Good Friday morning!

The Menendez indictment was careful to say that U.S. Attorney Phil Sellinger and a top prosecutor at his office never caved to pressure from U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez to go easy on developer Fred Daibes, who was facing a bank fraud prosecution and is now Menendez’s co-defendant in the alleged bribery scheme.

The indictment claims Menendez dropped his support for Sellinger, a Democratic donor, to become U.S. Attorney when Sellinger said he’d have to recuse himself from the Daibes case, then won back Menendez’s support when he said he didn’t have to recuse himself. Then, it turns out, Sellinger did recuse himself. Menendez also allegedly called a top prosecutor in the office to try to get them to go easy on Daibes. The indictment claims that neither prosecutor weighed in on behalf of Daibes with the prosecution team and the case went on as normal.

But the thing is, Daibes — who in 2018 was hit with 14-count federal bank fraud indictment that carried serious potential prison time —worked out a very light deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to just one count and not face any prison time. On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Wigenton threw out that plea deal. In her ruling, she did not explain her rationale for doing so. But she did say “The Court is not required to adhere to the terms of the plea agreements, and the cases may be disposed of less favorably toward the Defendants than the plea agreements contemplated.”

It makes me wonder: If political interference didn’t factor in, then why did he get such a light plea deal that a judge has now seen fit to block? “U.S. Attorney Sellinger was recused from the Daibes matter and all activity by the office related to that matter, as in all matters, was handled appropriately according to the principles of federal prosecution,” Matt Reilly, a spokesperson for the office, said in a statement.

The Menendez indictment doesn’t only raise these questions about the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The state Attorney General’s Office is now conducting an internal review into the indictment’s claim that Menendez met with a high-ranking official in the office — identified in reports as former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal — to get him to ease up on a person being questioned in relation to another co-defendant’s business.

I would like to think that prosecutors are above politics, but there are real questions here about whether a very powerful politician exerted influence. This brings me back to Democratic political operative Sean Caddle’s guilty plea to hiring hitmen to kill his associate, Michael Galdieri. Caddle agreed to cooperate with federal authorities and despite the gravity of his crime was allowed to stay in home confinement for a long time, and he was offered a plea deal by prosecutors that a judge ultimately decided to go well beyond. Despite this, the only prosecution to come out of Caddle’s cooperation was Democratic operative Tony Teixeira. That was strange. I don’t have any evidence that prosecutors made any political considerations in that case. But given what we’ve seen about prosecutorial sausage-making from the Menendez indictment, I certainly think it’s fair to keep the possibility in mind.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “There is not a single chance that we are endorsing people who came to an Equality Ball event once and then went on record to speak about how they really favor outing students.” — Garden State Equality’s Lauren Albrecht on Assemblymembers Kimberly Eulner and Marilyn Piperno, who are also facing criticism from the right for attending a Garden State Equality event and donating $750 to the organiation.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Sean McLaughlin, Jamie Cryan, Kevin Drennan, Jillian Lynch, Megan Piwowar, Jonathan Savage, Joel Weingarten. Saturday for Timothy Carroll, Michael Hotchkiss, Jessica Stewart. Sunday for Annette Chapparo, Upendra Chivukula, Matt O’Keefe, David Russo.

WHERE’S MURPHY?

No public schedule.

BLESS THIS MESS — New Jersey politics is a notorious mess. It’s about to hit new levels of nasty, by POLITICO’s Ally Mutnick, Sarah Ferris and Nicholas Wu: The indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez has unleashed a season of wild maneuvering in New Jersey politics with ambitious Democrats angling for his seat and former President Donald Trump discussing a run for it with one of his congressional allies. Third-term Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) was the first surprise contender. But more are expected to follow soon. Confidantes of Tammy Murphy, the wife of Gov. Phil Murphy, have begun reaching out to staff and consultants as she moves closer to a run, according to two people familiar with the conversations. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) has also refused to rule out a bid. And on the Republican side, Rep. Jeff Van Drew — a Democrat not too long ago — is contemplating a bid and said he has talked to Trump about it. “A free for all,” is how longtime Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) summed it up … Sherill and Gottheimer are both signaling that they will keep their sights set on Trenton, setting them up for a head-to-head clash. And while Democrats close to Gottheimer — who has $15.1 million banked as of this June — expect him to fight to keep his seat through 2024, it’s less clear if Sherrill will make the same decision.

