Staggering Corruption of Senator Bob Menendez

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[@x6nitro228]

When lobbying is so easy, imagine how corrupt you have to be to get procecuted for it.

[@MrAAgabriel]

😂

[@tuxtitan780]

It seems like a lot of politicians recently have done what politicians always have done, but have been so non discreet and idiotic with it that it's finally opening the public's eyes and starting a movement to root out corruption and narcissism. First Trump, now Menendez, im really hoping that these two just exposing how awful politicians can be behind the scenes actually pushes the general public to demand change and get this country back on the right track

[@tski3458]

​@tuxtitan780 then there is Kenny Boy Paxton and Texas.

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

In many countries what we call "lobbying" is called "illegal". Let's try that here.

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

As a naive 17 year old, I believed Spiro Agnew's downfall heralded a new era of accountability for political corruption. Stay vigilant and refuse to settle for anything less than justice. Things could be much worse, so let's not allow that.✌🖖

[@choczynski]

Getting bribed with literal gold bars is like comic books crooked politician from the 40s

[@dielaughing73]

Traceable gold bars, at that

[@marinary1326]

When I first heard about it I thought there was no way it was real, because who would want to be paid in gold bars?!

[@Diovanlestat]

You guys need another Robert Ness and his Untouchables

[@seewhativescene]

Robert Ness (son of Eliot) died of leukemia, why are you this way? ​@@Diovanlestat

[@Diovanlestat]

@@seewhativescene Human and able to make mistakes? I don't know I was born like this. Thank you kindly for the correction, I'll try to to make the same mistake again.

[@uncleike6211]

Can't imagine why this Supreme Court would be so invested in making it harder to convict public officials for corruption.

[@justinfowler2857]

The guilty are covering their tracks?

[@dielaughing73]

Yeah it's a reeeeeal mystery. Unless...

[@thedekunutt8982]

We have investigated ourselves and found no wrongdoing

[@Wegetsignal]

Who paid the Kavanaugh debt off? The people must know.

[@seewhativescene]

Stuff a couple hundred into an envelope and I'll tell you 💌​@@Wegetsignal

[@jsrodman]

I am shocked, SHOCKED that this supreme court has made it harder to win corruption cases.

[@ChrisBrengel]

LOL! And to find that corruption is going on in here!

[@airtale8725]

What's more with conservative judges

[@Dr.Sometimes]

⁠this was in 2010 and 2016 and many democrat judges supported it and the case was against a democrat that the democrats backed him and menendiz… but yeah only Reps are bad

[@getnohappy]

It's impressive that the US' lobbying system is so indistinguishable from corruption that corruption is hard to prove

[@JLF201]

I'm not sure "impressive" is the right word, but it sure is something!

[@fynnkessels2488]

Corruption is accepting to bribes, lobbying is offering them. It‘s quite simple 😂

[@rsr789]

The USA is the richest third-world country.

[@superexoticshrub]

@@JLF201 "Impressive" doesn't have to mean positive.

[@jakehix8132]

@@superexoticshrub No, but hundreds of millions would not have ignored it into being had it truly impressed.

[@darkstar4494]

It always amazes me how cheap it is to buy a politician. 60k will keep you out of jail for years or get you tax cuts that save you millions.

[@niteshade5783]

Business expense

[@greebj]

60K ... that's what we know about ...

[@Thicc_Boyo]

Of course. Those millions go to the government where it won't easily land in an individual person's wallet. The bribe doesn't.

[@UrLeingod]

Makes sense. One of the main reasons for a bribe offer to be really high is because you're taking a big risk in being corrupt. But being corrupt in Washington is super low-risk to the point that nothing short of literal treason is likely to get you put behind bars, so they don't need to offer as much.

[@genericscout5408]

@@greebjeven if you go all the way it's 500K for ALL their assets. but then again that's only 1 senator, you need 50+ in your pocket for a nice ride.

[@amberkluga8949]

I had a vendor send a basket of christmas cookies and was told I could not keep them as it was a conflict of interest. The laws governing public officials have been weakened to the point they seem written to protect corruption, not catch corruption.

[@JoeOvercoat]

Congresscritters exempt themselves from all such restrictions, much like the Supreme Court.

[@johndododoe1411]

Yet in this video it's not a congressional law change but a weird interpretation endorsed by the supreme court, which could be overturned once the court majority changes and a differently worded appeal is presented to the new judges .

[@NavigatorBR]

Yeah, really something else to read my company's policy on that and see how many times over I'd be fired if I behaved like any of these corrupt bastards.

[@kennethferland5579]

You mean 'interpreted' to protect corruption. The laws plain language when written was fine, but the courts invert them in truly Orwellian fashion.

[@Demmrir]

@@johndododoe1411The court majority won't change for decades because of a large number of recent appointments since they're all lifetime appointments. It's great that the most impactful body in American politics is an unelected group of lifelong rulers.

[@kieranelliott5607]

Depressing to realise it has been made so hard to prosecute some pretty blatant corrupt behaviour through reliance on highly narrow interpretations. Any halfway competent corrupt official seems likely to escape such strictures, and that incentivises it to become part of the accepted culture. If it is not already.

[@LogjammerDbaggagecling-qr5ds]

That's what happens when the corrupt people also get to make the laws.

[@swordmonkey6635]

That's the potential problem with legal conservatives like Roberts. They fall back to the "letter of the law as it's written" instead of an interpretation of the law to fit cases. The narrow view leaves very little room for "right" actions and only looks at "legal precedence" and is very hesitant to change laws or past precedents to fit new cases unless it's so obvious it can't be pushed aside. That's why they backtracked on Roe V. Wade. They didn't like the more liberal interpretation of legal rights set down by Roe V. Wade, so they went back to the previous conservative law.

[@sjs9698]

given who tightened those definitions & how wildly corrupt some of them are, it's hardly surprising they don't want corruption to be effectively punished :s

[@Guishan_Lingyou]

@@swordmonkey6635 I may have misunderstood legal eagle's analysis, but my understanding is that the Robert's court's interpretation of corruption is not actually legally conservative in that it had go well beyond the text of the law to arrive at their extremely narrow definitions.

