Menendez: DOJ didn’t target me

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on Sunday said the Department of Justice (DOJ) did not unfairly target him with last month’s indictment on federal corruption charges.

{mosads}Menendez pleaded not guilty to 14 charges of corruption on April 2. He said Sunday that the legal proceedings against him were not the result of his opposition to President Obama’s policies on Cuba and Iran.

“I cannot imagine that an administration, this or any other, would go to such lengths to overturn our constitutional democracy,” he told host Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”

The DOJ indicted Menendez on April 1 on charges including conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services fraud. The New Jersey lawmaker argued Sunday that he would prove his innocence before the law.

“We will have an opportunity to make our entire case in court,” Menendez said. “I know when all the facts are out we will be vindicated.”

Menendez, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, promised he had “absolutely not” betrayed voters’ trust. He added that his longtime opposition to diplomacy with oppressive regimes was well-known.

“It’s very clear that I have strong views about human rights and democracy in Cuba,” he said, citing the Castro regime as an example.

The DOJ investigated Menendez for his relationship with Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist and political donor. Investigators allege that Melgen repeatedly bribed Menendez with luxurious gifts in exchange for the congressman’s favor.

Menendez maintains that he and Melgen are merely close friends.