Federal prosecutors charged strong US Senator Robert Menendez with bribery and extortion on Friday, claiming they had discovered gold bars and thousands of dollars in cash inside the residence of the prominent Democrat.
US Democratic senator indicted for corruption: The Justice Department claimed, among other things, that Menendez had helped an Egyptian-American businessman maintain his monopoly by giving sensitive information to the Egyptian authorities.
It was the 69-year-old senior politician from New Jersey’s second corruption indictment in eight years, which calls into question both his grasp on his seat in Congress and the Democratic Party’s tenuous Senate majority.
Menendez “temporarily” resigned from his post as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, which had given him substantial influence over US foreign policy, hours after the indictment.
“The senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Senator Menendez using his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt,” said Damian Williams, the federal prosecutor for the Manhattan, New York district.
Menendez referred to the accusations as “baseless” and described the indictment as an attack on him and his wife Nadine Menendez, who was also named in the charges. Menendez claimed that “they have misrepresented the typical work of a Congressional office.”
Even other Democrats called for his resignation, with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy calling the accusations “deeply disturbing.”
“The claimed facts are so grave that they put Senator Menendez’s capacity to serve the people of our state in jeopardy. Because of this, I’m requesting his immediate resignation,” he declared in a statement.
Menendez said in a statement Friday night that he is not overlooking how quickly people are rushing to criticize a Latino and push him out of his seat. I won’t be leaving here.
A Benz, money, and gold
Authorities claim they discovered more than $500,000 in cash allegedly given to him by three New Jersey businesspeople who had enlisted his assistance, both in Menendez’s New Jersey home and in his wife’s safe deposit box.
Authorities claim they discovered more than $500,000 in cash allegedly given to him by three New Jersey businesspeople who had enlisted his assistance in Menendez’s New Jersey home and in his wife’s safe deposit box.
One of the businessmen had given away a luxurious Mercedes Benz convertible, and authorities also discovered gold bars worth about $150,000.
Authorities claimed they had proof that Menendez looked up the value of the gold bars around the time he and his wife got them on Google.
According to the indictment, Menendez used the funds to shield two of the businessmen from Justice Department inquiries and to assist the third, Egyptian-American Wael Hana, with a business monopoly given to him by the Egyptian government.
It stated that Menendez, among other things, gave critical US government intelligence and took other measures that helped the Egyptian government covertly.
Menendez, his wife Hana, and the two other businessmen, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, faced two accusations of bribery and fraud.
Extortion charges were also brought against Menendez and his wife. The most serious of the offences carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail.
Schumer stated, “He has a right to due process and a fair trial.”
A second corruption charge
Menendez has been a pillar of the Democratic Party in Congress for three decades. He has been a senator since 2006 and a member of the House of Representatives for 14 years before that.
Menendez, a son of Cuban immigrants and chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a staunch opponent of normalising relations with the Castro government in Cuba.
Additionally, he fought against military sales with Turkey, denounced authoritarian governments like Venezuela and China, and openly backed Israel.
He faced accusations of collecting bribes in the form of private flights, extravagant trips, and more than $750,000 in unauthorized campaign contributions in 2015.
However, the charges were dropp three years later when the jury was unable to agree on a verdict.
To be re-elected
It was unclear at away how the new indictment would influence his formerly unassailable standing with New Jersey voters as he runs for reelection to the Senate next year.
Menendez stated on Friday, “To my supporters, friends, and the community at large, I ask that you keep in mind the other instances in which the prosecutors erred and that you reserve judgement.”
Democrats hold a slim 51-49 Senate majority going into the 2024 elections.