[@marshallc6215]

​@@swordmonkey6635even worse than that. They can reinterpret the actually broad enough laws to be so narrow as to be useless. Note how just the definition of "official act" was described as "too broad" when applying to a job whose title carries weight 24/7, in every single action a person takes. If the action is in any way related to anything your position holds power to affect, it is an official act to me, because that decision carries with it the weight of your office, whether you want it to or not. If I'm the chairman of the committee on widgets and I play sport widget in my free time, you'd bet your ass that any time I talk with my coworkers about my favorite widgets, that's an official act, because that's affecting their decision-making by conflating their opinions of my opinions with their opinions of my opinions of politics. There is no "something more" required, because official acts aren't criminal, so there is zero reason to view them in a limited light. Politicians commit official acts in their personal lives *all the time,* unless you consider spending most of their time campaigning *not* official acts, despite them commonly making explicit promises of their forthcoming actions if re-elected.

[@Scottoest]

The fact that he turned around and did all of this after managing to wriggle free of his LAST prosecution for corruption is the part that blows my mind. The guy didn't lay low for even a minute.

[@esteemedmortal5917]

Why would he? He got a pass! It was practically a thumbs up from the government!

[@airtale8725]

Trump and Republicans get away with worse on a monthly basis, so why wouldn't he try?

[@hopefulmonsters4407]

He learned he could get away with it.

[@brianferstle6369]

Not even one minute

[@brendensaur893]

As a young person, it makes me really sad to see all this corruption happening. No one acts like it’s a big deal. Get those justices out. Get these politicians out.

[@stefanoviczeljkors]

Just imagine how much of this happens in a "better" way. I mean the way that it's not obvious and won't get caught.

[@TheSlyMouse]

@jordy6423 shoot nvm then.

[@bacicinvatteneaca]

@@TheSlyMouse writing letters is nothing, you need to protest and strike. Hurt their pockets.

[@TheSlyMouse]

@@bacicinvatteneaca but it's a young person I mean maybe there something they can do alone those lines but idk

[@maromania7]

​@@TheSlyMouse If you're lucky they're at least somewhat reasonable, and they end up knowing you by name and ignore you. For the majority, if you're acting alone they'll get you locked up for a few days on a bogus charge and permanently remove your ability to vote. That's one of thier main tactics, grabbing people at protests and those who're too uppity and getting thier voting privileges taken. Act, definitely, it's how you win! but there's a reason these large political organizations full of people who hate each other exist. Letters they don't care about unless they're en mass. phone calls are only annoying if there are tons. You gotta get with others to have a chance at making a difference.

[@personastv]

knowing that certain Supreme Court justices are accepting lavish "gifts" really changes the perspective on them ruling over cases defending government officials for taking similar "gifts"

[@kieranelliott5607]

Complete coincidence, I am sure.

[@bman5257]

This is an overblown argument by Propublica and other left wingers. They don’t like that SCOTUS refuted the weak and unconstitutional reasoning behind Roe v Wade, so they are trying to undermine their authority by just throwing dirt on them. How is Justice Thomas being bribed if the man “bribing” him has no cases on the Supreme Court. He’s obviously just a friend of his by the fact that they spend so many vacations together. Nothingburger.

[@Joshua_Hale]

Turns out you can be the judge of your own trial simply by setting a precedent via proxy.

[@bman5257]

@@Joshua_Hale If you get appointed and confirmed to the SCOTUS and then have 5 other justices agree with you.

[@ingiford175]

And the SC justice does not see the need to report his 'gifts' from 'a friend'

[@davidlazerz8564]

Supreme Court: "It's not REAL corruption and bribery unless the official signs a 'This is bribery' contract with at least 2 witnesses and the contract is notarized by a sitting chief justice." Using the Courts logic then I should be able to rob a bank by asking to "borrow" money out of the register.

[@innocento.1552]

😂😂😂

[@JohnDoe-qz1ql]

Rules for thee, not for me.

[@Willsmiff1985]

@@JohnDoe-qz1qlyou jest, but the truth is unless you own capital generating assets, you aren’t important to the federal Govt

[@Joshua_Hale]

Don't worry about it. I'm sure we can trust criminals to be honest with us about whether they committed crimes.

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

Vote Blue 2024 for a SCOTUS ethics policy and a few replaced "tarnished" justices.

[@JohnTorres1987]

The case with governor McDonald should’ve been open and shut. He was being bribed. The fact that the Supreme Court vacated this and made it harder to try politicians/judges/etc. for bribery makes me think either the judges are being bribed to hand down that decision or they are worried that they could get in trouble for being bribed.

[@JoeOvercoat]

And the prosecutor dropped the case. We will never know if the prosecutor had done the right thing and pursued the charges instead of walking away because it was not a sure win. That is its own kind of corruption.

[@susanavenir]

@@JoeOvercoat - It was *DOJ* that decided not to re-try McDonnell. A prosecutor does not have that power as an individual and usually, by nature, does not want to relent, especially having won at trial as Jack Smith had in the McDonnell case. Further, the Supreme Court had rebuked the prosecution and warned that “the uncontrolled power of criminal prosecutors is a threat to our separation of powers.” That slap-down from the Roberts Court may have weighed heavily on DOJ's decision not to re-try McDonnell, not out of cowardice but out of respect for the Supreme Court's authority to interpret U.S. law.

[@davechongle]

@@susanavenirthis context doesnt really mean much. especially since one of the justices on the court was being bribed for a different matter. in fact the context makes it worse, they kind of threatened the DOJ for pursuing an obvious case of bribery..

[@kermitwilson]

With Supreme Court judges openly accepting “gifts” it is in their best interest to protect politicians who are also accepting bribery. Circle the wagons or they could all be prosecuted. It’s treasonous.

[@Thicc_Boyo]

It's easier to just assume every politician is being bribed to some degree.

[@gentlemandemon]

the corruption has always existed, but the way that the governemnt has willfully and publicly relinquished responsibility is mind boggling.

[@jenni4claire]

Belling the cat is a universel issue.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

The actual impact of Donald Trump's presidency. It taught them that they never had to bother even appearing to be legitimate. They don't have to hide it at all.

