An independent internal inquiry into the state’s Attorney General’s Office found there was no misconduct connected to the corruption of former Sen. Bob Menendez, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced on Friday.
In 2023, after the first unsealed indictment of Menendez that included his wife and three businessmen by the South District of New York, Platkin announced there would be an independent internal inquiry into the allegations in connection with his predecessor and office.
The indictment alleged Menendez attempted to pressure a senior member of the office under former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal at his Newark office on Friday, August 17, 2018.
Menendez, his business associates Wael Hana and Fred Daibes were found guilty on a combined 18 counts of charges including bribery, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. Menendez was found guilty on all 16 counts he faced.
Menendez, Daibes and Hana are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29. Nadine Arslanian Menendez, the senator’s wife’s trial was delayed due to a breast cancer diagnosis and will begin in February. Jose Uribe was charged alongside Bob and Nadine Menendez, however, he entered a guilty plea after making a deal with federal prosecutors.
“Despite Mr. Menendez’s attempts to interfere with criminal matters handled by this Office, he was ultimately unsuccessful,” Platkin said in a statement on Friday. “The work done by the men and women of the Department of Law and Public Safety is some of the most critical and sensitive work being done to promote public safety in this country.”
Acting NJ Attorney General, Matthew Platkin is sworn in during a hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he was later approved. Monday, August 8, 2022.
During the nine-week trial, Grewal testified and called a meeting with Menendez “gross.”
During the trial, federal prosecutors said Menendez sought to have Grewal, the state’s top prosecutor from 2018 through 2021, intervene in cases involving two associates of Uribe.
In exchange, Uribe helped Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez buy a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible with money disguised as a loan.
Grewal testified for the prosecution and said Menendez, during a phone call and a meeting in 2019, told him the attorney general’s insurance fraud unit treated Hispanic defendants in the trucking industry differently from others.
Menendez told Grewal that he was referring to a specific case. During the trial, Grewal said he advised Menendez to instruct the defendant’s lawyer to go through proper channels by speaking with individual prosecutors.
“I can’t talk to you about this,” Grewal said he told Menendez at the September meeting at the senator’s office in Newark, which Grewal’s deputy Andrew Bruck also attended.
Grewal, who is now head of enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said while testifying, Menendez did not identify the case or ask for specific help, but that it was “pretty unprecedented” for an elected official to ask about a pending criminal matter.
“Andrew said to me, ‘Whoa, that was gross’,” Grewal said, referring to a comment Bruck made after the September meeting.
“In particular, I want to commend former Attorneys General Gurbir Grewal and Andrew Bruck for their many years of selfless service to the people of this State. They were — and are — exemplary public servants,” Platkin said in his statement.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: No misconduct by NJ Attorney General’s Office, inquiry finds