New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is under a new federal investigation, Semafor reports.
Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have contacted individuals connected to Menendez in recent weeks, sources told the outlet.
The office has also issued at least one subpoena in the case.
The case is believed to be centered on potential bribery.
Menendez and his office have not commented on the report.
He skated earlier:
Menendez was previously indicted in 2015 after he allegedly received flights on a private jet and lavish vacations from a Florida eye doctor.
In exchange, the doctors received help from Menendez with government contracts and other public favors.
Menendez’s lawyers claimed that the two were simply good friends.
The trial ended in a mistrial in 2017 after a jury failed to reach a verdict.
The doctor, Salomon Melgen, was convicted of Medicare fraud in 2017.
Former President Donald Trump granted Melgen clemency in 2021.
Similar cases:
Sources told Semafor that the new investigation is similar to the 2017 case but involves a new cast of characters.
“Federal prosecutors rarely lose at trial, so it’s notable to see the Department of Justice return to Menendez after its humiliating public failure to convict him,” wrote Semafor’s Kadia Goba. “But there are also internal Justice Department divisions at play. In 2015, charges against Menendez were brought by the Public Integrity Section in Washington after a U.S Attorney in New Jersey handed the case off. The Southern District of New York traditionally operates independently, and bears none of the responsibility for the 2018 failure.”
