Did you happen miss the extensive news coverage of Senator Robert Menendez’s (D-NJ) corruption trial? You wouldn’t be the only one. The mainstreams just haven’t really found anything to pique their interest about a sitting U.S. senator being charged and prosecuted for taking nearly $1,000,000 in bribes in exchange for political favors.
 
In fact the lack of reportage was so glaring that The Daily Caller decided to document the dearth of coverage from cable and network news outlets as the formal proceedings commenced last week ~

The media’s coverage of Democratic Senator Bob Menendez’s corruption trial has been a story of omission and bias, with many outlets giving scarce coverage to the story and others botching it completely […]
 
For example, on Wednesday, the first day of the trial, the big three broadcast networks didn’t mention the story on their evening shows. CBS brought up the trial once in the morning, while ABC and NBC ignored it completely…

So when it comes to unfavorable news on a prominent Democrat politician we either have to go to extremist right-wing sources – or cross the Atlantic. Here are the basics; from the UK Daily Mail ~

It’s a tale of international jet-setting, $1,500-a-night hotel rooms and, for good measure, allegations of affairs with models and actresses.
 
Beyond the tabloid angles, this week’s corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and a wealthy friend (Florida ophthalmologist, Dr. Salomon Melgen) promises to put the very business of governing under a microscope – and could eventually lead to a Republican taking over his seat in the deeply divided Senate. […]
 
They are charged with a conspiracy in which, prosecutors say, Menendez lobbied for Melgen’s business interests in exchange for political donations and gifts that included luxury vacations, flights on Melgen’s plane and stays at his private villa in an exclusive Dominican Republic resort frequented by celebrities including Beyonce and Jay-Z.
 
The indictment also alleges Menendez pressured State Department officials to give visas to three young women described as Melgen’s girlfriends.
 
The men both pleaded not guilty, and Menendez has vehemently denied the allegations.
 

Among the gifts prosecutors say Melgen gave Menendez were flights on Melgen’s private jet, vacations at Melgen’s private villa in the Dominican Republic and a three-night stay at a luxury Paris hotel valued at nearly $5,000.
 
Melgen also directed more than $750,000 in campaign contributions to entities that supported Menendez, according to the indictment, which alleges they were inducements to get Menendez to use his influence on Melgen’s behalf.
 
 
Prosecutors say that lobbying included a three-year effort to help Melgen avoid paying $8.9 million for overbilling Medicare, a meeting with an assistant secretary of state to help Melgen in a contract dispute over port screening equipment in the Dominican Republic, and helping one of Melgen’s girlfriends and her sister get into the country after their visas were denied.

 
I suspect that this is pretty typical behavior for most of these congressional shysters these days, regardless of party affiliation. But it was interesting that the New York Times – who did actually report on the story – failed to mention that Menendez was a Democrat.

It’s not every day that a sitting senator goes on trial for corruption – in fact it’s been 36 years. But apparently the praetorian guard mainstream media doesn’t think the American sheeple need to know much about the allegations or proceedings. Perhaps they’ll mention it when he’s convicted and forced to abandon his senate seat? Stay tuned…

 
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Related:

Sentencing Postponed for Florida Eye Doctor Accused of Bribing New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez ~ My, why what an odd coincidence. I’m sure the delay has nothing to do with the possibility of an adverse effect on the Menendez trial…

A sentencing hearing in a Medicare fraud case against a prominent Florida eye doctor accused of bribing New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez has been postponed.
 
Attorneys for Dr. Salomon Melgen said in court documents filed Thursday they and prosecutors have agreed to cancel Friday’s scheduled sentencing hearing until December. That would be after next month’s scheduled joint bribery trial against Menendez and Melgen in New Jersey.
 
Melgen’s attorneys say in court documents the delay is necessary because the hearing could take longer than a day.

Yeah right.
 
Seattle’s homosexual mayor resigns, finally, after fifth allegation of sexual abuse ~ Another rather unsavory tale about another Democrat’s fall from grace

 
And another, that’s just… well, sad ~ Democrat Councilman Forced To Resign After Being Outed As A ‘Furry’ ~

A Democratic councilman in a Connecticut town was forced to resign from his position after he was outed as a “furry”— a subculture whose members wear full-body anthropomorphic animal suits. The town’s mayor said the councilman’s resignation was ordered because he indicated that he “tolerated” rape in his furry profile.
 
 
New Milford councilman and Democrat Scott Chamberlain resigned after first defending his extracurricular hobby, which involves role-playing or even living as an animal. Many furries adopt “fursonas” and believe themselves to have the souls of typically wild animals like wolves, bears, and foxes. The lifestyle is often sexual in nature.