Witness: Menendez 'hostile' on call on behalf of donor

<p>A former Medicare official has testified U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was &quot;hostile&quot; to him during a dispute involving a wealthy donor now on trial with the NJ Democrat for bribery.</p>

News 12 Staff

Oct 2, 2017, 4:55 PM

Updated 2,407 days ago

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Witness: Menendez 'hostile' on call on behalf of donor
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- A former Medicare official has testified U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was "hostile" to him during a dispute involving a wealthy donor now on trial with the New Jersey Democrat for bribery.
Jonathan Blum testified Monday that in a phone call in 2009 and a meeting in 2012, Menendez became angry when Blum didn't agree that a Medicare reimbursement policy should be changed.
The 2012 meeting involved former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.
Blum testified though Menendez didn't mention a name, it was clear to him the conversation was about Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen, who was involved in a multimillion-dollar billing dispute with Medicare.
An indictment charges Menendez with accepting private jet flights and luxury hotel stays from Melgen in exchange for political influence.
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