The Health and
Human Services issue for which the doctor received assistance from Menendez
involved Medicare reimbursements. He reportedly also lobbied the Obama
administration to make changes in Medicare reimbursement policies which would
have been of significant financial benefit to Melgen.
Menendez is an experienced political operative, having begun as a
mayor, then a state legislator, subsequently a Congressman, and now a US
senator, the position to which he was first elected in 2005. He is, therefore,
intimately familiar with how power is bought and sold in American capitalist
politics. A right-wing figure known for his anti-communist views, he is among
the politicians of Cuban ancestry who have lobbied to maintain the US embargo
of the island nation.
Despite the clear acts of political quid pro quo in the relations
between Menendez and Melgen, Menendez may nevertheless be the latest politician
to benefit from a 2016 US Supreme Court ruling that has already resulted in reversals
of the corruption convictions of three prominent politicians.
The Supreme Court ruling overturning the conviction of Virginia
governor Bob McDonnell established that an actual direct exchange of things of
value explicitly undertaken to obtain political or economic benefit from an
official action, such as a government contract or specific legislation, had to
be demonstrated in order for such a prosecution to succeed. Favors or gifts
that were clearly meant to gain political influence, found to be criminal in
the eyes of a jury of ordinary citizens, are excluded by the Supreme Court as
examples of corruption.
In the wake of the McDonnell decision, the recent corruption
convictions of two high-ranking New York politicians, Republican Dean Skelos
and Democrat Sheldon Silver, have now been overturned. Skelos and Silver were
not mere political foot soldiers. Both were leaders of their respective
legislative bodies in the New York State government. Their convictions were
overturned on what have been described as legal technicalities—insufficiently
precise instructions to the jury—and both will reportedly be retried. However,
it is clear that the political atmosphere is becoming more overtly protective
of politicians’ “business as usual” practices.
In the McDonnell case, Chief Justice John Roberts described lavish
gifts to politicians as “distasteful,” but not illegal. Plans to retry the
ex-governor were subsequently dropped.
In another signal that the ruling elite seeks to limit
prosecutions for official misconduct, Preet Bharara, the head federal
prosecutor (US Attorney) for the Southern District of New York, who led the
cases that resulted in the convictions of both Silver and Skelos, was fired by
President Trump shortly after he took office. Corruption is “bipartisan”—both
major political parties of the bourgeoisie are regularly ensnared. Silver and
Menendez are Democrats, Skelos and McDonnell are Republicans.
The Supreme Court ruling and its predictable consequences
constitute yet another confirmation that corruption is not merely the
unfortunate product of a few “bad apples,” but is an intrinsic part of the
capitalist political system, which no amount of reform can expunge. The actions
of Silver, Menendez, Skelos and McDonnell are inseparably bound up with the
hollowing out of democratic forms of rule and the open buying and selling of
political power, given the official stamp of approval by the Supreme Court in
its notorious Citizens
United decision. The system is constructed of, by, and for the
ruling elite. This is being confirmed daily by the egregious self-dealing of
the Trump administration.
Border Patrol Officers Seized More Than $3.2 Million in Crystal Meth Last Weekend
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Posted: Sep 29, 2017 6:00 PM
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Last weekend, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers seized 158 pounds of alleged crystal methamphetamine during two separate routine vehicle searches at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge.
On Saturday, September 23, CBP officers became suspicious of a 2009 GMC Sierra driven by a 29-year-old American citizen. After issuing a second examination of the car, a CBP canine unit alerted authorities to the presence of drugs inside the vehicle. A thorough search of the car found 32 packages of alleged crystal meth, totaling 122 pounds.
Then on Monday, September 25, CBP officers again suspected a driver of smuggling drugs into the United States. Here, the canine unit discovered 36 pounds of alleged meth. This alleged drug smuggler was a 40-year-old Mexican citizen.
Both drivers were arrested and the case was handed to Immigration Customs Enforcement. The drugs and vehicles were detained by authorities as well.
In total, the confiscated drugs are worth $3,247,816.
“These significant narcotic seizures are examples of the remarkable border security work our CBP officers undertake on a daily basis,” said Port Director Gregory Alvarez, Laredo Port of Entry. “Our officers remain vigilant and continue to be successful in keeping these narcotics off our streets and away from our youth.”
Earlier this month, CBP authorities confiscated nearly $4 million worth of alleged crystal methamphetamine hidden within a commercial trailer.
CBP authorities are in charge of protecting the nation primarily from terror threats crossing the border, but their rigorous inspection process often yields millions worth of illegal drugs as well.
On Wednesday alone, El Paso port authorities seized 450 pounds of marijuana in five different searches.
“The smuggling threat is consistent. Vigilant CBP officers are stepping up every day to stop drug loads,” said one CPB director. “The work we perform plays an important role in keeping our nation safe from all threats.”
Meth, in particular, is becoming increasingly popular on oil rigs in Texas. Texas has experienced a burst in expansion in the shale industry. Many workers take meth in order to stay on the job longer. The drug has the ability to "wire" people's brains so they can supposedly stay awake for 24 hours and work at a faster rate.
One oil rig worker told Reuters, “(On meth) I’d work 24 hours…I was just plagued with fatigue and needed something to improve my work ethic.”
According to the Albuquerque Journal, about 90 percent of meth consumed in the United States is manufactured in Mexico. This meth is often smuggled into the States in by various Mexican drug cartels. These cartels contribute to violence and murder in America due to the lucrative but dangerous black-market for drugs.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions noted earlier this year,
“Drug cartels bring death and destruction across our Southern border and sell drugs that take lives all across America. The work our ICE officers do every day to keep these criminals out of our country and secure our border is heroic and makes all of us safer."
But, as stated last year in a report by the New York Times, drug cartels have paid hundreds of Homeland Security officials nearly $15 million to “look the other way” to similar drug smuggling attempts over the last decade.
President Donald J. Trump has vowed to stop drugs coming in via the southern border. In August, he declareda national emergency to address the opioid epidemic plaguing various communities around the U.S. In 2016, there were roughly 50,000 deaths caused by drug overdoses.
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