J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is seen at the Capitol in Washington, March 8, 2022.
The premise in the coverage of the indictment of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez for in flagrante bribery and corruption is that he cannot be forced to resign. Despite the increased calls for his resignation, Menendez seems determined to hold onto his seat.
Menendez’s prime goal, however, has to be avoiding a conviction that would send him to prison. Despite the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling in McDonnell v. United States that bribery must be explicit and not just political favor-trading, Menendez’s solicitation of bribes and receipt of various forms of loot were so flagrant that he cannot be confident of acquittal. Unless New Jersey Democrats bungle things by splitting the field, he will probably lose his seat in next year’s Democratic primary in any case.
There is one way to get him to resign. It isn’t pretty, but on balance it would serve the public interest: a deal with prosecutors that trades resignation for a plea bargain that avoids jail time. The precedent for this is the deal that forced Spiro Agnew to give up the vice presidency in October 1973, almost 50 years ago to the day.
In case you were not born in 1973, in the Agnew case federal prosecutors investigating corruption in Baltimore found compelling evidence that Agnew had taken bribes while Baltimore County executive, then as governor of Maryland, and continuing into his term as Richard Nixon’s vice president. Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Nixon’s chief of staff, Al Haig, were both informed that key witnesses were prepared to testify under oath that they had given Agnew bribes.
Given that the Watergate investigation was well under way, with the likelihood that Nixon would be forced from office, the possibility of a corrupt Agnew under criminal prosecution succeeding Nixon seemed too much for the country to bear. So the Justice Department offered a deal whereby Agnew would plead nolo contendere to one count of tax evasion in exchange for his resignation.
He was sentenced to pay a $10,000 fine and to three years of unsupervised probation, and left office on October 10. Less than two weeks later, on October 20, Richardson himself resigned in the infamous Saturday Night Massacre, rather than carry out Nixon’s order to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. That was the beginning of the end of the Nixon presidency.
You can see why Menendez or his lawyers might angle for such a plea bargain deal. But why would the Justice Department offer it?
Three reasons. First, to get a common thug out of the Senate; second, to get a guilty plea rather than risk even the remote possibility of acquittal in a trial or on appeal; and third, to spare the Democrats further embarrassment.
Attorney General Merrick Garland insists he works only for the American people and is above partisanship. Fair enough. The American people, as well as the Democratic leadership, would appreciate getting Menendez out.
