Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) is under federal investigation for allegedly accepting a luxury car and apartment from a halal meat company.

Federal agents are investigating whether Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian received the gifts from IS EG Halal, a New Jersey company that won an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to certify halal meat exports to the country, a decision that attracted scrutiny because the business is run by a Christian and lacks experience in halal certification. Now law enforcement is working to determine whether Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that dishes out billions of dollars to Egypt, took action in the Senate to benefit the company in exchange for gifts.

[There’s been a lot of smoke around Menendez for years. We’ll see if the feds catch him in the act this time. The Senate Ethics Committee won’t do squat, of course, not in a chamber as evenly divided as this one — and in a club so chummy to boot. — Ed]