Former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) lashed out Friday at former President Obama, adding on to his past claims of “weaponization” at the Justice Department (DOJ) politically targeting him.
Menendez alleged in a post on X that Democrats started the weaponization of the DOJ against him in 2015 when he was indicted in his first corruption trial, which ultimately ended in a hung jury, as he opposed Obama’s Iran nuclear deal. He was subsequently charged and convicted in a separate bribery case last year based on different allegations against him, leading to his 11-year prison sentence earlier this year that he is set to begin next month.
“People talk about the Trump DOJ, but it was the Democrats who started weaponizing the Justice Dept,” Menendez alleged. “When, as the Chairman of the [Senate Foreign Relations Committee], 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,” he continued.
But Menendez’s claims have a few factual issues.
Menendez was serving as the ranking member, not the chair, of the committee when he was indicted in April 2015. He had been serving as the chair until Democrats lost their majority in the Senate following the 2014 midterms.
He also voluntarily stepped down from that position following his indictment, saying that stepping aside is “in the best interests of the Committee, my colleagues, and the Senate” despite no rule requiring him to do so.
While Menendez is correct that he was indicted the day before a framework agreement was made on what eventually became the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, he had been under investigation for a couple years before that.
After he stepped down, Menendez’s successor as ranking member of the committee was then-Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who also opposed the deal.
Menendez previously made claims arguing that he was politically prosecuted, saying after his sentencing that President Trump “was right” about the weaponization of the DOJ. Trump regularly derided the DOJ over the multiple indictments issued against him as politically motivated during the 2024 election.
But the Trump administration has also come under criticism over allegations that it is pursuing political prosecutions against political opponents, like former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver (D).
Menendez was found guilty on all charges he faced, based on allegations that he accepted bribes in exchange for favors from wealthy businessmen and served as an agent for Egypt. He resigned from the Senate shortly after.
Some observers have speculated whether Trump may weigh in to grant Menendez a pardon as he has granted for others who have alleged politically motivated prosecutions, but Trump hasn’t commented on the case and Menendez hasn’t publicly asked him for one.
Trump said at a press conference at the White House on Friday in response to a question about pardoning Sean Combs that he would consider pardons based on if someone was “mistreated” and not “whether they like me or don’t like me.”
