Menendez Legal Defense Fund Activity Reveals An Unfortunate Strategy

By Thomas Anderson

Perusing the website of an expert witness being paid by Senator Menendez for his upcoming corruption trial is an eye opener and it may foretell an amazing, yet desperate strategy for his defense.   If you remember, he’s the Senator who was caught hoarding gold bars and jackets full of cash purportedly in exchange for favors leveraged through his official capacity as an elected office holder.   Dr. Karen Rosenbaum is a forensic psychologist who specializes in, “issues of criminal responsibility including NGRI (Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity), medical record reviews, trauma, competence to stand trial, malingering (feigning symptoms or illness), Alcohol and Substance Abuse, Cognitive Disorders, and much more.”  This seems to be a highly unusual expert witness for a political corruption case.  I’ve been following this case from the beginning, as well as his previous corruption case and I can say with confidence this appears to be a sign Senator Menendez is maneuvering to place the blame on his wife and co-defendant. 

Nadine Menendez, wife of the Senator and co-defendant, according to press coverage has an unfortunate history of erratic behavior.  She even killed a man while driving home from an evening out.  She’s suffering from a medical condition that has forced the court to separate her case from the Senator and her attorneys have asked to withdraw themselves from the case defending her.  With all of that chaos swirling around Nadine Menendez the hiring of Dr. Rosenbaum appears clear cut:  it’s going to be her job to get Menendez off by blaming the gold bars and cash on his troubled wife.  Dr. Rosenbaum is known in New York City for defending a nanny who killed two toddlers a few years ago.  According to the New York Times:

The nanny, Yodelyn Ortega, was found guilty and received two life sentences, with the father of the children Kevin Krim saying at the time, “In Kevin Krim's victim impact statement today, he urged the judge to ensure Ortega "never leaves prison alive."

Kevin Krim called Ortega an "evil and utterly dangerous narcissist" and said she should "live, rot and die" in prison.” 

I believe this potential defense of blaming the wife is unfortunate, but it might be the most effective strategy available to Senator Menendez.  His latest Legal Defense Fund filing shows there aren’t many people left who believe in the Senator’s prospects when examining the small amount of money raised just weeks before the trial.  His struggles to raise cash for his legal defense at such a pivotal time can be seen in a $10,000 contribution he received from his Leadership PAC.  It’s legal for PAC’s to give to legal defense funds even if they’re controlled by the elected officials the fund is raising the money for.  What’s at issue with this Leadership PAC contribution is how it was funneled from a joint fundraising PAC he also controls, essentially hiding who the original donors are for the money that ultimately ended up in the Menendez Legal Defense Fund.  The original donors appear to be from a secretive but prominent group that has backed the Senator for many years and has given tremendous amounts of money previously to fund Menendez’s current and past legal problems. 

Having to hide the identity of donors to your legal defense fund weeks before a trial while hiring a forensic psychiatrist who specializes in defending nanny’s who go on a violent baby-killing episode isn’t the portrait of a stable defense for a political corruption and foreign agent trial.  It’s the portrait of a desperate politician who went on a corruption spree after having skated on a previous corruption spree.  I’ve found in my years of research and reporting on characters like Menendez that when they avoid criminal prosecution for corruption they get emboldened to commit more corruption instead of being satisfied they dodged a bullet.  Normal people change their ways when they have a near miss with getting caught doing something really bad.  Guys like Menendez aren’t normal.  The same tenacity that allowed him to climb from the bottom of society in places like Union City, NJ is what leads him to be delusional in his belief that he can outmaneuver any impediment in his way to power, fame, and riches.  He’s an Icarus character who’s finally flown too high and this latest legal defense fund filing proves it.