Menendez: Nothing improper in Medicare calls for donor

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) defended calls he made to top Medicare officials on behalf of a close friend and campaign donor who had overbilled the government by $8.9 million in a discussion with journalists from Hispanic media outlets Thursday.

Menendez has come under fire in recent weeks for his relationship with Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor and campaign donor. The New Jersey lawmaker is facing a Senate ethics inquiry over two trips he took in 2010 on the doctor's private plane to the Dominican Republic; earlier this year, Menendez acknowledged he had improperly disclosed the trips, and wrote a personal check of $58,500 to reimburse the doctor.

On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported Menendez had twice contacted federal officials over an audit into billing practices at Melgen's Florida eye clinic. The government concluded that Melgen must repay $8.9 million for overbilling eye injections to treat macular degeneration, a ruling he continues to appeal.

"The bottom line is we raised concerns with [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] over policy and over ambiguities that are difficult for medical providers to understand and to seek a clarification of that," Menendez said, according to a report in Univision.

He also rejected the notion that he had attempted to influence the agency on behalf of his friend and donor, saying his actions were "much different" than questions about his contact with federal officials had suggested.

Melgen's home and clinic were raided by the FBI earlier this month, although it is not clear why the federal government is investigating him. State records show that Melgen also stands accused of owing millions in back taxes.

But Melgen has become an increasing liability for Menendez, who was recently named the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee and had been a key proponent of the upper chamber's immigration reform package.

The Miami Herald reported that Menendez referenced a contract the government of the Dominican Republic had awarded to a company owned by Melgen during a July hearing of the Foreign Relations Committee.

The conservative website The Daily Caller has also reported that Menendez solicited prostitutes why staying at Melgen's home and using his yacht in the Dominican Republic. A nonpartisan watchdog group also posted an email exchange with a man claiming to have interviewed three prostitutes that testified to having been hired by the lawmaker.

But Univision contacted one of those women, who claimed to have never been a prostitute and said she did not recognize Menendez. And the lawmaker himself has adamantly denied the allegations.

“The smears that right wing blogs have been pushing since the election, that is totally unsubstantiated — it's amazing to me that anonymous, nameless, faceless individuals on a website can drive that kind of story into the mainstream,” Menendez told CNN on Monday. “The bottom line is all of those smears are absolutely false.” 

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