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Former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius offered new details about a private meeting with Sen. Bob Menendez at the center of a criminal probe into the senator’s actions — and revealed for the first time she spoke with federal authorities about the matter. In an interview with POLITICO on Monday, Sebelius said that she disputed the New Jersey Democrat’s assertions three years ago that the federal government had uneven billing practices that unfairly hurt a company owned by Salomon Melgen, a close friend and political benefactor of the senator. (Raju, 3/10)

A criminal prosecution of Sen. Bob Menendez would represent a major test for a Justice Department anti-corruption unit that recently scored the conviction of a former Virginia governor, but endured humbling setbacks in cases against two former U.S. senators. The New Jersey Democrat is expected to face criminal charges in the coming weeks over his ties to a Florida eye doctor who is also a longtime friend and political donor, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Menendez denied wrongdoing and said he has served honorably in his more than 20 years in Congress. (3/9)