Democratic Ex-Senator and Felon Raked Over the Coals for Tweets ‘Shopping for a Pardon’ from Trump

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Former senator and convicted felon Bob Menendez posted a series of tweets Friday complaining that the Department of Justice was weaponized by Democrats, bringing a wave of mockery his way for looking like he was “shopping for a pardon” from President Donald Trump.

Menendez, a Democrat who represented New Jersey in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2006 and in the Senate from 2006 to 2024, was indicted in 2023 along with his wife Nadine Menendez and three New Jersey businessmen on charges related to a bribery scheme allegedly designed to benefit the government of Egypt. As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez wielded immense influence.

The 18-count indictment included numerous salacious details, including accusations that the Menendezes were given cash that was used to pay for a Mercedes-Benz convertible and that authorities seized hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gold bars and cash stuffed into the pockets of a jacket emblazoned with Sen. Menendez’s name from the couple’s home. A superseding indictment added new allegations Menendez had accepted race car tickets and luxury brand watches to promote Qatari government interests.

Menendez faced loud criticism from within his party but initially rejected calls to resign and ran for re-election to his seat as an independent. He was found guilty of all charges by a jury last July, resigned from the Senate, and in January was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with his reporting date pushed to June 17, 2025 to allow him to attend his stepdaughter’s wedding. Nadine Menendez was found guilty of all charges against her as well by a jury in a separate trial.

Reports have been swirling since the end of President Joe Biden’s term that Menendez would seek a pardon from Trump, and the disgraced former senator has adopted similar rhetoric in complaining about the “weaponization” of the DOJ. Menendez made this kind of argument again on Friday in a series of tweets — drawing a predictable backlash.

Wrote Menendez:

People talk about the Trump DOJ, but it was the Democrats who started weaponizing the Justice Dept. When, as the Chairman of the SFRC, I didn’t go along with Obama’s Iran deal, I was indicted, and the next day after being stripped of my position, Obama announced the Iran deal.

Obama told me that he could not have the Democratic Chairman of the SFRC be against him. By having me removed as the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama removed my major opposition to his Iran deal. It was a bad deal for the U.S. and for our ally, Israel.

This was the ultimate weaponization of the Justice Dept. for a political purpose. 10 of 12 jurors didn’t believe ANY of the government’s case, and the Federal Judge overseeing the case, dismissed the most serious counts, saying, “there was no there, there!” But the damage was done!

So when Democrats talk about weaponizing the Justice Dept, they should look into their own past actions. Obama was willing to use the Justice Department to pursue and preserve the legacy issue he felt would earn him the Nobel Prize he had received.

Menendez’s tweets drew harsh reactions from members of the media and political commentators across the political spectrum. A sampling is below:

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