The announcement this week that police in the Dominican Republic determined that charges against Robert Menendez for solicitation of underage prostitutes were a lie was a great PR victory for the beleaguered New Jersey senator.

The charges, said the Dominican authorities, were pure fabrications by sinister local lawyers, who paid three women $1,000 to drop a dime on the man who heads the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The phony reports were promulgated by the right wing Daily Caller website, the brain child of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, who headed for the hills when the scam was divulged with a weak promise to “continue to investigate the case.” Carlson’s editor, who wrote the anti-Menendez articles, promptly resigned.

Now one would think that with this good news for the aggrieved accused and bad news for a-sleazed accuser, Menendez would eagerly mount the press podium in the Senate Office Building to confirm his innocence, denounce his right-wing attackers, and march into the sunset.

Nope.

Instead, the senator’s spokesman issued a weak statement pointing the finger at "Republican operatives" of spreading lies and hoping that federal authorities would prosecute the source of those scandalous fibs.

And where was the good senator on the glorious day of his redemption? Where he has been since the beginning of this tale of alleged money-grubbing and high living in exchange for political favors – essentially, hiding from the media.

Indeed, since the scandal around him broke six months ago, Menendez has been "interviewed" by the press only accidentally on his hurried way to and from Senate business. He’s conducted no press conference, formal sit-down interview or, as far as we know, background briefing with the press.

While PR advisors would counsel an innocent man who has been accused and found not guilty immediately to come forward and cleanse himself of the slander, Menendez continues to hide.

Why?

The answer lies in the greater charges against the good senator, that he accepted what most people would label as "bribes" – for plane rides, hotels, and funding help to his Congressional colleagues -- from his largest political donor, one Dr. Salomon Melgren, who donated $1 million to Menendez and stood to benefit handsomely by a Dominican Republic port contract that Menendez fronted for him.

While Menendez hides, his "friends" in Congress who also benefited from Melgren's largesse run for cover, and the usually toothless Senate Ethics Committee investigates, a federal grand jury has been quietly impaneled to investigate Menendez.

It's likely that when the dust settle, the senator will be stripped of his committee chairmanship, censured by the Senate and perhaps even worse (can you say, "slammer time?").

Should such an unfortunate outcome ensue, few Americans -- many of whom consider the U.S. Congress, with an approval rating of 14%, among the lowest forms of human life -- would probably shed a tear. 

The lesson for PR counselors:  "If you have nothing to be defensive about, speak up."

The corollary for PR clients: "Silence grants the point."