TALKING OUT OF BOTH SIDES OF THEIR MONMOUTH — “How can NJ legislative candidates support both parents’ rights and LGBTQ+ rights?” by The Record’s Charles Stile: “Outside the Monmouth County Courthouse in Freehold in August, Assemblywoman Kimberly Eulner, R-Shrewsbury, stood in solidarity with the conservative ‘parental rights’ activists assembled to protest a lawsuit involving public schools’ handling of transgender students … The 11th Legislative District Republican, who is seeking her second term on Nov. 7, was jumping onto the front line of a culture war that has emerged in suburban elections this fall, when all 120 seats in the New Jersey Legislature are on the ballot … Yet a little more than a year earlier, Eulner and running mate Assemblywoman Marilyn Piperno, R-Colts Neck, appeared at another gathering — and on the other side of the debate. The two women attended the annual fundraiser ball for Garden State Equality, the state’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group and a vocal defender of transgender rights and of the school board policy that both lawmakers vigorously oppose. Their joint campaign account paid $750 to attend the event … [T]he attendance at the Garden State Equality Ball — which surfaced on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after a political site posted a copy of the two candidates’ payment for last year’s event — also raised eyebrows at the New Jersey Project, a combative parental rights group, whose leader, Nicole Stouffer, also attended the Freehold event in August. Stouffer said she was surprised to learn of their participation at the event and that it raised questions about their allegiance to the parental rights campaign”

—“Judge tosses lawsuit aimed at stopping New Jersey black bear hunt”

—“N.J.’ s anti-bullying law needs work, frustrated parents tell task force. ‘We must do better’”

—“Extend NYC subway to New Jersey?”

—Snowflack: “Dems trust in pro-choice message coherence in ungainly LD-16”

JUST THE ‘NORMAL WORK OF A CONGRESSIONAL OFFICE’ — “Menendez’s alleged sharing of information with Egypt risked lives of US embassy staff, ex-US official says,” by The Guardian’s Ruth Michaelson and Stephanie Kirchgaessner: “The lives of staff at the US embassy in Cairo may have been put in jeopardy by the indicted Democratic senator Bob Menendez’s alleged sharing of sensitive personnel information with the Egyptian government, according to former senior US officials who said the charges represented a grave betrayal of trust … The indictment states that ‘although this information was not classified, it was deemed highly sensitive because it could pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or if made public.’ ‘If the allegation is true, this is reprehensible. One of the worst aspects of this is that it’s not only selling influence, it’s really putting people’s lives in jeopardy,’ said a former high-ranking state department official who worked across the Middle East, including Egypt. ‘I’d label this charge in the indictment a betrayal of trust,’ said Gordon Gray, a former diplomat with 35 years in the foreign service whose postings included ambassador to Tunisia, senior adviser to the US ambassador to Iraq and deputy chief of mission in Cairo.”

—“Without Menendez, U.S. foreign policy could become more progressive”

R.I.P. — “Parent, fisherman, bar ‘dad': Who was Richard Koop, the man Nadine Menendez killed with a car?” by The Record’s Kristie Cattafi and Ashley Balcerzak: “Before heading out to the patio at the Westside Village Tavern, pause for a second and take a look at the last bar chair. The small plaque — ‘in memory of Koop’ — is easy to miss, but it’s a large reminder to his friends of a “townie,” a good man and father. Richard Koop, 49, died on Dec. 12, 2018, on Bogota’s Main Street when a car driven by Nadine Arslanian struck and killed him just after 7:35 p.m. across the street from his home. ‘It was a loss for everyone,” said Gerry Fiore, part-time manager and bartender at the Westside Village Tavern in Ridgefield Park. “There were lines and lines of people at his services.’ … After Koop’s death, family and friends who depended on him for support struggled with closure, feeling they didn’t have answers about what happened on the night his life was so abruptly cut short. “I never got closure, to be honest with you,” said close friend Michele Maio, who grew up in Ridgefield Park with Koop. “I Googled and Googled and Googled, I was so obsessed with it. It was so unfair how he died.””

