Embattled Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez paid his chief of staff thousands of dollars from his campaign funds for "consulting" work during the third quarter, Federal Election Commission records show.
Fred Turner, the chief of staff in Sen. Menendez's D.C. office, was paid $6,000 during the third quarter from Menendez for Senate, the senator's campaign committee, filings show. The payment to Turner was made on July 7 for "strategic consulting services," according to the committee's October quarterly report.
Turner, who for years worked for Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings (Fla.) starting as a legislative assistant before working his way up to chief of staff, joined Menendez's office in March 2014.
Turner has received the maximum salary that is allowable in congressional offices for his role on Menendez's team.
Turner was paid $169,458.96, the highest amount that can be paid to chief of staff position in a Senate office, for fiscal years 2015 and 2016, data on congressional tracking website Legistorm shows. Complete salary data for fiscal year 2017 is not yet available.
Senate employees are free to "engage in campaign activity on their own, as volunteers or for pay, provided they voluntarily do so on their own time, outside of Senate space, and without using Senate resources," according to the Select Committee on Ethics. While congressional staffers are permitted to do campaign work outside of their official capacities, a chief of staff typically does not partake in any campaign-related work.
Menendez, who was indicted in April 2015, is currently on trial for numerous corruption charges that include bribery. Prosecutors have said that Menendez had a "corrupt pact" with Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye doctor who was previously a major donor to the New Jersey senator's campaign.
"The defendants' bribery scheme began shortly after Menendez's elevation to the Senate in 2006, when Melgen began a pattern of treating Menendez to weekend and weeklong getaways in the Dominican Republic that would continue for the next several years," prosecutors said in an early filing. "For the first four years of the corruption scheme, the all-expense paid trips Melgen provided often included free roundtrip flights on Melgen's private jet for Menendez and his various guests. When the doctor's private jet was unavailable, Melgen supplied equally luxurious travel for the Senator."
Menendez has long maintained his innocence.
A number of top Democratic senators have taken campaign cash from Menendez long after his indictment and as recently as this year, the Washington Free Beacon previously reported.
Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.), who was mentored by Menendez, sat behind the embattled senator during his first day of trial and has given $20,000 to his legal expense fund.
Menendez's office did not respond to inquiries on the consulting payment.