[@tatkkyo9911]

I remember working for walmart and them telling me as a part timer that if i ever accepted and tip or gift of anykind id be fired. One of the examples they gave was you help someone take their groceries to their and they tip you a dollar your fired for taking bribes..... i hate this world.

[@GamingWithNikolas]

Same thing at my Walmart. It pissed me off.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

How dafuq is tipping someone for helping carry your groceries a bribe? Like, what exactly are they getting out of it that they wouldn't have gotten anyway? What is Walmart losing in this situation? But it does prove that the higher up you go in society, the less ethical you are required to be and the less likely you will be held accountable for your actions.

[@GamingWithNikolas]

@Pushing_Pixels I don't know, but it pissed me off because the pay was already terrible then they threaten to fire me if I except a small tip that would help pay for lunch.

[@tatkkyo9911]

@Pushing_Pixels it never made sense bit at the time I needed the job. They also had the workers do a stupid walmart chant every meeting that was based on the chants they made Chinese factory workers do.

[@reverse_engineered]

@@Pushing_Pixels The difficult part is that it's hard to tell from the outside when a tip becomes a bribe. I know plenty of retail employees who would do "favors" for their friends, like hiding limited stock so they could give it to them, or helping them carry out items that they hadn't actually purchased. It can also be as simple as being paid to help some customers over others. When I worked as a DJ, people would try to bribe me all the time to let them jump the queue. Any external incentive to give preferential treatment to certain customers is effectively a bribe.

[@linamishima]

As an employee of a European company, not personally involved with sales, I’ve had to agree to anti-corruption policies that are significantly stricter and more risk adverse than the weirdly high bar that SCOTUS now insist is met. Senior government officials should be held to a higher standard than some random Jane bloggs employee, this is bonkers

[@mikevignola4213]

The Supreme Court itself isn't even held to the same standard as any lower court in the country.

[@vaska00762]

Anti-Bribery and Corruption laws are typically much stricter across the EU. I've had to complete countless compliance e-learning modules to confirm that I understand what corruption and bribery looks like and what to do if I spot it.

[@timdunn2344]

Same in Canada. I work for a bank. If I go for a drink after long working sessions with a vendor, I cannot buy one drink for them or them for me, on pain of being fired.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

​@@mikevignola4213To be fair, the Supreme Court's existence is practically the only thing about it mentioned in the Constitution. No number of justices, no qualifications for their citizenship, even - Congress and the President both have that.

[@Diovanlestat]

NHS UK - Cannot accept gifts over £5. Prevents queue jumping. It's only cheap chocolates and biscuits for us but still the thought that counts. 🍻

[@milohdd]

Its interesting to see how much the SCOTUS opinion is clearly worded to excuse their own behaviour

[@bwofficial1776]

As it should be. Would you punish yourself for some perceived wrongdoing?

[@isaac3140]

@@bwofficial1776Corrupt politicians like that should be convicted. Who's side are you on?

[@kevina.2269]

​@@isaac3140 If i had goals to be a senator i would talk exactly like that guy

[@Pushing_Pixels]

@@bwofficial1776 So you're in favour of corruption and think politicians and judges should do whatever they can to make it easier for themselves to be corrupt. Okay. That tells us everything we will ever need to know about you.

[@MrClickity]

​@@bwofficial1776that comment says a lot more about you than I think you intended to reveal.

[@geneard639]

So, what I'm hearing is if he was a Supreme Court Justice, this would not be a problem just a private gift among friends.

[@Patterrz]

I want the confidence to be this outwardly corrupt, gold bars is crazy

[@ncooty]

It seems "justice" is now little more than punishment of the poor. Power is exculpatory.

[@ianrau6373]

Now? When was it fair exactly?

[@ncooty]

@@ianrau6373 I agree. I meant that even our conceptualization of justice is now corrupted.

[@pafnutiytheartist]

"Now" is questionable. Arguably, it was always the case. Justice is a lie told to people with no power and it always has been.

[@ncooty]

@@pafnutiytheartist I agree. See prior reply.

[@elenadirectorofmiiss7942]

Considering Menendez was also on the Finance and Banking Committees and that has been deregulated heavily in the last decade... I wouldn't be shocked if a new indictment related to that comes down too.

[@conniethesconnie]

It was over a decade ogo that banks were too big to fail and the government used money taken through taxes from the public to reward bank managers for being incompetent at their jobs. The big banks made money despite being bankrupt and the leaders received huge bonuses. Congress held hearings to basically say that their kickbacks were not sufficient. This is far from a last decade thing, as long as the politicians get paid the banks are allowed to keep charging more fees for providing less service.

[@elenadirectorofmiiss7942]

@@conniethesconnie in just the last FIVE years, there has been: Wells Fargo opening fake accounts in it's customers' names, US Bancorp getting caught money laundering, UBS, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank caught price fixing gold and silver markets, and Wells Fargo being caught forcing their auto insurance customers to buy coverage they didn't need. This doesn't count problems like FTX or Robin Hood. So yes... Again, would not be surprised to be see another indictment related to the banking and finance committee.

[@adissentingopinion848]

The later end of September 2023 has got to be the most extreme workload for the people at LegalEagle. We got union strikes, government shutdown with a special GOP infighting kicker, senators getting super bribes, SC judge getting bribes, former President with current reelection platform indicted 4 times across 3 states, current President being impeached because of... something???, and the general non-US issues of Ukraine, Russia, China's Evergrande. This sounds more like a nightmare law exam's extra credit section. Go for it, Law Avian!

[@Joshua_Hale]

One point I can clarify: the reason he's being impeached is that the Republican party doesn't want to pit a candidate who has been impeached against an opponent who has not. If both have been impeached, it levels the playing field and makes the decision less clear for 'independent' voters.

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

🦅✌🖖

[@christopherb501]

​@@Joshua_Hale But isn't it STILL imbalanced? If that's the case, wouldn't they have to impeach Biden again to "even the score"?

[@aliceputt3133]

Sounds like a Soap Opera As The Corruption Turns.

