If Menendez resigns, who should Christie appoint?

[monovillage]

There have been more than a few stories lately about New Jersey Senator Menendez. One is that the FBI is investigating him for having sex with underage girls.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/342223

Along with some other stories.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/29/3207543/fbi-raids-west-palm-beach-office.html

I have no idea if they're true and accurate. It has been my experience though that once this type of story begins showing up in the media, a resignation isn't too far behind.

If, and it's a big if, there's enough substance to the stories that Senator Menendez resigns then who should Gov. Christie appoint to fill the vacancy ?

 

[monovillage]

Names tossed out so far are Steve Lonegan, Michael Doherty or maybe Christie himself. Hopefully (from a Republican perspective) someone that can hold onto the seat.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Doubt there'll be a need for him to resign. With the witnesses being corrupted by being handled by this "Peter Williams," with foreign prostitutes not making the most believable witnesses, and with escorts not legally equaling prostitutes (it has to be commercial sex to be illegal under the PROTECT Act), and with there currently seeming to be significant problems getting in touch with anyone involved, right now there's nothing there, and it'll be a massively uphill battle to get anywhere.

He's single, so he's allowed to party.

 

[monovillage]

Then everything is all hunky-dory in New Jersey land and Christie won't get to nominate a new Senator. Ahh well, it would have been an excellent opportunity.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Then everything is all hunky-dory in New Jersey land and Christie won't get to nominate a new Senator. Ahh well, it would have been an excellent opportunity.

Yeah, it's not good when Fox News is being sober and factual:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...nendez-saw-prostitutes-in-dominican-republic/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/30/fbi-raids-office-doctor-tied-to-sen-menendez/

Most telling:

It is unclear whether the raid is related to anything involving Menendez

Nothing is unclear in the Fox News spin zone. They'd be insinuating a clear connection left and right if they weren't worried that this might be found out to be a conservative setup.

 

[monovillage]

Damn and here I thought i could trust http://www.citizensforethics.org/.
First your argued that it's perfectly acceptable for an unmarried Senator to be screwing 16 year old prostitutes in the Dominican Republic and now it becomes a Fox news dastardly plot.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Damn and here I thought i could trust http://www.citizensforethics.org/.

From Fox News:

The letter noted that CREW could not confirm the claims. CREW director Melanie Sloan, in an interview last week with FoxNews.com, also raised concerns about the credibility of the source, saying she is "increasingly suspicious" about the alleged facts in the case.

CREW didn't seem to do much but prod this pseudonymous tipster for details and pass things on to an ABC journalist and the FBI as a possibility.

 

[monovillage]

Getting different signals from different sources.

Amid the suspicious circumstances of the complaints, Democrats have tried to characterize the reports about Menendez and Melgen as a right-wing smear job.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid refused to comment on the possibility of an FBI investigation when he was asked Tuesday about the case.

Said Reid: “Always consider the source. All anyone here has to look at is the source where this comes from.”

But the two-day raid of Menendez’s longtime friend shows that an investigation is ongoing.

Just after 2:15 p.m. Wednesday FBI and HHS agents began hauling cardboard boxes out of Melgen’s West Palm Beach 45th Street eye-care center and loading them into a white utility van in front of the office. They were continuing the search that started Tuesday night.

Michael Leverock, spokesman for the FBI’s Miami office would not comment on what was being taken out of Vitreo-Retinal Consultants Eye Center or why the FBI was there.

“We are conducting law enforcement action at this location,” said Leverock.

The FBI also searched the eye doctor’s other clinics, in Delray Beach and Port St. Lucie.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/29/3207543_p2/fbi-raids-west-palm-beach-office.html

I guess time will tell. Any recommendations for appointments if it happens?

 

[Farang]

I think we're far from that. This type of allegation he is going to go down fighting and we're a long way from him being forced to do anything. Considering his recent promotion he's not going to go down easy

 

[DominionSeraph]

Getting different signals from different sources.

Why don't you, you know, read what it says?

On Wednesday, the FBI agents were joined by an inspector from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, indicating the search-and-seizure raid has ties to a possible Medicare fraud inquiry

 

[HomerJS]

Even if Menendez did it, Prositution is legal in the DR and since age of consent in many states is 16, no resignation.

Besides we have shining example of David Vitter who is married and prostitution is illegal, he stayed in office.

And we have the drugged up Viagra popping paragon of virtue, Rush Limbaugh. Hell, El Rushbo should be sticking up for Menendez.

 

[hal2kilo]

Sen. Menedez should resign just as soon as Sen. Vitter does.

 

[Ausm]

Sen. Menedez should resign just as soon as Sen. Vitter does.

:thumbsup::thumbsup: Repub refresher ...

 

[monovillage]

Sen. Menedez should resign just as soon as Sen. Vitter does.

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013...onor-nearly-60g-for-dominican-republic-trips/

Sen. Robert Menendez’s office says he reimbursed a prominent Florida political donor $58,500 in recent months for the full cost of two of three trips Menendez took on the donor’s plane to the Dominican Republic in 2010.

There was no public disclosure.

“The senator paid for the two trips out of his personal account and no reporting requirements apply,” Menendez spokeswoman Tricia Enright said Wednesday night.
........................

I'm sure he did nothing wrong and I, along with Jon Corzine congratulate him on his recent advancement to Kerry's seat.