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This is the SECOND time this Democrat senator has faced criminal corruption charges.
These charges are expected to prompt his removal as chair of the Foreign Relations committee.
The indictment was unsealed today and laid out the basis of corruption charges against NJ Senator Bob Menendez and his wife relating to an expensive car they were given, as well as a hoard of gold bars and stacks of cash that were found in their home.
The indictment alleges that Menendez provided sensitive U.S. government information and took other steps to secretly help Egypt, including ghost-writing a letter on behalf of Egypt pushing other senators to lift a hold on $300 million in aid to the country.
In April 2020, shortly after meeting with an Egyptian official, authorities allege, Menendez also lobbied then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to increase American engagement in stalled negotiations involving Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to build a dam over the Nile River, a key foreign policy issue for Egypt.
Prosecutors allege Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three business associates, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes. He also used his influence to pressure the president to nominate a U.S. attorney for New Jersey who would protect Daibes, a longtime friend and prominent New Jersey developer who faced criminal prosecution, they said.
After Menendez called a government official about Daibes’ case, according to the indictment, his wife was given a Mercedes-Benz convertible by Uribe and Hana, both friends of the senator and his wife. The indictment says that after the purchase was complete, Nadine Menendez texted her husband to say: “Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” with a heart emoji. — Chron
Note: In the blockquotes above and below, we have highlighted points in the indictment that would have relevance as we consider a case being considered by the House GOP’s indictment inquiry.
At the time of this writing, there is no word yet on how this will impact his re-election bid in 2024.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the newly unsealed federal indictment.
[…]
Prosecutors allege the bribes included gold, cash, home mortgage payments, compensation for a “low-or-no-show job” and a luxury vehicle.
According to the indictment, searches of Menendez’ home and safe deposit box that federal agents conducted in 2022 turned up nearly $500,000 in cash, including in envelopes inside jackets emblazoned with Menendez’s name.
Prosecutors say some of the envelopes had the fingerprints or DNA of one of the business contacts from whom the senator is accused of taking bribes.
The federal investigators who searched Menendez’s home also found a “luxury vehicle paid for by [Jose] Uribe parked in the garage,” as well as home furnishings from other business contacts and gold bars. — News8K
This sets up an interesting dynamic.
Supposing the DOJ finds that a no-show job and money paid in exchange for political lobbying was not only enough to charge a long-time senator — but if it leads to a conviction — where does that leave Joe Biden and his family if the House GOP can provide evidence of wrongdoing that is orders of magnitude larger than the amounts Menendez is charged with taking?
And what does it say about the fact that the DOJ has shielded the Bidens from any meaningful investigation of corruption allegations up to this point?
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