[@adissentingopinion848]

@@Joshua_Hale Indeed, I suggested that it is "something" in good faith, mainly because I'm sure they can dig up some Bill Clinton-esque political theatre. A more accurate description would be "digging for and airing out the most lightly stained dirty laundry of the opposition's President". The phrase "the smoking gun is a trickling water pistol" from the impeachment hearing was the best way to describe it.

[@mountainhun]

Taking bribes in gold bars seems like an idea that would make Saul Goodman howl in frustration. Seems like it would be the hardest form of wealth to launder.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

You could melt it down to get rid of the serial numbers at least.

[@gerstein03]

Not really. Metal is a lot less traceable than cash. You get gold, you melt it down, find someone to fence it, and then you just launder that money into your business

[@M1ch43l33]

​@@gerstein03or you could just take money instantly to launder lol

[@Nightstick24]

Man, it'd sure be nice if the ones making the rules about what you can call bribery and corruption weren't the same ones facing numerous allegations of corruption and bribery themselves.

[@tessat338]

The only way that we can change that is by VOTING!!

[@tejaswoman]

​@@tessat338unfortunately, we don't vote on the Supreme Court.

[@肉骨粉]

It's disgusting that the Democrats defended Menendez the last time for political reasons. Justice must be carried through regardless of politics, whether the defendant is Menendez or Trump.

[@tejaswoman]

Agree. Seriously gross.

[@pafnutiytheartist]

Did you just suggest that politicians should do something "regardless of politics"?

[@Hatecrewdethrol]

Clarence Thomas ruling on whether these gifts count as corruption makes a lot more sense now that we know he was getting the same gifts

[@bman5257]

He pretty clearly wasn’t. The gifts to Justice Thomas were from a close friend of his not bribes like in the case of Senator Menendez.

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

Vote Blue 2024 for a SCOTUS ethics policy and replacement of a few "tarnished" justices.

[@oblivnow]

​@@bman5257A bunch of close friends, you mean. Like, several dozen really close friends who are very generous to very new friends and who also have business in front of the Supreme Court. Don't be silly about this, corruption is deeply normalized in the US, and that media has trained people to accept the framing you present is how it is maintained. Have higher standards

[@bwofficial1776]

@@bman5257 When journalists started digging into the alleged Thomas gifts, they found out that all of the other justices were in similar situations with their friends. They all do it. Hanging out with a close friend doesn't need to be reported. They were desperate to pin anything on Justice Thomas but that went away pretty quickly when they found out that the justices on "their side" were doing it too.

[@shevek2954]

In a functional democracy Thomas and Menendez would be prison.

[@JackieSchulkin]

Oh dear😢 As a New Jerseyan this hurts me... wow... really bad. This guy was at my school once. What a disgrace to our community.

[@IICopycatII]

Our state is a bastion of bribery and where it's prospered for decades, idk what you're talking about, watch the Irishman or The Sopranos

[@AnacondaHL]

I mean, did the first version of Menendez's corruption not do anything to you? The hung jury? This second go around shouldn't hurt at all, you should be numb to it by this point.

[@waldemarsikorski4759]

Wow, found guilty already, what was the sentence?

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

He's been corrupt (allegedly) as long as he's been in office. This is why I voted for his primary opponent, Lisa McCormick, in 2018, and then voted for Madeline Hoffman of the Green Party in the general that year. If this doesn't take him down, then he sorely needs to be primaried again.

[@erikanders3343]

@@waldemarsikorski4759 you can have the opinion that someone is a disgrace without a conviction. Clearly you are a trump supporter, but remember you all were saying to lock of Hilary just on the word of a pathological liar who was running for office.

[@MarkALong64]

It is true what they say. America really does have the best politicians that money can buy.

[@felicitygee381]

😆

[@Pushing_Pixels]

Best judges too.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

Not the best. Just the ones that money can buy.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

@@Pushing_Pixels Judges are politicians. Always have been. Always are.

[@peggychamberlain9515]

Because most of them are corrupt criminals..

[@Justanotherconsumer]

LOL, the Virginia court is basically saying “but that would prohibit influence peddling!” Our justice system is a joke sometimes.

[@SM-nz9ff]

Try the Mexican system, or the Russian system, or the Romanian system, or the Turkey system or the....oh yeah its almost like its every system. How are people this simple?

[@FrostedParadox]

Thank you Legal Eagle for summarizing the craziest news and making the legal ramifications easy to understand!

[@ellicel]

So he got away with criminal behavior once and then went on to commit *more* crime?! Well, color me surprised 😂

[@benoithudson7235]

Evidently he learned his lesson.

[@baranbeytemur5451]

@@benoithudson7235 dont think he did he wants to run for election again and didnt resign from all positions

[@GamingWithNikolas]

​@@baranbeytemur5451that was the lesson, that sence he got away with it once with no consequences he learned he could keep doing it.

[@danielschein6845]

Apparently back during Chicago’s political machine heyday, when the cops pulled you over they would offer to sell you a pencil with different colors having different prices. The faster you were driving, the more expensive the pencil you were “encouraged” to buy. Under the Supreme Court’s new standard, I wonder if one of those cops could beat the bribery charge.

[@christopherb501]

...with that kind of coded BS around, no wonder SovCits believe what they do with cops.

[@alexdurain3753]

No cause they aren’t politicians. Rules for thee, not for me and all that.

[@jdantigua1999]

So sad that SCOTUS GOP are crooks. They do not represent the citizenry😢😮

[@jlev1028]

​@@alexdurain3753But cops have the same immunity. That's why you've hardly seen any corrupt police actually be convicted over the past several years.

[@alexdurain3753]

@@jlev1028 Maybe watch the body cams. Might prove a tad enlightening.

[@butareyoureally1868]

"THIS is what happens when the rule-makers make rules about themselves."

[@ewanmackenzie6264]

It doesn’t happen everywhere. Of course, some places are even worse, not that that makes it ok.

[@conniethesconnie]

Remember we elect them. The voters are supposed to be the check on their power. Want to change things vote against the incumbents, vote against the party insiders, vote for the person who is being pushed into the corner and out of the spotlight.

[@GamingWithNikolas]

​@@conniethesconniewon't make a difference whatsoever. I don't even bother voting anymore because my vote doesn't matter out of an ocean of uneducated voters.

