Metro

Reid ‘confident’ NJ Dem Menendez will beat ethics rap

WASHINGTON — Embattled Sen. Bob Menendez got the backing today of Senate Majority Harry Reid, who said the New Jersey Democrat will be cleared of any wrongdoing.

“I have confidence he did nothing wrong but that’s what investigations are all about,” Reid said on ABC’s “This Week.”

Menendez is under fire on several levels for his relationship with a longtime donor, Solomon Melgen. Menendez took free rides in 2010 to the Dominican Republic on the Florida eye doctor’s private plane.

Senate ethics rules require that the trips be paid for or declared as gifts. Menendez’ office said it recently paid back $58,500 to Melgen, a move that came two years after the trips.

A conservative web site, The Daily Caller, is accusing Menendez of using prostitutes, some of whom may have been underage, on one of the trips. Prostitution is legal in the Dominican Republic. Menendez, who is divorced, has denied the allegation.

The FBI raided Melgen’s office last week though the purpose of the raid is unknown.

Menendez, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is also being scrutinized through media reports for using his subcommittee to push U.S. government officials to enforce contract rules that would help a Melgen port security company in the Dominican Republic.

Reid called Menendez an important member on Capitol Hill.

“He was a leader in the House, he’s been a leader in the Senate, he’s chairman of that (Foreign Relations) committee, he’ll do a wonderful job and he is also an integral part of what we do with immigration reform so I have the utmost confidence in him,” Reid said.