Well, good evening everyone, im laura coast. A week that began with merrick garland, one of the most powerful democrats in washington, d. C. Now being charged with corruption. Conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Essentially using his official position to force someone to give him something of value. Tonight we are taking a deep dive into all of it from the investigation to the indictment and of course the political fallout and here are the Big Questions ive been asking all day after seeing all the reports thats cut through all of it. Here are the real yes, sir, number one, did he do it . Did he do it . Could a senator who left a hung jury in his last trial, led to personal favors really have been so imraizenbrabrazen a a second sometime around . Is corruption at its very finest, could the rules force him to step down there his position as chairman oar from the senate or maybe will the better question is will he actually do that . And technical, youve heard a lot about the two Tier Justice System right and witch hunts and beyond, will the very same republicans who have alleged those witch hunts come sprinting to this mans defense or would this be proof that lady justice will be well maybe independent, and will the people in the court of Public Opinion let the court of law, make another allegation of abuse of power by the very people we were told to trust. I want to bring in john miller, cnns law analyst, this is extraordinary right now. There is an extraordinary level of detail in this indictment. It goes back years. All the way to 2018. Full stop, there is a Presumption Of Innocence, we know this very, very well. Yet this is damning as its written so what is standing out to you most of all . Whats standing out to me is not just the socking allegations, or, laura, the factor that as you pointed out already, here is a member of congress and now a leader in the senate, who has literally been in the shadow of various investigations for more than 20 years but behind all of that is not just the basics of an allegation of businessmen giving alleged bribes to a significant public official. But the spectrum of Foreign Government being behind that. Just imagine the back end of this case, and this is not something we see charged, which is that a u. S. Ally, a significant player overseas in the middle east, within who has been a partner with us in the formulation of u. S. And mid east policy going back decades, that that country would be behind recruiting a autos senator, who is the a United States senator, who has been head of the Foreign Relations committee essentially as an operative through cutouts, business men supplying him with money and other goods, more shocking than your average bribery case, people acting as agents of a Foreign Government and a Foreign Government trying to recruit a u. S. Official is very important. I remember when i was a federal employee and just thinking about the cyclical times that you have to have, theyre running your credit, right, talking to friends, talking to neighbors, want too know all the things about whether or not you might be vulnerable to somebody looking at you, knocking on your door or contacting you and saying, this is someone i can work with here. Theres some vulnerability, this is something that is very, very important for a security clerns. And thats somebody who is a federal employee, i was doj, that was part of it. You were at the fbi during an investigation into the senator when he was actually in the house. So what has been your action now, given your particularized experience with this person, even years ago . Well, i remember that. That was back in 2006. And when you talk about, you know, how these various ships pass in the night, that was a federal investigation into alleged benefits he was receiving in the form of a house that he was renting there an organization he was also lobbying for at a time when he was in congress. Interestingly, laura back then in 2006, the prosecutor who was bringing that case, was Chris Christie, now a republican candidate for president. And that was a case that was investigated by the fbi, the bureau believed it was ready for Progression Accusation prosecution, so did the u. S. Attorney in newark. But it was sent across the street and the judgment of the Attorney General in the Public Corruption Section was to pass on it. After that of course you saw the other case that ended with a partial acquittal and a hung jury and now this case. So hes really been under the spotlight for a long time. But Something Else you pointed out. Hes entitleled as the head of e Foreign Relations committee and the Ranking Member at various times to extraordinarily classified, Sensitive Information. Members of congress dont get a secret clerns. Their clearance, their clearance when theyre on one of these committees is by virtue of the fact that they have been elected. What you went through as an assistant United States attorney, what i went through as an Assistant Director of the fbi, that thorough background investigation, that polygraph examination, having your first grade teacher interviewed, none of that happens for a member of congress. It is very true and, you know, i wonder what they would say, probably laura coats, she talks a lot but shes got good teeth. John miller thank you so much, nice to see you of course. Former federal prosecutor, gene rossi and a scott bolden, gentlemen here we are on a friday night. We began the week talking about Mehra Ick Garland and his weaponized, and the doj talking about just republicans what a fair shake they wanted to have for people. We have been combing through this indictment and looking through it and all the different charges. Weve all been talking about it behind the scenes. I want to know what your reactions are to this