THE MENENDEZ TRIAL: The Problem that Wouldn’t Go Away
NEWARK – The former State Department official whom Sen. Bob Menendez urged to intervene with Dominican officials to enforce a port security contract held by the senator’s friend Dr. Salomon Melgen testified today he just wanted the problem to go away.
William Brownfield, then the Assistant Secretary of State for International Law Enforcement Affairs, said he removed himself from the decision-making process, refused to engage with Melgen’s representatives, and started forwarding all information to his staff even before his May 2012 meeting with Menendez.
“It was better for me not to have been involved beforehand so I could appear to be a neutral player, or one who has not taken a position on the issue,” Brownfield said.
Showing his mastery of the bureaucratic minefield of Washington D.C., Brownfield explained his plan was to call Melgen’s representatives personally if the dispute was resolved to Melgen’s liking, but leave the call to his staff if the issue was not. And Brownfield himself remained agnostic on the issue even today, saying he did not care if Melgen got the benefits of his exclusive port security contract or not.
“Anything that would resolve the issue would be acceptable to me,” Brownfield said.
Still, where Menendez himself stood was clear.
“My impression, my belief, was that he wanted it successfully resolved for the U.S.-related company,” Brownfield said.
Brownfield, who lives in Washington, D.C., spent an unplanned night in Newark after yesterday’s testimony stretched into a second day. He reacted with glee to being dismissed from the witness stand by Judge William Walls.
“Bless you,” Brownfield said.
“Take good care,” Walls said.
Brownfield and Menendez waved a happy goodbye to one another as Brownfield walked past the defense table on his way out.
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