Will the Constitution Save Sen. Menendez From Prosecution? 'Speech and Debate' Done for Profit

“So, on the one hand, legislative acts that are clearly official acts cannot be talked about directly; on the other, actions that are not legislative acts [like blatant corruption] may not be deemed significant or substantial enough to [be] official acts.” https://t.co/rz5Ngrfjh9

— TSB (@TweetingTSB) May 23, 2024

 

My least favorite corrupt public official might just wriggle off the hook of those 16 charges he's facing, thanks to the immunity that Senators have concerning 'speech and debate.'

It's in Article I, Section 6, Clause 1: "Senators and Representatives ... shall in all cases except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace be privileged from Arrest ... for any Speech or Debate in either house."

Apparently, that is broad enough to cover any official communication, including the ones Menendez had about, for instance, putting and releasing holds on appropriations to Egypt. Delivering those appropriations was one of the ways Menendez earned his gold bars and six-figure cash, but the speech and debate clause severely hampers his prosecutors from presenting their case to the jury. 

Well, well, well. Really, what were the Founding Fathers thinking in Philadelphia when they ratified that?