Foley Square welcomes Trump, Menendez and ... American's political circus

Foley Square may turn out to be the most insightful place
to assess America's Political mess right now.

By: Mike Kelly
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... The hallway buzzed with chatter. a police officer turned and mumbled that "he's coming out." a photographer looked up form his viewfinder and added to no one in particular. " I think he's going to speak."
..... "He," of course, was former President Donald Trump, on trial for fraudulently cooking his bushiness books to boost his wealth.
..... It was just past noon one day last week, [10/03/2023] the third floor of the New York County Courthouse on Centre Street in lower Manhattan - the one featured on TV's "Law and Order" with the 10 Corinthian columns that support a roof inscribed with these promising words from that other former president, George Washington: "The true administration of justice is the firmest pillar of good government."
..... Around the corner. yet at another courthouse lees than 200 years away - this one run by the federal government - another buzz brewed on the sidewalk about another trial and another political leader.
..... "He's not coning," a TV correspondent waiting on the sidewalk said. "But she is."
..... In this case, the "he" was senator Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat and former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, charged with an elaborate bribery conspiracy. The "she" was his wife, Nadine, who allegedly connected him with Egyptian operatives now launched a counter intelligence investigation.
..... There are many ways to look into the soul of our nation;s politics now. There is cable news and its permanent tsunami of gripes, accusations, boosterism, outright lies and occasional genuine policy discussion. There are also political rallies, of course. And fundraising emails. And press releases. and social media messages.
..... Then there is lower Manhattan. The tiny patch of legal landscape known as Foley Square, ringed by its collection of federal and state courthouses, may turn out to be the most insightful place to assess America's political mess right now. Two trials there in the coming year [2024] will delve into the moral core of politics and how some elected officials continually bend the rules to suit themselves.
..... One is the civil fraud case, mounted by New York's attorney general, in which a judge has already concluded that Trump essentially cheated for years to gain favorable bank loans. The other trial involves Menendez and his chronic gift-taking, which federal prosecutors label a bribery conspiracy and "honest service fraud" and "extortion under color: of his official duties. Also charged in the case are Melendez's wife, Nadein Arslanian Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen.
.... Of course, these are not the only major political cases in the coming year. [2024] Trump;s legal docket along reads like a travel log, form Florida (classified documents) to Washington,,D.C., (election fraud) and New York City (Sexual assault) and New York City again (covering up hush money payments to a pron star) and Atlanta, Georgia (election fraud).

How far can the rules be bent?

..... But the Menendez case and the lawsuit against Trump raise a fundamental question about American politics. At their core, both cases revolve around accusations of rule-bending by our elected officials.
..... The basic facts in each case alone are stunning. Menendez reportedly took too many gifts. Trump cooked his books. But also stunning - perhaps more so - is the fact that neither Menendez nor Trump denies those fundamental facts.
..... Menendez or his wife reportedly took a wide array of gifts that ranged from cash to gold bars to a Mercedes-Benz convertible and mortgage payments and a low-show or no-show job for Nadine Menendez - all allegedly in return for favors done by the senator.
..... In case you wondered, public officials and their families are not supposed to receive anything except a "thank you" in return for special treatment to anyone. basic ethic rules should be enough of a warning that taking gifts - especially gold bars, cash and luxury car - could be viewed as a bribe or some other form of corruption. Bottom line: You're not supposed to get rich by serving the public. It's a basic premise of political life. Sadly, it's also a trip wire that ensnares far too many elected officials.
..... In his all-too-brief statement after federal prosecutors indicted him on bribery conspiracy and other corruption charges, Menendez did not deny taking the freebies. he early said prosecutors and the FBI "misrepresented the normal work of a congressional office."
..... Trump and his attorneys also do not deny his habit of overstate the value of his properties when he applied for bank loans or favorable insurance treatment. At issue - and yet to be decided by a judge in the non-jury trial - is whether Trump should be punished with fines or stripped of ownership of Trump Tower and other landmark businesses and banned form doing business in New York state.
..... For normal people - thing of applying for a home equity loan - lying on any kind loan application is illegal. Trump's court strategy comes down to this excuse that his legal team is circulating: no one was hurt. All the loans were paid back. Why is this so bad?
..... To his credit, the judge in the case Arthur Engoron, a onetime cab drive before he became a lawyer and judge, responded with the equivalent of a Bronx cheer.
..... "The fact that no one was hurt does not mean the case gets dismissed," the judge said.

'On state' in Foley Square

..... And so it continues. Menendez's trial is set for next May 6 [2024] - a month before New Jersey voters go to the polls in the state Democratic primary to decide whether Menedez should get the party's nomination for another six years in the U.S. Senate.
..... Trump's trail reportedly could last until January, [2024] with appeals likely spilling into the 2024 legal and political season.
..... The other day, U.S. district Judge Sidney Stein, who is presiding over Menedez's case, allowed the senator to skip a conference with the other defendants and lawyers to set a trial schedule. Menendez's attorney, Seth Farber, said the senator had to remain in Washington, D.C., "for potential senate voters and other Senate business."
..... What's interesting is the two-thirds of Menendez's Democratic colleagues in the Senate, along with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, most of the state;s House Democratic delegations and more than half of the party's county chairpersons, have asked him to resign before he can take part in any more business or votes in the U.S. Senate. Menendez said he won't quit and plans not only to win an acquittal at his trial but to be reelected in the 2024 election.
..... Back in his courthouse, Trump finally emerged. he called Engoron "rogue" and a "Trump hater." Late Tuesday, [10/03/2023] Engoron issued a gag order, prohibiting Trump from commenting about the judge's staff outside the courtroom.
..... "The judge has misunderstood basic real estate practice," Trump said, waving his hands as the cameras clicked. "This is a rigged court."
..... Afterward, Trump's attorney, Christopher Kise, who has also advised him in his federal classified documents case in Florida, stepped into an elevator. I followed him.
..... As the doors closed, our eyes met.
..... "How's it going: I asked.
..... "I feel like I'm on stage," Kise said
..... Welcome to the sou of American politics.

HOME