Lately, we've seen a lot of defenses of powerful people which assert that they deserve "due process," that "we" can't pass judgment on anyone until a jury has. Of course this is not how anything works. I don't have the power to put someone in jail - that's the State - but I can certainly decide if you're a corrupt asshole and react accordingly.
I don't know if the people making these arguments are that stupid or are pretending to be. The eternal mystery.
Anyway, it is possible that the DOJ has manufactured a work of complete fiction about Senator Menendez, but public consequences are not actually limited to what happens when a jury decides his actions are actually illegal. We all know this because people are encouraged to resign from public office regularly due to their likely legal but shameful actions.
That the Supreme Court thinks bribery (especially going into their pockets) is blessed by the constitution does not mean we all have to agree, even if it prevents the State from putting someone away.
