'Trump Was Right,’ Prison-Bound Former NJ Senator Says

NEW JERSEY — Hours after his sentencing in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday, former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez appealed to an old foe as he decried the political "cesspool" he was a longtime member of.

"President Trump is right," said the disgraced Democrat, who so often criticized the president during his first term, and after Trump left the White House in 2021. "This process is political and has been corrupted to the core."

Last July, Menendez was convicted of accepting bribes, using the power of his office to protect allies from prosecution, and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt. A judge sentenced him to 11 years in prison on Wednesday.

“I am innocent and look forward to filing appeals on a whole host of issues,” he said.

And though he's aligning himself with the Republican president now, Menendez had supported impeaching Trump in both 2019 and 2021 and accused him of being "compromised" by the Russian government.

However, the two now share something in common: Both have been convicted of felonies in a Manhattan courtroom within the last year, and both maintain that they are victims of a "political witch hunt."

Menendez even tagged Trump's account in his statement on X.com, prompting some suspicions he may be angling for a pardon.

"I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system,” he said, also calling the Southern District of New York "the Wild West of political prosecutions."

The judge ordered Menendez to report to prison June 6, after his wife's trial on related charges.

Trump has not yet commented on a possible pardon.