No More Slaps on the Wrist: Why Corrupt Politicians Must Face Serious Consequences— Menendez & Trump

From Gold Bars To Jail Bars— & We're Not Forgetting Clarence Thomas' Bribery

Bob Menendez’s attorneys rested their case on Wednesday with their crooked client, once again, refusing to testify in his own defense. Imagine a cross examination about why there were about a quarter million dollars in Egyptian gold bars found in his home. It was part of the haul the disgraced New Jersey senator accepted in bribes from various nations for using his position— since suspended— as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance their interests.

Closing arguments are expected to begin Monday afternoon and the jury will begin deliberations right after that. Menendez called only 4 witnesses (including a sister and sister-in-law)  and is counting on another hung jury like the last time he was caught in one of his career-ling corruption schemes, hoping that one juror felt that the prosecutors failed to prove a case that looks open-and-shut to everyone in the world.

The New Jersey Globe reported that Menendez “told reporters on his way out of the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Federal Courthouse in Lower Manhattan: ‘From my perspective, the government has failed to prove every aspect of its case. And for me to testify and give them another chance to have, in essence, a second summation, go through the whole case again, and then go ahead and have their summation, and then have a rebuttal case at the end, is simply not something that makes any sense to me whatsoever. So we look forward to the summations, and I expect my lawyers will produce a powerful and convincing summation, deduce how the evidence came out, where they failed across the board, and have a jury render a verdict of not guilty.’… And in case you’re keeping track: it’s been 43 years and 61 days since a United States Senator from New Jersey was last convicted of accepting a bribe. That was Harrison Williams in the Abscam case and the FBI had him on tape. He was the first U.S. Senator since 1905 and the third in history caught accepting a bribe and convicted for it.

Williams resigned just before an expulsion vote for his “ethically repugnant” conduct and served 2 years of his 3 year prison sentence, the first time in over 80 years that a senator had spent time in prison. There should be at least 2 or 3 senators sentenced to serve time in prison every session so that it discourages the rest of them from breaking the law. Admirably, Bill Clinton turned down Williams’ request for a pardon.

Benjamin Weiser and Tracey Tully reported that Menendez’s criminal wife— who will be tried separately, was “depicted her as a key go-between and a conduit for bribes that included gold, cash and a Mercedes-Benz convertible. Jurors heard her voice in phone messages and were shown scores of texts she wrote. But she never stepped foot in the courtroom during the trial. Judge Stein postponed her trial after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.”

But what’s most important here— and why Menendez should spend the rest of his life behind bars— is because corruption among elected officials undermines public trust in government institutions. When lawmakers break the law and face little to no consequences, it sends a message that there is a different set of rules for the powerful, fostering cynicism and disengagement among the public, weakening the foundations of democracy. No matter what the corrupt Supreme Court says, for a democracy to function properly, elected officials must be held accountable for their actions. If government officials— Menendez, Trump and Matt Gaetz for example— are not held to the same legal standards as ordinary citizens, it erodes the principle of equality before the law. Serious punishment for corrupt legislators reinforces the notion that no one is above the law, which is fundamental to democratic governance. I’ve always felt that people in a position of power who abuse that trust, should be punished even more harshly— much more harshly— than an ordinary citizen committing a similar crime in part because government corruption often involves the misallocation or theft of public resources, which should be used for the common good. When legislators engage in corrupt practices, they divert funds away from essential public services such as healthcare, education and infrastructure. Punishing corrupt legislators harshly helps deter such behavior in others, ensuring that public resources are used for their intended purposes.

Let's take a 30 second break and watch the new Biden ad, which has some relevance to today's topic... and is a good ad and I wish it was running everywhere, not just in swing states. This needs to be heard by all Americans, don't you think?

This kind of corruption— Trump’s, Clarence Thomas’, Sam Alito’s, Menendez’s— exacerbates economic inequality by enabling the wealthy and powerful to manipulate the system for their benefit. Government officials who engage in corrupt practices often do so to benefit themselves and their wealthy benefactors, further entrenching inequality. And not just economic inequality. This kind of corruption disproportionately harms marginalized communities, who rely more heavily on public services and are less able to navigate or challenge corrupt systems. When characters like Menendez engage in corrupt practices, it often results in policies that favor the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the poor and marginalized. That means that serious punishment for corrupt officials is a step towards achieving social justice and ensuring that all communities are treated fairly. By punishing these people, we can begin to address the systemic issues that contribute to economic and racial disparity. You may not believe in the death penalty but I have long thought that someone with ultimate trust— take Trump and Clarence Thomas— should get the ultimate punishment for abusing and twisting that trust the way those two certainly have. By taking payoffs to block progressive reforms, protect corporate interests or uphold discriminatory practices they’re not just lining their pockets, they’re also perpetuating systems of injustice and inequality— and they should get harsher punishments with that in mind. Holding these officials accountable through serious punishment is crucial for dismantling these unjust systems and creating a more equitable society.

What scumbags like Menendez, Trump and Clarence Thomas have been getting away with weakens the integrity of government institutions, making them less effective and more susceptible to further corruption. The three of them— among others— should have their heads displayed on pikes on Capitol Hill for a month because, for one thing, the threat of that kind of truly serious punishment would act as a real world deterrent to the kind of corruption Menendez, Trump and Thomas have centered their careers around. When other officials see that their peers are held accountable and face significant consequences— and beheading is very serious— for corrupt actions, they are less likely to engage in similar behavior for at least a year or two which could help create a culture of integrity and accountability within government.

And you don’t have to remind me that punishing buckets of slime like Trump, Menendez and Thomas is just a first step and must be accompanied by comprehensive reforms to address the root causes of corruption— campaign finance reform first and foremost, greater transparency, stricter lobbying regulations, and stronger oversight mechanisms. By punishing corrupt officials like this trio, we’d be signaling a commitment to urgently needed broader reforms.