indictment. You say this is a problem. Its seedy, its sordid. Which part the indictment or the allegation . The indictment and the allegations. The indictment im not impressed. So from a critical stand, its all conspiracy under 371. This is like the governor Bob Mcconnell indictment. Its shiny its new in the press and what have you. Bus you have to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. You have to have an official act on bribery. I dare you to find in that indictment, What Official Act Menendez did in exchange for gold bars, money, cars, and by the way, hes got a wife too, and the wife were friends with these two individuals and all they were doing was talking to their senator about helping them. Whether it was unseemly or not and all he did was go to bat for them in each of these instances. I dont see one official act and by the way, can a legislator have an official act . He can release money for the egyptian egypt is an ally for us. That is a problem for the government. Ive interviewed mr. Mcconnell formerly as the grove of virginia about instances of this and what this looks like, he believed to this day he got a raw deal. The Supreme Court said, i dont know how to discern between the official acts, many people have been hearing time and time again gene, this is how the sausage is made, this is what congressmen do. You cant parse whats right or wrong. Ththe allegations, are much more serious than that. How do you see it . I love my partner here. We are 180 degrees apart. You are going to disagree with me. Yes, even though youre more house man. But i worked here, i worked in evva for 16, 17 years. S. I was there when they did the bob mcdonald case. I was there when they did the William Jefferson case in 2009. The congressman, low level congressman who had 90,000 in his freezer in packages of cereals and boca burgers, okay . The official acts that Congressman Jefferson did as a low level member of the congress pale in comparison to senator menendez allegedly. Let me give you one big whopper. Im absolutely offended if this allegation is true that he used his official position invading a u. S. Attorney and he has that u. S. Attorney come to his house, the nominee or candidate and that incident involved him talking about a pending federal case. That is disgusting in addition to being illegal. And the times important. Timings important. Bock mcdonald, let me finish. Bob mcdonald had tawdry things, got use of a car and a house but there there was no nexus. Here the timing is devastating allegedly. He meets with somebody, he gets a gold bar. Before he meets with somebody he gets cash. There is a clear nexus between what he is going to do or what he has done. And the official acts are very broad. The definition. It could be im trying to arrange a meeting. It could be, im taking a position on appropriation. Its very broad. And my colleagues respectfully disagrees. Thats just not true. An official act that is exactly what the Supreme Court struck down in the mcdonald case. It said, setting up a meeting as you would for any other constituent is not an official act. Advocating in mcconnells case in regard to a state fda approval is not a official act. He would do that for anyone. By the way, before we get caught up with the e egyptian case, wht did we do, youre upset because he sat down with a u. S. Attorney . Im not upset. Maybe i am because you dont agree with me. Sitting down with a u. S. Attorney candidate right and asking him if you become u. S. Attorney and if i recommend you its up to the if the by the way, it is not up to bob, that cant be an official act, i want to look into that case and give it scrutiny, and stuff. He didnt say if you dotten do it im not going to recommend you, he being menendez recommending someone else, that isnt an official act. The official act is the president appointing him. The president doesnt have to listen to that. I think the government happens got problems here rooted in official acts they are going to have to make out as circumstancely. First, in part of the Statement Today he issued, hes accusing the prosecutors in making false claims and quote misrepresenting the normal work of a congressional office, part of what were talking about today the official act capacity. I have to say though its not as if the prosecutors have never heard the governor of virginia case in the Supreme Court. One would have to presume, even though theres a presumption, i only give credit when its due given their knowledge what it takes to prove a official act, given the level of scrutiny on a case like this i certainly hope they have dotted their is and crossed their ts. But they have said the investigation is ongoing. Well fight it out. They need cooperators to connect the dots. There is no one linking these gold bars and money to these quote alleged official acts that dont exist. We have to see if thats the case but there are two Defense Attorneys who might be interested in the case. Thank you so much. Listen there are growing concerns and calls tonight for the senator to resign. But i mean what if he decides to ride it out . Wouldnt be the first time you saw this in politics. Were talking about the political aspect of this, next. She took Mucinex Instasoothe sore throat lozenges. Show your sore throat whos boss. Mucinex instasoothe. Works in seconds. Lasts for hours. How do i love thee . Let me count the ways. Love can get a little messy. Good thing theres resolve. Love the love. Resolve the mess. Only the new sleep number smart beds let you both sleep at your ideal level of comfort. Your sleep number setting. And now, all of our new next gen smart beds have temperature benefits. Save 400 on the new sleep number c4 smart bed. Now only 1,499. Sleep next level. Shop now only at sleep number well as one might