Menendez sets up fund for ethics, Justice probes

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez’s political campaign paid a law firm $250,000 in December for legal costs related to Justice Department and Senate Ethics Committee investigations into his ties to a major donor, according to disclosure forms filed Friday. The Democrat has also set up a legal trust to raise money as the investigations continue.

The forms show the campaign also reimbursed Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen for an additional $11,250 for a 2011 flight on Melgen’s private plane.