[@pafnutiytheartist]

​@@conniethesconnieUS has a two party system, if all your options are corrupt, you can't fight corruption by voting.

[@supernenechi]

Literally gold bars?? If a cartoon depicted a corrupt politician that would be EXACTLY how it's portrayed!

[@1brianm7]

I think it’s important to note that he didn’t step down from his post on the Foreign Relations Committee for altruistic reasons, democratic rules nullified his chairmanship the moment he was indicted and he will not regain the post unless acquitted. The same thing happened in his last indictment.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

As it should be.

[@tuxtitan780]

I hope so badly that this makes public perception of lobbying even worse and pushes people to start wanting to overrule the supreme court and finally get rid of this. Lobbying is by far my biggest grievance in this country, and i have full confidence that if public opinion finally sways against it so much that new laws are created outlawing it, this country will be leaps and bounds better off

[@Ajv516]

Ending lobbying as it currently stands in the US will require roadblocks to be put into place that prevents the obscenely wealthy from also acquiring power. This is no an impossible feat and has precedent in the second quarter of the early 20th century.

[@javgamer722]

While I agree with everything you said, considering the only people who could change it are the ones taking those bribes, call me a pessimist but I wouldn't bet money on it. It's the same reason why we will never fix our 2 party system even though we so easily could (or at least takes steps toward doing so.) because the very people who would make those laws are the ones it will take power from.

[@haruhirogrimgar6047]

Mandatory voting would absolutely demolish any concerns about lobbying is the issue. It doesn't matter who lobbies rn tbh because the majority of people voting are already in-line in beliefs with the lobbyists. We get more than 20% of young people to turn out and just about every part of our government gets new faces and better priorities.

[@MrTheAngryLlama]

Easier solution. Let's just make it fully legal and fully transparent. Let them be like sports stars and get full-on sponsorship money, BUT they have to wear the logos all over their clothing so you know exactly who you're really voting for

[@kennethferland5579]

Opinion is already their, lobbying is seen as bribery by 90% of voters already, it's just that they do not prioritize lack of corruption for the person THEY vote for, or in the laws their representatives pass. Other stuff, like beating the other party is pushed to the for front by party and media activity.

[@NybergCarl]

The defining feature of the Roberts Court is creating large gray areas where rulings can go either way.

[@clawsoon]

With everything coming out about Alito and Thomas accepting lavish gifts, these Supreme Court decisions look a lot uglier.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:15 - Chapter 1 - The 2015 case against Menendez 3:15 - Chapter 2 - The supreme court's public corruption jurisprudence 9:50 - Chapter 3 - The new Menendez indictment 16:10 - Chapter 4 - Menendez monopolize meat market 21:25 - Chapter 5 - How does McDonnell impact the 2nd menendez prosecution 21:45 - Chapter 6 - The criminal charges against menendez 23:55 - End roll ads

[@Werevampiwolf]

Oh hey, you're here too. I always see you on the comments of the Whistler-verse channels lol

[@chrisdray5325]

The fact that he literally hid his corruption money in his Congressional Hispanic Caucus jacket is too on the nose for a fictional character. Literally hiding his corruption behind his identity. This guy is a comic book villain.

[@terrafirma5327]

Limiting the amount of "gifts" people can receive as public officials would be a smart move. For example, no more than 10,000 dollars a year would be solid... these are already wealthy and well-off individuals... they do NOT need bribes/gifts. If they want to have powerful friends, they can move to the private industry. I don't care if a CEO gets a huge gift, but I do care if its my lawmakers.

[@DarkLordSkeletor]

They have something like that in that when gifts exceed a certain amount it will be taxed. So he's also commenting tax fraud/evasion for not declining the money

[@terrafirma5327]

@@DarkLordSkeletor that's true. Taxing it isn't enough though imo

[@andiward7068]

There are. There are already restrictions on gifts, donations, preferential treatments and assorted other situations. Our officials seem particularly adept at ignoring them, and getting caught at it lately.

[@terrafirma5327]

@@andiward7068 had no idea!

[@johndododoe1411]

As a shareholder I would object to others bribing a CEO nominally on my payroll .

[@bentoth9555]

I confused a friend who's a Republican (I'm not.) I said Menendez should have to resign and, if found guilty, go to jail. My friend's response: "But he's a Democrat, shouldn't you support him?"

[@butareyoureally1868]

That sums it up, doesn't it? They just don't get it...

[@JohnDoe-qz1ql]

WOW, just sad!😬

[@normanmai7865]

Your friend when people have beliefs that aren't entirely supported by one of two major parties that covers a wide range of beliefs: 😮

[@HappyGingerWolf]

Some people just really see politics as team sports and don't care who lies and cheats as long as their side wins

[@ryanreedgibson]

I don't want any corrupt official representing me or my family. But if I were a corrupt person who broke the law I wouldn't care.

[@Daugueffxi]

Hard to prosecute anyone for bribery when it is legal.

[@dielaughing73]

For some...

[@commonsenseisntcommon1776]

Its not

[@Inquisitor6321]

This is not a simple act of bribery. This is allegedly quid pro quo to benefit a foreign nation. This is at least unconstitutional, if not an out right act of treason.

[@omegaminoseer4539]

You're wrong, simple. Around these parts, we call that, "lobbying."

[@maromania7]

@@omegaminoseer4539 ...yeah, and? I can call the sky Steve, doesn't stop it from being the sky. It is a gift given to act in the giver's favor. The definition of bribe includes money, but is not exclusive to it. Offering to give tax breaks, donating to your organization so that you get a bigger bonus, doesn't matter. Calling it lobbying doesn't matter. It's bribery.

[@renwhit100]

every developing case like this makes it that much more laughable how damn offended the supreme court gets over people questioning their ethics, and by "laughable" i mean "gotta grimly laugh or I'll have a breakdown over how damn broken this country is"

[@timwright3218]

This isn't just corruption. This is a US senator acting as a foreign agent. Personally, that feels pretty treasony to me. I know it won't happen but my preference would be to bring him up on treason charges.