IF YOU GOTT A PROBLEM YO HE’LL SOLVE IT — “Josh Gottheimer has a plan to fix Congress,” by The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran: “[S]clerotic procedural rules in Congress give immense power to fanatical blowhards like Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican. Those rules make it easy to wreck things, and nearly impossible to build them. And that’s something that could be fixed. ‘We need to change those rules,’ says Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat who is co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. ’It would be good for us, and it would be good for them. They want to stop Matt Gaetz, too, or any one person from being able to hold them hostage.’ … The bigger rule problem is that the Speaker can singlehandedly block a vote on any bill, even if the majority supports it. That’s what killed the immigration bill in 2019, one pushed hard by Gottheimer and other centrists, one that would have provided a path to citizenship for Dreamers, those who came to America illegally as children, along with tougher enforcement at the border … Gottheimer wants to make it much easier to reach a floor vote, and to offer bipartisan amendments. The details of that are under negotiation. You can wade deeply into the weeds on this stuff, but the bottom line is pretty simple: A majority in Congress should be able to get its way. And it shouldn’t be so easy for an impudent child like Gaetz to screw things up.”

—“Rep. Josh Gottheimer headlines No Labels call while eyeing run for higher office”

—Snowflack: “GOP U.S. Senate candidate Serrano Glassner wows the room”

—“Van Drew says he’ll support Jim Jordan for House speaker”

MICHAEL JACKSON BLAMES EVERYONE EXCEPT THE MAN IN THE MIRROR — “After City Hall chaos, Paterson cop files charges against Michael Jackson,” by The Record’s Joe Malinconico: “Councilman Michael Jackson — after learning that a city cop filed criminal charges against him on Thursday afternoon — blamed the officer for escalating a chaotic dispute during the most recent City Hall council meeting. ‘He made it bigger by coming over,’ Jackson said, referring to Police Officer Joel Torres. ‘I wasn’t committing any crime.’ Torres intervened after Jackson said during the council meeting that he would make Councilman Luis Velez shut up, walked across the room to stand over a sitting Velez, and learned down with his face inches from Velez’s. That was when Torres stepped between the two of them, as shown on a video recording of the incident. Torres charged Jackson with harassment, creating a hazardous condition by using abusive language and disrupting a public meeting — all disorderly persons offenses, according to police report. PBA President Angel Jimenez previously had said Jackson may also face assault charges.”

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSALEENS — “Wall HS principal will receive a full year salary, $99K payout in separation agreement,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Mike Davis: “The former principal of Wall High School, who hasn’t been on duty in a year and a half, will remain on paid leave for the rest of the school year and retire with a nearly six-figure payout as part of a separation agreement with the school board. Rosaleen Sirchio, 54, will collect her $200,763 salary while working on paid leave until the end of the calendar year, according to a separation agreement obtained by the Asbury Park Press through a public records request. The board will place her on an undisclosed leave of absence from January 1 to June 30, 2024, during which Sirchio will cash in a combination of sick days, personal days and floating holidays before formally retiring. Sirchio will receive an additional $99,116 payout upon her retirement, including banked and accumulated vacation days and unused sick days, according to the separation agreement. Including her retirement payout, she will have collected at least $550,000 since April 2022 without working a single day.”

WE WOULDN’T WANT A CITY TO BE URBAN — “Group sues Englewood, elected leaders to stop zoning changes and ‘urbanization’ of city,” by The Record’s Megan Burrow: “A nonprofit organization is suing the city, the City Council and Mayor Michael Wildes seeking to overturn a zoning change that would incentivize the construction of thousands of apartments. The Englewood One Community Corporation alleges in its lawsuit, filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack, that the ordinance approved in August by the council to provide affordable housing through overlay zones is inconsistent with the city’s master plan, was passed with little public notice and is ‘tainted with conflicts of interest.’ The overlay plan, which could add as many as 4,000 units of housing across the city’s four wards, with 20% of the units set aside for low- and moderate-income housing, was developed through negotiations with the Fair Share Housing Center.”

—“Somerville completes $7M sewer sale to NJ American Water. What does it mean for rates?”

—“New Brunswick case spotlights debate over residency requirements for police”

—“Toms River lawyers fight to stop Ciba-Geigy pollution settlement. What does the town want?”

—“Construction for N.J.’s 1st ocean wind farm begins onshore. Here’s what to expect”