In a political climate where a simple mishap on behalf of a politician equates to congressional mayhem, something rather odd is taking place. Democrat Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife were indicted on Sept. 22 on bribery charges. This is not exactly a mishap, but rather one of the more egregious crimes a politician can commit. Yet instead of congressional lambasting, Republicans seem to be victimizing Menendez in an attempt to attack the same justice system that Trump has over the years.
Corruption charges are always egregious, but Menendez’s charges make the word egregious seem lenient. In exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold, and even a luxury convertible, the senator used his political power to aid the government of Egypt. Some of his actions include attempting to interfere with a federal prosecution as well as influencing the Department of Agriculture in order to protect an Egyptian business monopoly.
Last Wednesday, Menendez pleaded not guilty to the charges before paying a $100,000 bond. He also voiced that he has no intention of resigning from the Senate, with majority leader Chuck Schumer refraining from calling on him to do so.
All of these developments seem like they would inflame Republicans and give them political fuel for the upcoming elections. A simple rhetorical point has been handed to them on a silver platter: a corrupt Democrat abusing his power and refusing to resign while Democratic leadership sits back and watches. This, however, is not the route Republicans decided to follow, and it has to do with a hyper-fixation on Biden and the upcoming presidential election.
Donald Trump, who is still leading in the Republican primaries, is one of the more notable commentators on this matter. Rather than attacking the Democrat party and Menendez, Trump has used this case to argue that the senator is a victim of a “weaponized” judicial system. In this sense, he views Menendez as someone who shares a similar position as himself.
In an interview with The Daily Caller, a far-right media company, Trump stated that he “thinks this was an attack” because Menendez “wasn’t getting along too well with Democrats and with Biden.” He quickly deflected back to President Biden again by arguing that Biden “has taken a lot more money than Menendez.”
Other Republicans have followed suit. Tom Scott, the Senator from Arkansas, took to Twitter to voice a similar frustration. After briefly acknowledging that the charges are “serious and troubling” he quickly directed his attention toward the DOJ, iterating that they have a “troubling record of failure and corruption in cases against public figures” such as Donald Trump.
There are a number of possible reasons why Republicans are taking this route, and interestingly enough, it has nothing to do with Menendez or even Democrats as a whole. This fixation on the Department of Justice and Joe Biden is a strategic one, and these charges represent an opportunity to diminish the credibility of an institution that has threatened the frontrunner’s possibility of becoming president.
It is also of particular importance that there are no popular alternatives for the Republican nomination. If there was a candidate that was neck and neck with Trump in the polls, it is more likely that Republicans would take this moment to attack the Democratic party.
With Trump as the clear frontrunner, the only serious obstacle to success for Republicans is not the Democrat party, but the numerous federal and state criminal charges Trump is facing. When a political opportunity like the Menendez case arises, the prerogative of Republicans is to use it to their advantage as best possible, and as it stands right now, using it to attack the Democratic party is not the smartest option for them. Using it to undercut the DOJ is.
