On a final day in office, President Donald Trump draws attention to dr. Salomon Melgen, the currently imprisoned ophthalmologist in Florida, who is linked to Sen. Robert Menendez’s corruption case, according to a new CNN report.
Trump, who leaves office on Wednesday, will forgive about 100 people, ranging from criminal reform-related forgiveness to political allies, CNN reported Monday, citing three anonymous sources.
The president can issue a waiver until he leaves office at noon, and this was traditionally one of the last actions before a presidency ended.
Melgen, 66, is currently in jail after being convicted on dozens of health care fraud charges, including filing false claims and falsifying patient files. In 2018, he was sentenced to 17 years after being convicted of stealing $ 73 million from Medicare.
The disgraced ophthalmologist is perhaps best known for his abundant gifts and endowments to Menendez, a Democrat, who landed the doctor in court in 2013 on charges of fraud and bribery.
Dr Salomón Melgen in a file photo of Palm Beach Post 2013, Richard Graulich / The Palm Beach Post – WEST PALM STRAND The Palm Beach Post
The couple met at a fundraiser in 1993, when Menendez was recently sworn in as the first Spanish congressman in New Jersey. Melgen, a wealthy ophthalmologist who specializes in vitreous and retinal surgery, had offices in Florida that were not well known.
They have maintained contact over the years. Melgen told Bloomberg News they were “like brothers, like friends” in 2013.
In 2017, prosecutors alleged that Melgen provided Menendez with six-figure campaign contributions, luxury gifts and private jet flights in exchange for Menendez’s intervention on behalf of the doctor in a $ 1.9 million Medicare dispute, as well as the doctor’s visa applications. girlfriends and a disputed port security contract in the Dominican Republic, where Melgen is originally from.
After an 11-week controversial trial that ended with a set jury, a federal judge declared a wrong case and the case was never tried again. Menendez has been upholding his innocence since the Justice Department announced the charges against the longtime friends on April 1, 2015.
According to CNN, Trump’s pardon should not come as a surprise, not just based on Menendez’s policies, but because Melgen is seen as a wealthy and influential resident of South Florida.
After a violent siege on the Capitol and dozens of businesses that severed ties with the president, Trump is reportedly planning to spend his months after the presidency at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach.
During his tenure, Trump has indulged more than 90 people, including Charles Kushner, the father of Jared Kushner and the disgraceful developer prosecuted by then-American lawyer Chris Christie.
CNN has reported that neither Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is being held in a London prison, nor the president himself are currently on the forgiveness list. Allies also reportedly warned against the forgiving attitude of supporters who broke into the Capitol on January 6.
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Ted Sherman and Brent Johnson contributed to this report.
Sophie Nieto-Munoz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her at @snietomunoz.