New Jersey Senator Menendez Proclaims his Innocence after Indictment on 14 Counts

“I am not going anywhere. This is not how my career is going to end,” exclaims N.J. Sen. Robert Menendez, who is committing himself to fight the corruption charges that have soiled his name and reputation.

Menendez has been traveling down a rough road after the senator was charged with 14 counts of corruption, which include bribery and wire fraud, but Menendez claims that these are all “false allegations,” and believes that people are out to get rid of the senator and silence him once and for all.

It was believed that Menendez was taking bribes from a political donor, Dr. Salomon Melgen, an ophthalmologist based out of Florida.

Melgen was also indicted for charges, but Menendez has confirmed that he has used and not paid for several flights to the Dominican Republic on Melgen’s private jet.

Menendez claims that he owes Melgen $58,500 for the flights, but has yet to appropriately pay him for his services.

“We celebrated holidays together. We have been there for family weddings and sad times like funerals and have given each other birthday, holiday and wedding presents, just as friends do,” says Menendez who describes his and Melgen’s friendship.

Menendez is also to believed to have been given 1 million dollars worth of gifts throughout his recent career, and is believed to have used his political power on the senate to sway different Medicare bills to aid Melgen and his practice. The indictment claims, “ongoing contractual and Medicare billing disputes worth tens of millions of dollars to Melgen and to support the visa applications of several of Melgen’s girlfriends.”

While Menendez faces all these accusations that continue to go on, he professes his innocence, and refuses to give up on proving his case.

Meanwhile, Andrea Bozek, a spokeswoman with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, issued a statement saying, “Senator Menendez’s ethics lapses have long been a distraction to the United States Senate. With today’s indictment, the FBI and the Justice Department made it clear that Senator Menendez has betrayed the trust of New Jersey families. His actions reinforce all that the American people believe is wrong with Washington Democrats and closes the book on a Senate Democrat majority that put their personal interests ahead of the American people.”