[@ChrisCapoccia]

Bribery and corruption are serious charges, but Menendez might also have committed espionage

[@relaxedsack1263]

when you have George Santos defending you, you know you have messed up

[@captiannemo1587]

The amount of research, done so quickly… what a team.

[@1RandomToaster]

This level of corruption makes me proud to be a New Jersian, almost as proud as when I met Bob not long after he first took office and the Governor (who Bob replaced) got into a car accident at 90mph getting to a meet and greet with a radio DJ. Bob gave a great speech about all of the grants and benefits he’s been able to get for my company. On an unrelated note we donated quite a bit to his election… To make a long story longer: “Corruption? In Jersey? Yeah that tracks, we’re really good at it!”

[@grevberg]

Reminds me of the Abscam sting in the 70's and 80's. One of the politician was filmed getting money out of a briefcase and stuffing it in his pockets. His attorney told him that the only thing that could save him was playing the tape backwards.

[@politickz6591]

I still can’t believe he was this blatant with it, like Jesus at least use an offshore bank account or something, gold bars is some cartoon villain shit

[@flickcentergaming680]

Right? Dude should at least have had a bank account out of the Canary Islands like the rest of the corrupt politicians.

[@andrewrivera1054]

Only thing worse would be a burlap sack with a dollar sign on it.

[@bjornodin]

​@@andrewrivera1054But what if the sack only contained Euros?

[@johnladuke6475]

@@andrewrivera1054 I fully expect that to be a surprise exhibit at trial.

[@someguy1ification]

I listened to devin go over the allegations and was like "ok, he has to be joking with that part..." and then he went on to say that investigators found a ton of them at his house. I was flabbergasted. Who the hell pays in gold bars, anyway? Cashing that out would cause so many problems...

[@insidespin2698]

I mean, why would we want expansive definitions of public corruption? It’s not like keeping powerful public officials honest and working in the best interests of their constituents is vital to a functioning democracy. This Supreme Court is truly reprehensible.

[@jomojas5786]

In no reality, does someone see you with gold bars and does not immediately think “What shady shit did you pull to get those”?

[@kayeka4123]

Unless they're doomsday preppers, I suppose.

[@haldosprime3896]

I like this recent trend of pointing out corruption in the government. Keep holding the corrupt accountable. Political sides don’t matter. No one is above the law, and if the law has been broken then it must be upheld.

[@StrickerRei-Chn]

Holding a public servant accountable is a must in a democratic society.

[@kieranelliott5607]

I really need to get better friends. I don’t think any have ever offered me lavish gifts of cash, trips, or baubles, no matter how much I drop hints. Menendez must be a lucky man.

[@jimbotheimpaler4756]

Baubles. 😂 Top mate.

[@jakebeal8095]

Wow this is better than any news story I’ve read or seen about it thus far. Bravo. These are a public service.

[@mw66683]

Term limits are an issue, but corruption is worse.

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

Ungerrymandered voting districts are the real term limits. Guess which party loves gerrymandering, especially racial?

[@blackjacktrial]

Goes hand in hand - can't be bribed if you can't provide a benefit back.

[@onikin]

And voters will never accept responsibility for congressmen staying in power a long time. They'll keep voting for the same one, over and over again, while complaining about limits.

[@kyallokytty]

​@@onikinyes, but here's the thing. in a functioning democracy it forces itself to get rid of issues like that

[@michaelmcgovern8110]

@@blackjacktrial Well, no: Will Rogers said the problem is when politicians effectively bribe taxpayers with their own money.

[@exoZelia]

I'm glad you're here to break this stuff down for us. Gonna hire your firm later, I need to sue some people

[@Valeo1993]

You see if i get more than a $20 tip from a customer as a federal employee i get slammed with bribery, but this guy can literally influence a foreign government and it's uncertain if he'll get a big sentence?

[@pafnutiytheartist]

Yes because poor people must follow the rules

[@kingace6186]

The brazenness of Menendez's and Thomas's corruption is comical.

[@Joshua_Hale]

Well... when one makes the law and the other interprets it, it makes sense that they're not too worried about legal repercussions.

[@austinestep8461]

I would laugh at it more if these people didn’t have very broad powers to change laws.

[@DawnDavidson]

Or tragic … 😢

[@VivBrodock]

As a new jersey citizen, honestly just surprised it took the rest of yall so long to figure out.

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

Same. This has been going on for years, but it took this long for his corruption to make national headlines.

[@relaxedleisure4766]

Yes, people don’t seem to be aware that Jersey Democrats (especially in Hudson,Essex,Union,Passaic and South Jersey) are probably the most corrupt in the nation along with ILDems and both parties in Louisiana.

[@fraliexb]

I wish we had politicians that weren't corrupt and passed laws elimination of campaign finance, period.

[@tin-n-tan]

Democrats have taken it to the parliament and voted on it every single year for the last about 15. So ya know. Don't blame politics, we know which side voted it down and took it to the supreme court.

[@rogueninja1685]

Can you imagine such a comprehensive investigation into trump? He has 91 counts just scratching the surface. I mean, it's refreshing to see an old school corruption investigation, but only one "side" has to play by the rules?

[@blankityblankblank2321]

I just wish they did their job to begin with. Instead we have both sides yelling over each other, more interested in shaming the other.

[@yndsu]

​@@blankityblankblank2321your enlightened centrist is showing. You known that Dems and GOP are not the same, and to present it as they are, as you do, is disingenuous at best. One side wants to get stuff done, the other side tried to impeach the sitting president without any evidence, and to shut down the government, again. So no, they are not the same.

[@joachimschoder]

@@tin-n-tan But if you look at the facts you can't use the both-sides-ism most of media loves to do. One side is calling for their corrupt colleagues to resign and the other side wants their corrupt colleague to be president again. But we have to pretend both sides are the same. Otherwise something might actually get done against corruption.

[@draconis17]

Just giving someone a monopoly over a whole food industry by revoking everyone else's licenses is insane though. Imagine how screwed over all the legitimate businesses were, waking up one day and finding out they're not allowed to operate in egypt anymore for no reason.

[@jerodwolf5582]

In a country with millions of qualified individuals who could run for office, truly limitless possibilities - yet we always find ourselves with the worst politicians, which also happen to be 2000 years old.

