Quote:New Jersey’s Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez finds himself ensnared in a web of international corruption charges — after years of audacious claims that former President Donald Trump was “compromised” by the Russian government.

“Over the last two years, many of us have grappled with a very difficult question about our President,” Menendez said on the Senate floor in February 2019. “It’s a question that never before could we even imagine thinking about an American president, let alone saying aloud on the floor of the Senate.”

“I’m talking about the entirely legitimate question of whether Donald Trump could be compromised by the Russian government,” Menendez continued. “It’s more than a legitimate question — it’s the natural question that comes to mind every time we learn more about the links between President Trump, his associates, and the Russian government.”

The irony drips thick. Menendez, who once lost sleep over the mere possibility of corruption in the Trump administration, now faces federal indictment for bribery. Prosecutors allege that Menendez and his wife accepted bribes in various forms, including cash, gold bars and a luxury car. These bribes were purportedly in exchange for the senator using his influence to benefit the authoritarian regime of Egypt.