expect there are calls growing tonight for senator bob menendez to resign. Calling the allegations deeply disturbing, the new jersey governor phil phi saying quote, the alleged facts to represent the people of our state. Therefore im calling for his immediate resignation. And governor murphy is not the only one calling on the senator to resign. Other new jersey Democratic Leaders, emphasis Democratic Leaders are calling for him to step down and they include the General Assembly speaker, but tonight senator menendez saying this in part, it is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a latino and push him out of his seat. Im not going anywhere. I want to bring chief ethics lawyer robert painter, so good to see you, and a minnesotaian in particular. Robert you know he is facing three federal conspiracy charges. Talk the me about how you view the seriousness of these. Because the allegations are far emotional your Garden Variety if there ever was one of kickbacks. I agree strongly with congressman Dean Phillips of mrches who was the first minnesota who was the first democrat in congress that senator menendez needs to resign. This is not about partisan politician, this is about corruption in government and our National Security. We have a senator who was indicted sixyearold ago. He had a trial, he had a hung jury so he got off. But then to make him chair of the senate Foreign Relations committee, and of course, Foreign Governments are going to be attracted to that situation. And he has the payments here in gold bars. And cash. The government of course does have to prove an official act under the Supreme CourtCase Law Bribery Cases are very, very hard to prove. But the United StatesAttorneys Office brought this case for a reason. They have overwhelming evidence. And once again this is very dangerous for our National Security. The chairman of the Foreign Relations committee appearing at least at this stage, the United StatesAttorneys Office has brought this case because he appears to be in the pay of a Foreign Government. And i dont care whether he just says they are an ally or any other country. It does not matter. We cannot tolerate this in the United States. This should not be a partisan issue and i believe the governor of new jersey also a democrat is correct in calling for senator menendezs resignation. And i believe more democrats will continue to call for his resignation over the weekend. You know, richard, just playing devils advocate to the point you just raised, he was in Fact Intreflting point you just raised he was named chairman of that very trove committee nonetheless in spite of his track record, we have this Presumption Of Innocence in this country. It is good that we have this Presumption Of Innocence, it sounds like you are saying that by virtue of the allegations alone that should be enough to have him step down. There would be a lot of politicians trying to ride out the scandal, waiving the flag of the Presumption Of Innocence but because it was a politician, because it was an electedd official, does that make the decision distinct for you . Well yes. This is a Position Of Trust. A very important Position Of Trust and thats why the founders put the monuments clause in the constitution, prohibiting any person from accepting any profits or benefits from a Foreign Government. I was on cnn and other networks, Timeless Over and over again talking about donald trump and his receipt of Foreign Government, his disregard of the eyemoluments clause, this is noa partisan political issue. Second we cannot have a Major PoliticalParty Running for the United States senate or for any other position, someone who was undercriminal indictment. And i know that was an issue for the republican father, if they do not find a Candidate Other than donald trump, i believe they will go down and lose in 2024 if they run donald trump but for The Democrats to have senator menendez under criminal indictment for taking bribes from Foreign Goments in the United States senate The Democrats will have absolutely no credibility if he is not out of the senate very, very soon. Richard painter so good to see you. Democratic strategist. What richard and i were conversing about, it sounds like the moral high ground that politicians like to have, hold on a second if we have this we are going to lose the right to play this card down the line. Senator al franken as one example in a very different context obviously. But this notion of a moral high ground whether a politician should resign right now. You actually know the senator. What is your stand on he is vehemently pushing back on his calls to resign. This is tragic. Keep that in mind, right . This is something that the senator is going through, his family is going through this too, his voters are going through this too. Senator menendez has been a loyal servant to the people of new jersey, tireless advocate and champion for the latino community. Nothing changes that. But look im going to cut you off, his legacy has been cut off by his hung jury in the past. Good thats right. But i think if he stays here now under all of this, you know, shadow of the charges its going to make it worse. And look that doesnt mean that he doesnt have the right with every fiber of his being to go out and fight this in the courts. Absolutely, senator, go do it, clear your name. If youre innocent by all means, go show us, Show The Public show his voters that these charges are absolutely wrong and he absolutely should be able to do it with 100 of his energy and his focus. He wont be able to do that if he continues to want to keep his senate seat just for the sake of saying look theyre wrong, im going to be right. Thats not serving the voters that he so lifts up and is so proud of the service that he has given them. Thats not doing