“I simply knew that he was part of an administrative process”

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) defended his relationship with Florida doctor and political donor Salomon Melgen in an interview with Univision on Friday, saying he didn’t do anything on his friend’s behalf that he doesn’t regularly do for others.

Melgen, a close friend of Menendez’s, reportedly overbilled the U.S. government by almost $9 million in Medicare payments, inviting a federal audit. …

“The fact that someone is a donor does not do away with the right or the opportunity to consider whether something is correct or incorrect, to ask questions, raise concerns,” he said. …

“I simply knew that he was part of an administrative process,” Menendez said. “I don’t know the amount, I don’t know the rest. But the problem is not about interfering in an administrative issue. The issue is understanding a policy that’s confusing.”