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Article snippet: The Senate Ethics Committee is "severely" admonishing Sen. signed onto the letter. Marc Elias, a counsel to Menendez, said on Thursday evening that the Ethics Committee's letter contradicts both the outcome of Menendez's trial and the decision by the Justice Department to dismiss the charges against the Democratic senator. "Many of the findings in the letter were not only contradicted by the presiding judge and rejected by the jury, but the proceedings clearly demonstrated that there was no violation of any law," he said in a statement. Elias added that Menendez stopped submitting amendments to his financial disclosure forms at the request of Ethics Committee staff. The committee's public admonishment marks the strongest statement against a member from the panel in years, according to government ethics watchdogs. The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) immediately seized on the letter, saying it "should outrage every New Jersey voter." “The Senate Ethics Committee found what was already crystal clear from Menendez’s criminal trial — Bob Menendez is a crook and an embarrassment," said Bob Salera, a spokesman for the NRSC. The letter comes after the Senate Ethics Committee restarted its inquiry into Menendez in November. That move was made after a judge declared a mistrial in the senator's federal corruption and bribery case. Prosecutors alleged that Menendez accepted lavish vacations, gifts and campaign donations from Melgen, a wealthy Florida ... Link to the full article to read more