thats doing them a disservice if he stays. If he does stay and again we have seen politicians say, im going to ride it out, im not going to go anywhere, he has said, im not going anywhere on this issue. That can change, they can talk in absolutes but what happens to his senate seat if this happens . That makes majority leader Chuck Schumer, it is not a huge majority and people know it. There are three opportunities for republicans to pick up seats. This adds a fourth in a situation where lets say a dinged up senator menendez tries to ride it out. Thats about all you can imagine, a seat in new jersey coming into play. That is another headache that Chuck Schumer doesnt need. The biemed would appreciate. Biden administration would appreciate. I think it plays into images that the public already has a cynicism that the public already has and half the country has suspicions on more broadly. The idea that it is weaponized that this is attacking republicans exclusively. Im not saying this could counter every single Talking Point thats been raised on behf of donald trump. But within days you have Hounder Biden charged, senator menendez charged. Does this make a Talking Point as a strategist . To hopefully convince senator menendez to do this now and leave the seat for somebody who can completely compete for it right, its important to note that what does happen does prove that there is no two tiered Justice System that no one is above the law. Not the chairman of the Senate Finance committee, not the president s son and certainly thought the former president of the United States. How do you see it . Welt i think whats funny about this is the difference between 2015, the first time these came around and we didnt have these same calls and you want to know why that is, there was a republican governor named Chris Christie who would be in the position to do that. We talk about two tiered justice, it is tougher but i think the president , the former president is not one that is bound by consistency or coherence. It is very easy to muddy the waters and say its all a rigged game. Very quick maria, what did you think about the senator saying, it is targeting a latino in office . I talked to a lot of my latino friends and frankly a lot of them were offended that he mentioned had a that. It was frankly a cheap shot, takes away from the massive legacy he does have of being a huge champion for the latino industry. You saw her dress, i did. The gold bars and the cash are certainly drawing a lot of attention. But maybe the most worrying facts of this case is senator menendez gave Sensitive Information to help egypt. Conversations about sensitive documents and data, were going to break that down next. Are you tired of clean clothes that just dont smell clean . Downy unstopables inwash Scent Boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. If you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have Downy Unstopables inwash Scent Boosters. Democratic senator bob menendez, the chair of the powerful, prosecutors are alleging that senator menendez provided sensitive Government Information and took other steps that secretly aided the government of egypt. Why was he allowed then to continue as chair of the senate Foreign Relations committee . I want to dive into this with susan glasser, staff writer at the new yorker. Susan, i wanted to pick your brain about this matter in particular because the prosecutors are alleging here that me menendez misused his chr giving Sensitive Information to the government of egypt. What is your reaction to that allegation . This allegation contained some eye popping details. I noticed among the calls for senator menendez to step aside tonight, even the governor of new jersey, phil murphy specifically minuting the National Security of this case. When you are in washington long enough you see a lot of National Crucial cases involving democrats and republicans. That is a fact in our politics but it is very rare to have someone in the position of this level of seniority to be the chairman of the storied senate Foreign Relations committee, what he was doing according to the governments alleys was to misuse his official position in a very specific way. This harkens back to some of the legendary Corruption Cases of the past, im thinking of the abscam came in the 1980s, which involved this nexus between foreign money and taking actions on the part of members of congress. There are some specifics that are contained in that indictment. They say for example, chairman menendez passed nonpublic information through this intermediary, things like involving Military Weapons Sales to egypt that they wanted to get restarted. This is not a free country, we are talking about a Military Dictatorship where Human Rights Abuses have frequently called the u. S. To put a hold on in effect some of our dealings. That was a very important point. You might be wondering trying to understand the gravitas or the significance of it being egypt in particular. Why is this the particular country. We dont know the machinations and all that stuff but the fact that it was involving that particular country should that give people additional pause into understanding the context here . Absolutely. I mean first of all, there have been enormous amount of backstage lobbying in recent years involving egypt because its Humidity Rights abuses are such that there are various laws that congress have passed that the senate Foreign Relations committee has passed in order to make sure that the u. S. Is not doing business with human rights abusers, and the like. And so often, it requires the State Department to certify that egypt and other countries are meeting certain criteria, theres a big dispute about that because really, its not. And yet, nonetheless it is a very important