Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on Wednesday defended his relationship with a political donor under investigation by the FBI as being ethically sound.
In a statement, Menendez’s office described Dr. Salomon Melgen as “a friend and political supporter” of the senator’s for many years.
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A team of FBI agents stormed Melgen’s Florida business on Tuesday, according to a report in The Miami Herald. Melgen is suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to Menendez, according to a complaint lodged with the Justice Department by a Washington D.C. watchdog group last year.
Menendez denied those allegations, saying they were manufactured by the conservative media website The Daily Caller ahead of his election last November.
“Sen. Menendez has traveled on Dr. Melgen’s plane on three occasions, all of which have been paid for and reported appropriately,” said Menendez’s office in a statement. “Any allegations of engaging with prostitutes are manufactured by a politically motivated right-wing blog and are false.”