[@TheScourge007]

Also worth noting, Menendez's parents were 1) working class when they came to the US and so wouldn't have had much to seize and 2) arrived in the US in 1953, six years before the Cuban revolution won and while Castro was in Bastista's prisons. AKA, the story about having property seized by Castro would likely have to be more distant family if its true at all (the fact that both his parents were working class, a carpenter and seamstress makes this dubious). In essence he's using the (incorrect) stereotype that all Cuban-Americans were people fleeing Castro to defend himself in a bribery case.

[@GamingWithNikolas]

This is important information I didn't know.

[@reverse_engineered]

He's also literally playing the race card. There's nothing about his connections or the crime that have anything to do with his lineage. At no point did anyone say anything about his race other than him. It's one of the most insincere defenses imaginable.

[@clocksurfer]

What's MOST tragic about this is the fact that nobody stopped the Senator early on.

[@Jehty_]

That part shocked me. Why did no one of his colleagues object? Some of the stuff he did should have been quite obvious to everyone close to the topic.

[@isaac3140]

@@Jehty_because they're in on it too, they're just more subtle

[@conniethesconnie]

This was answered. It was about party numbers and political power. When there was a Republican governor who would appoint a Republican Democrats were fine with a corrupt politician. When there is a Democrat governor who will appoint a Democrat replacement they are more than eager to enter the next election with a Democrat incumbent who does not have a dark cloud hanging over them. You will also see Republicans circling the wagons to keep disgrace members when they need their votes.

[@jayclean5653]

​@@Jehty_Becasue 99% of the people in the Senate and House do that same damn thing.

[@johnladuke6475]

The real bombshell will come at trial when they show the actual cartoon brown sacks with dollar signs that he used to carry his bribes around.

[@nezhali1637]

The corrupt supreme court ruled against finding corruption? Colour me shocked, shocked!

[@roberthaig2133]

Why isn't there a lower bar of proof and conduct to get sacked as a senator? We are only discussing his criminal case. I work for a global firm and if I did 1% of his conduct I may not be charged but I would definitely be sacked!

[@kayeka4123]

Because he's an elected official. Lowering the bar for sacking like that would make it incredibly easy to get rid of "troublesome" politicians by those higher up the foodchain. Much like how easy it is for corporations to get rid of "troublesome" (read:unionising) employees with only the thinnest veneer of just cause.

[@ericaschner3283]

Maybe the laws governing the people who write the laws should be written by someone else. Jeez, it's ridiculous how blatant corruption is no big deal

[@anna9072]

Yeah. Never a good idea to put the fox in charge of the chicken coop.

[@conniethesconnie]

Until the public starts voting them out this will continue. Til voters are willing set aside hard core partisanship and say that they will vote for honesty over party allegiance this will continue. Til voters are willing to embrace independent and third party options when the two corrupt majority parties are unable to field decent choice this will continue. Til the voters make it difficult for incumbants to make the case that after meeting with voters across their district they decided that once again they can not step down since they decided no one else can do the job of accepting bribes as well as they do this will continue.

[@GamingWithNikolas]

​@@conniethesconniethis will only get worse then. No way in hell that a 3rd party runner will win an election outside of the election for mayor of a tinny town. The population is dead set on voting R or D litteraly no mater who the candidate is. Hitler could probably win the election if he ran as a Democrat in a Democrat district or republican in a republican district. I honestly don't see a way out if this because you would have to completely change the way 90% of the population thinks.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

The politicians wrote a law that actually did hold them somewhat accountable, but SCOTUS watered it down and made it nearly worthless. Law abiding politicians opposed to corruption are a threat to this SCOTUS. They want corrupt politicians in power because they will look the other way when justices do the same things.

[@joansparky4439]

​ @ prependedprepended6606 That's the hook, isn't it? Plato's ideal of reluctant philosophers being in charge is not feasible as those reluctant philosophers are not competitive enough to keep up with the ruthless and selfish narcissists. Plato also has been wrong to blame his mentors dead on a 50% majority mob-rule, because the most likely cause for Socrates death-sentence probably was his teaching of young Athenians to think on their own - which naturally put him on collision course with the powerful ruthless and selfish narcissists of Athens, who naturally wanted to hold onto the status quo. Too bad the Founding Fathers of the US haven't been smarter (or less selfish/ruthless) and opted for the Republic instead of a Direct Democracy.

[@Phosypha]

Imagine being elected to a position known for making people rich with minimal effort (via insider trading, lobbying, etc.) and then somehow managing to screw it up

[@Synesthesia_chan]

Tacodachis for justice!

[@causaestmalleus4605]

Isnt it strange how half the democratic party comes out AGAINST a member who committed crimes, while the republican party will either ignore it or openly support the criminal? Neither party is good, but it speaks volumes as to which is worse.

[@Joshua_Hale]

I agree that US politics is a textbook case of 'black and grey morality', but as the Eagle pointed out, that may stem from the current situation in which the Democrats can nominate a Democrat replacement for him and so the political repercussions aren't as severe.

[@erikanders3343]

I was wondering why the trump supporters have been quite on this till I heard that the guy who was bribing the senator bribed Trump for a pardon.

[@Grak70]

@@Joshua_Halethis would make sense until you look at Ken Paxton’s comedic impeachment and acquittal in Texas despite it being obscenely obvious he broke the law.

[@jdotoz]

Check back to 0:41 or so and consider how - for completely unrelated reasons, I'm sure - they weren't so hard on him when there wasn't a Democrat in office to appoint his replacement.

[@supercynic9607]

The bar is in hell

[@thenameiswater2921]

Anyone else hear about the mortgage relief and immediately think something like “he can get his large house paid off just for being there and I can’t even afford a studio apartment with a full-time job”???

[@lucyj8204]

"you really want a coffee milkshake, and that's ok" - deserves an entire video and upvote on its own!

[@plastix6041]

Could you go over the alleged corrupt case of billy mitchell. It will be going to court very soon and would love to hear your take on it Edit: I have to say alleged to keep from getting sued also lol

[@Kazmahu]

And please throw in a cameo/recap from the main channel covering/involved in this story just so we get to hear Devil get called an absolute legend.