Strategic Partner of the United States and israel in the middle east, and so we have a long history of giving aid, Military Weapons Sales, to egypt to the tunes of billions and billions of dollars since egypt and israel first made peace with each other, decades ago. At times we have had to cam great that partnership when youre balancing human rights versus its strategic needs. So somebody like menendez if he was really in egypts corner pushing things along behind the scenes thats a very significant matter. Because this is the subject of real dispute here in washington. Thats such a fine point, im so glad you illuminated that particular point. Ive been wondering a lot about this today as many has. You mentioned the fact he was able to remain a chairman, he is not a member in a Leadership Position or chair must resign if charged with a felony but they can be reinstated if the charges are cleared or dropped to a lesser charge. Susan this is going to continue. Thank you for joining us this evening, i appreciate it so much. Thank you. Well, senator menendez is set now to appear in court on wednesday. That is the same day as the next Republican National committee primary debate of course. Im sure it will be on the actual discussion. How should we expect the prosecution and defense to present their case . We are in a bit of a mock trialt we are in a bit of a mock trialt this Friday Night Withhe two of our legal eagles next. Thats why dawn is trusted to save wildlife affected by oil. Dawn platinum cleans to the squeak. Well, senator bob menendez is going to be appearing in court next wednesday after his indictment now on federal bribery charges. So what will the case look like for the prosecution and the defense . Joining us now is Renado Moriato and bobby a criminal defense attorney. I want to dive in for a second to help people understand what we are talking about. These allegations are quite serious. He has been accused of taking, including 13 gold bars, half a Million Dollars in cash, bring,000 in his wifes safe deposit box, compensation for a no or low or no show job, how much is one kiloworth . Emails between menendezs wife and the codefendants, just to name a few of the things. I want to take a second and draw on both of your expertise. You were maybe not the prosecutor and joey you want to be the Defense Counsel here because i want to understand what would be your position here. Renado, ill begin with you here. Based on what we currently know what is the strongest way to present this case . Well, look. I have an easier job than joey here. Because the evidence as you just laid it out is pretty strong. Ultimately, corruption here, bribery is where youre trading something thats official. You take an official action in exchange for a thing of value. Obviously he receives a lot of value. You just laid it out laura. Gold bars. Cash that was in jackets bearing his name. He was literally, there was a connection between him and the gold bars because he was conducting a search to see how much it was. His wife was getting a job where she didnt have to show up, getting that money. What is the official acts, there are some really key things. He was telling for example a secret to the egyptians. He was assisting them in tryingg to move along payments for military equipment, trying to get them, you know, the foreign aid that they would need for example. He actually wrote a letter, he ghost, wrote a letter that was arguing their cause. Why didnt he put his name on it . He didnt put his name on it Ladies And Gentlemen of the jury because he knew if he did it would lay bay area his bare his. Joey what would you argue as the defense . Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, lot of smoke, very little fire. Here is the reality. Senators are paid to represent constituents. And when you represent constituents what do you do . You advocate their interest. Look at fund raisers that congressmen and senators have all the time. What are they for . So people can pay money and u not do anything for them so you dont represent the interest . The issue is not the extent to which he got gifts, the extent to which there were dinners or text messages, to what extent, would he not engage in the behavior of doing the best job he could for the interest he sought to protect and to the extent he might have intervened for egypt, it was his role as a senator to do so to advocate and to use all of his abilities on behalf of the people of the state of new jersey to be the best senator he could. Plus You Connect The Dot and establish there was a this for that you can talk about all the gold bars, you can talk about all the mercedes, all the dollars you want, what was the nexus to engage he did exist i would suggest it did not exist. Bravo gentlemen. I will pretend im the judge here and take it under advisement. But the bigger issue here, there is a lot to consider. The government has got to prove their case, the question will be to what extent has the Supreme Courts authority on what it means to be an official act, how is that going to weigh in in all of this, rena ownersto, joey, we have to continue the mock trial on another day, it is friday night, thank you gentlemen. Jose andres is a culinary master. Victims in Disaster Zones all around the world. Well now, he is taking a very special trip back to his home country of spain to share the food, to share the culture and the people with his american born daughters. The journey was documented on our sister platform discovery plus, in the series jose andres and family in spain which is now coming to cnn. Here is a preview. Hello people, i am jose andres. A chef who loves to feed the world. Spain is the land where my passion for cooking began. Its the happiness of all this. 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