Daily Caller: Dominican Women Say Sen. Menendez Paid Them for Sex
Days before the 2012 election, the Daily Caller published video interviews in which two Dominican women said Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez had paid them for sex.
The story damaged a Democratic senator on the eve of his re-election.
What was reported
Days before the 2012 election, the Daily Caller published video interviews in which two Dominican women said Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez had paid them for sex.
What actually happened
Several other outlets had passed on the tip as flimsy. In March 2013 the Washington Post reported that one woman said she was paid to read a script and had never met Menendez; Dominican police said women were paid to make the claims, and the women's lawyer also recanted. The Daily Caller disputed that the recanting woman was one of its sources and stood by its reporting. In 2014 the Post reported U.S. investigators had evidence the smear was concocted by Cuban intelligence. The prostitution claims were never substantiated, and were not part of later corruption charges against Menendez.
The proof
Recantation affidavits reported by the Washington Post (March 2013) and Dominican police findings; the allegation was never corroborated.
The receipt. Copy this and paste it anywhere:
Daily Caller: Dominican Women Say Sen. Menendez Paid Them for Sex — Unproven. Recantation affidavits reported by the Washington Post (March 2013) and Dominican police findings; the allegation was never corroborated. Full file: https://www.thepropagandafiles.com/case/daily-caller-menendez-prostitutes-2012/
Original reporting
- Mediaite (secondary): Menendez paid for sex, Dominican women claim (Daily Caller report)https://www.mediaite.com/online/n-j-sen-bob-menendez-paid-for-sex-dominican-prostitutes-claim
Corrections, findings & records
- CBS News: Escort says she made up Menendez prostitution claimshttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-escort-says-she-made-up-menendez-prostitution-claims
- Salon: Dominican police say women were paid to lie about Menendezhttps://salon.com/2013/03/18/dominican_police_say_prostitutes_were_paid_to_lie_about_menendez
- Slate (Weigel): The Cubans, the prostitutes, the senator and the Daily Callerhttps://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2014/07/08/the_cubans_the_prostitutes_the_senator_and_the_daily_caller.html
Archived copies
Stories get edited after publication. These open the Internet Archive's earliest saved copy of each original.
- Archived copy: Mediaite (secondary): Menendez paid for sex, Dominican women claim (Daily Caller report)https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.mediaite.com/online/n-j-sen-bob-menendez-paid-for-sex-dominican-prostitutes-claim