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By Burgess Everett (@burgessev or
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MENENDEZ INDICTED - Next campaign in court: New Jersey's senior senator has been hit with 14 counts, including eight for bribery, and is expected to make a court appearance today. "Menendez was charged in a bribery scheme in connection with Salomon Melgen, a wealthy contributor and friend of the senator. Justice Department officials said Menendez allegedly accepted gifts-including stays at a luxury hotel in Paris, golf outings, expensive meals, and trips to the Caribbean aboard a private jet to an exclusive Dominican resort-in exchange for using the power of his Senate office to benefit Melgen's financial and personal interests." NJ.com:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600f737d7e98e2fd0972816f64e45bb8c37e64ad5f68e3b977a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600f737d7e98e2fd0972816f64e45bb8c37e64ad5f68e3b977a

Where have I heard this before? The key takeaway from Menendez's eight-minute presser/campaign rally is the same as before: "I am not going anywhere." That's exactly the same phrase Menendez used when word of his indictment leaked a few weeks ago, and Menendez struck the same defiant tone in a Newark presser, where Seung Min was on the scene for us and will continue to be throughout the day. "I'm angry because prosecutors at the Justice Department don't know the difference between friendship and corruption and have chosen to twist my duties as a senator and my friendship into something that is improper."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600eb4cdc0ebe84c090b2da77393c8bfb730db5eed648a7bf75
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600eb4cdc0ebe84c090b2da77393c8bfb730db5eed648a7bf75

IMPACTS AT SFRC: Menendez has been a leading voice on Iran this year, devising the sanctions bill with Sen. Mark Kirk and the congressional approval bill with Sen. Bob Corker, but his leadership of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is in, at least, temporary limbo. He's stepping down from the ranking member post for now, but in a letter to Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Menendez struck the same defiant tone we heard all day on Wednesday. "I want to reaffirm our understanding that I will once again ascend to the Ranking Member position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee upon the successful resolution of the allegations before me." He goes on to say he will hold onto his seniority
and continue to participate in the committee.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600bb9a2fed581008781223a83c0ef1f79e9ef8629b0978fec9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600bb9a2fed581008781223a83c0ef1f79e9ef8629b0978fec9

DEMS CLOSE RANKS: Menendez's expected successor is Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, who while not quite as outspoken as Menendez has indicated support for both those Iran bills. And though Cardin did not mention the new role in a statement, he did join with Democratic leaders in defending Menendez, a nationwide campaign that includes statements of support from Reid, Sen. Cory Booker and a raft of New Jersey Democrats. Cardin: "I encourage everyone to allow Senator Menendez all of the rights to which he is entitled, including a presumption of innocence and the ability to aggressively respond to the charges that have been brought forward." The real time defense strategy can be found on Twitter:
@IStandWithBob.

Money returned: If you are going to return money to Menendez now is probably the time to do it while he soaks up the spotlight. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will return campaign funds to Menendez and accused donor Salomon Melgen, though a campaign aide made clear that Klobuchar has "never received questions from federal authorities about these contributions." AP:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6003d6100d9edb986a31d3b983ecbd8f23ca0d02c075b62a02e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6003d6100d9edb986a31d3b983ecbd8f23ca0d02c075b62a02e

MENENDEZ TO VOTE FOR LYNCH: When I talked to Menendez 583,493 news cycles ago, he said he hadn't met with attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch, discussed the looming indictment with her or decided to vote for her. Now that the charges have come down, that has changed, Seung Min reports, and Menendez "looks forward" to support her.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600ece623f3f29ace4f8150918824ce6d1a33fb8e7be04a1d55
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SCHUMER AND DURBIN FINALLY CONNECT: Oh, to be a party to this conversation. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin spoke by phone on Wednesday as their public rift over Durbin's future as whip went viral. And Leader Reid waded into the dispute not to get the two Democratic leaders to hold hands and sing, but simply to tell them to "relax," during an interview with CNBC. "They should both just sit down, relax ... At this time they should just sit down. It's a couple years away - just relax." My story:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6006cb4a794231dfdd58a028de0c894080fc042db2eb997b3cc
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6006cb4a794231dfdd58a028de0c894080fc042db2eb997b3cc

Ralston fires away: The Nevada journo alleges that his critical column in the heat of Reid's Romney tax allegations was killed by the Las Vegas Sun. He reprints the column in full on his blog.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600696de8c7fc89fe9bbec710779c31ec222fce5d09109a3478
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600696de8c7fc89fe9bbec710779c31ec222fce5d09109a3478

IT'S THE RELAXING RECESS THAT WASN'T. Welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where I'm filling in for a day as Seung Min covers all things Menendez from Newark. Please send tips
mailto:beverett@politico.com
beverett@politico.com and follow along on Twitter @burgessev.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Nada

AROUND THE HILL - Is a good place to go for a jog.

