It was business as usual in the days after the announcement of another federal investigation into Sen. Bob Menendez, with top Democrats in the state preemptively praising the long-serving Hudson County Democrat, who is reportedly under scrutiny by prosecutors looking into the circumstances surrounding a company in Bergen County that got an exclusive contract with Egypt to certify halal products. Menendez’s office confirmed the investigation, but otherwise scant details are available.
Menendez has been quiet about the latest investigation. He has survived some salacious allegations and some tough political battles over the past two decades, his most recent trial in 2017 ending in a mistrial and corruption charges being dropped.
The timing of the news, just days before critical midterm elections, has raised a few eyebrows. Patricia Campos-Medina, president of Latina Civic Action and a Menendez supporter, says this third federal investigation into the senior New Jersey senator is concerning both as a legal issue and as a practical matter for his political future.