[@plastix6041]

​@@randomsomeguy156I have. I've asked on the past few videos

[@DefgirRZawa]

@@Kazmahu"Hello, LegalEagle Karl Jobst!" "Hello, you absolute Legend Devin!"

[@lesseva96]

ANY public official and their immediate family should NOT be allowed to accept ANY gifts worth more than ~$25 from ANYONE for the duration of their term and a 5 year period after the end of their term.

[@theeyehead3437]

I don't think you've really thought about how insane that is.

[@Jehty_]

That would be sad Christmases and Birthdays for quite a lot of years. Maybe you should give your proposal a second thought?

[@lesseva96]

@@Jehty_ Immediate family is exempt. You can still get your kid a PS5. However, if you exempt Christmas, then there will still be open bribery, just using the Christmas loophole. I think that expecting a handful of sacrifices for people that choose to become senators and governors is reasonable. They must be held to a higher standard.

[@Jehty_]

​​@@lesseva96when a friend visits me they bring a bottle of wine. At Christmas they might bring some food. Children get gifts for their birthday from other children. Even for adults it's common to get gifts from friends for their birthday. Disallowing all of that is not "higher standard". It's insane.

[@JoeOvercoat]

Look at all the replies supporting corruption in the name of Christmas. That’s American values in action.

[@Onodera1980]

Gee, I wonder why the supreme court would be so pedantic regarding corruption...

[@diydame7163]

I can’t say how much I appreciate that you are hard on both parties based on the facts. 🙏 It’s so ridiculous how divided our country is by party, even though both are increasingly corrupt.

[@adamstuartclark]

Gold bars? What kind of Scrooge McDuck, Monopoly Guy villain level of corruption is this?

[@ScarlettCatte]

I think that the sacks with the big green $ on the side of them were out of stock that day, clearly XD

[@P0SSPWRD]

Gotta love the sheer weight the poor word "allegedly" carries in US law lol

[@Jehty_]

Allegedly carries.

[@dontmisunderstand6041]

It doesn't carry any weight. That's the entire point of using it. Because if it did carry weight, you could get in trouble for saying it sometimes.

[@willieclark2256]

Personally I'm shocked that a New Jersey politician would be indicted on corruption charges

[@alperakyuz9702]

Yeah, i expected them to hide it better.

[@alexanderdumas-]

He was so comfortable getting bribed legally he got lazy. What’s funny is he still might get off 😂

[@kacktustoo]

Omg how is the corruption so blatant. "Whoa this is a monopoly we can't have that" "Stay out of it" It's like going out of your way to state you're benefiting from something illegal

[@anonnymouse2402]

When you showed the picture of John Roberts, I though you were being unfair by picking a photo that made him look so smug. I then did a google image search and realized that I owe you an apology.

[@Scarter63]

You'd think that the guy, after dodging the first bullet, would play it straight.

[@icin4d]

Getting away with it just encourages more bad behavior when it's people with power and authority.

[@JoeOvercoat]

Nope. He learned his lesson the first time: he’s untouchable.

[@gund89123]

He thought Supreme Court will make corruption legal by the time feds build a case against him 😂.

[@onyxa3144]

another day another corrupt politician. How shocking

[@insane_troll]

Why are they complaining about him having gold bars at his house? Where else are you supposed to keep your gold bars?

[@glarynth]

You're supposed to share some with people who find them at your house.

[@insane_troll]

@@glarynth But then I'd need to find something else to use as paperweights for all these stacks of classified documents!

[@sreif78]

Imagine how much he had to piss the other people off, possibly blowing up the entire system for them to want to charge him?

[@maryhales4595]

"...And I regret to inform you that we have video footage." Thanks for the laugh, Devin 😅

[@horrorsunlimited1152]

That moment when your schitzoaffective kicks in and you see FRIED BABIES instead of FRED DAIBES written on the document is pretty horrifying.

[@RabblesTheBinx]

That sounds more like dyslexia than schizoaffective disorder.

[@Blasted2Oblivion]

I know this is a serious matter but I cant help but get a chuckle out of the gold bars. It immediately makes me think of a cartoon villain.

[@williamlloyd3769]

Do you think Senator Menendez is going to try the “ I bought my gold bars at Costco” defense?

[@CdnTrader1]

They sell them on clearance right next to the halal chicken legs, but you need the Executive Member Card

[@someguy1ification]

he damn well better be able to show the receipts

[@HebaruSan]

Makes you wonder how bad it gets among corrupt officials who are smart enough to delete texts

[@godrickstockwell1505]

I used to work in the security department at a casino in Massachusetts. The rules set in place by the state gaming commission stated that acceptance of any type of gift was bribery and I would immediately lose my job. A regular customer tries to buy me a coffee because I look tired? Can't take it, bribery. Customer wins big and tries to tip me for walking them to their car? Sorry, bribery. Dying of thirst in the desert? Sorry I can't take that ice cold beverage, it's bribery. But fuckers like this get given literal gold bars and there's a not insignificant chance they could be found innocent or the charges could be dropped. Gods bless America

[@allenfogarty2384]

I used to respect the supreme court. Then I learned from a member of the court what boofing was.

[@DRKrust492]

The last jury failed in their duty.

[@JoeOvercoat]

Seriously.

[@marcuskissinger3842]

We really need to get money out of politics

[@zeitgeistx5239]

Citizens United says No.

[@ButFirstHeLitItOnFire]

That’s the problem…. Money is too stubborn to be rooted out so easily or for so long, and that’s _before_ the fight people with lots of it will put up to keep it that way.

[@randyosborne3971]

Congress is corrupt to the core. BOTH SIDES. I don't trust any of them.

[@farrahupson]

@@zeitgeistx5239 We're gonna need a Constitutional amendment. And holy cow, do we need it.

[@cmdraftbrn]

will never happen. lobbyists will make damned sure of it.

[@respawnpoint7677]

The new motto of the Supreme court is, "power corrupts, but we're okay with that."

[@pafnutiytheartist]

That's a good motto

[@recursiveslacker7730]

As soon as I saw a senator was getting charged with corruption that included literal gold bars stashed in the walls, I immediately thought “Jersey?” And I was right.