IRAN TALKS DRAG ON: But the strategy from the United States is a calculated one, according to the New York Times. Secretary of State John Kerry dialed into President Barack Obama on Tuesday night to tell the White House that Iran had sensed the United States would try hard to stick to the March 31 deadline, leading to a tactical shake-up. "Mr. Obama, according to two people familiar with the discussion, told Mr. Kerry and Mr. Moniz to ignore the deadline, make it clear that the president was ready to walk away and leave all sanctions on Iran in place, and see if that would change the dynamic. It is still not clear if the last-minute change in tactics will succeed."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600e86986a3aa832cfecd464c926e93bb684e9c80e559f68c95
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600e86986a3aa832cfecd464c926e93bb684e9c80e559f68c95

GOP gets antsy: While Obama has his explanation for going past the deadline, that's not good enough for Republican senators itching for some conclusion to the talks so they can chart a path forward legislatively on Iran. A number of them released critical statements after the second day of delays, with a joint McCain/Graham statement blasting the "delusional" hope that a nuclear deal with Iran will affect Tehran's influence in the region.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6005a7345e7767f6354aa85c3210e28ded1b50ebcd28438226b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6005a7345e7767f6354aa85c3210e28ded1b50ebcd28438226b

BOEHNER TO SHERMAN -- 'WORLD IS ON FIRE': Intrepid Politico Jake Sherman is out in Jerusalem, where he sat down with the speaker after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Suffice to say that Boehner's recess jaunt around the world has left only more uncertain about foreign affairs. "'I wouldn't have believed that I would be involved in as much foreign policy as I am today,' Boehner said in his hotel near Jerusalem's Old City. 'And it certainly isn't by choice. It's just that the world is on fire. And I don't think enough Americans or enough people in the administration understand how serious the problems that we're facing in the world are.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600107e25aaffe66befaebf8ebd4a41ff6dff47de36268a55ce
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600107e25aaffe66befaebf8ebd4a41ff6dff47de36268a55ce

SCALISE BLASTS ... (wait for it) .... THE MEDIA: Huddle alum Scott Wong snags a sitdown with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, who is on something of a media charm offensive after a months-long bunker mentality surrounded the Louisianan following reporting that he spoke to a white supremacist group. He tells Scott: "The thing that probably frustrated me and hurt me the most was when there were inaccurate stories written about me or stories that were written that were trying to imply or infer things that weren't true."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600ed53a4407d51ff1f13896ea290f8c748ee5efc579abdc628
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600ed53a4407d51ff1f13896ea290f8c748ee5efc579abdc628

CAME TO THE FORK IN THE ROAD AND WENT STRAIGHT: Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp will join centrist group Third Way as co-chairs later today, which gives Manchin some closure to the rifts between him and No Labels. Both senators are the subject of rumors they might run for governor in 2016, but aligning themselves with the moderate group probably won't hurt them if they seek reelection in 2018, either.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600e47e271af42ce9798522a7412ce55391142bd942d861ad8d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b600e47e271af42ce9798522a7412ce55391142bd942d861ad8d

AND THE QUOTE OF THE DAY -- Comes from Reid, clearly, in his exit interview with Adam Nagourney of the Times. Asked if he will become a lobbyist after he leaves the Senate, Reid answers: "I'd rather go to Singapore and have them beat me with whips."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6000deac420099a98a120eef1c4e797746a6d22cc550387dee4
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a5d7b9482e70b6000deac420099a98a120eef1c4e797746a6d22cc550387dee4

WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Shelby Boxenbaum was the first to answer that the first known reference to April Fool's in literature was in Chaucer's "The Nun's Priest Tale."

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Shelby has today's question: What year did the most women hold statewide elected office? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at
mailto:beverett@politico.com
beverett@politico.com

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