New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez said Thursday he would not forget those seeking to benefit from his downfall after his federal trial for allegedly taking bribes ended in a mistrial.
“To those who were digging my political grave so that they could jump into my seat, I know who you are and I won’t forget you,” the Democrat said at a press conference.
During his remarks to reporters, Menendez thanked supporters and appeared to suggest the trial was motivated by his ethnicity.
“Certain elements of the FBI and of our state cannot understand or even worse accept that a Latino kid from Union City can grow up to be a United States senator and be honest,” he said.
The federal case against Menendez and co-defendant Salomon Melgen ended when jurors could not reach a verdict on charges including bribery, fraud, and false statements.
It’s not immediately clear if the Justice Department will seek to put Menendez on trial again. During the trial, a defense attorney for Melgen claimed the trial was an attack on all Hispanics.
The case against Menendez and Melgen began with federal prosecutors probing a 2012 report that the pair visited prostitutes, some of them underage, in the Dominican Republic.
The prostitution claims were never proven, but investigators said they uncovered apparent bribery in the course of their probe. The men were indicted by a grand jury in 2015 on charges including bribery, fraud and making false statements.
Melgen, a wealthy Florida ophthalmologist, was accused of offering Menendez free flights and gifts in exchange for help getting visas for girlfriends and the senator’s assistance in a Medicare billing dispute and a port contract in the Dominican Republic.
Melgen was convicted in April of fraud for overbilling Medicare by as much as $105 million.
After initial reporting and before he was indicted, Menendez repaid Melgen nearly $70,000 for three unreported flights aboard Melgen’s plane.
Prosecutors uncovered other flights, in addition to numerous vacations taken by Menendez at Melgen’s Caribbean villa in the Dominican Republic and on his dime at a hotel room in Paris, along with legal defense and campaign donations.
