US Attorney presents evidence in indictment against Senator Bob Menendez Photo: Robert Bumstead/STF
Joe Biden's key ally was indicted charges of bribery and extortion, and he claimed to have used his position to make a «tribute to Egypt» and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold bullion and cash bribes.
Senator Bob Menendez, the president's top foreign policy adviser, claimed to be a «steadfast opponent of dictators» but secretly aided Cairo's authoritarian regime for personal gain, prosecutors said.
They filed criminal charges against Mr. Menendez, his wife Nadine and three New Jersey businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes — on Friday.
It turned out that during a search of the New Jersey senator's home, About half a million dollars in cash was found in the jersey, some of it stuffed into jackets and a personalized Senate sweatshirt.
Gold bars worth about $150,000 and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible donated by a businessman were also found.
In exchange for bribes, the indictment says, Menendez used his influence as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee to push for an end to the U.S. aid blockade amid concerns about human rights abuses in Egypt.
This included writing a letter on Egypt's behalf from his personal email to his Senate colleagues in May 2018. calling on them to lift the suspension of $300 million in aid to Cairo.
Mr. Menendez and his wife Nadine Photo: Jacqueline Martin/AP
During the same period, he shared confidential, proprietary information about military matters with Egyptian officials during private meetings in his Senate office and steak dinners.
Mr. Menendez released texts sent to Egyptian officials in July 2018 indicating that he planned to “sign off” on a $99 million arms deal. including 46,000 rounds for target practice and 10,000 rounds for tanks.
He also allegedly used his power and influence to try to derail a criminal investigation into his co-conspirator, pressuring Biden to appointed a US attorney in New Jersey, whom Menendez believed he could influence.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, as well as several other Democratic state officials and House members have called on Mr. Menendez to resign from the Senate.
“The alleged facts are so serious that they jeopardize Senator Menendez's ability to to effectively represent the people of our state,” Mr. Murphy said in a statement.
Mr. Menendez has temporarily stepped down as Chairman. Senate Foreign Relations Committee until the matter is resolved. However, Mr. Menendez said he has no plans to resign.
“It is not lost on me how quickly some are quick to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I’m not going anywhere,” he said in a statement late Friday.
Two gold bars found in Mr. -on Menendez. Photo: US Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. /via AP
The Democratic senator's accusation has embarrassed the president's party.
Mr. Menendez has played an influential role in shaping Mr. Biden's foreign policy, mobilizing support for Ukraine aid in Congress and taking a strong stance on China as the president seeks to restore the U.S. role on the world stage.
69- The summer senator is up for re-election next year, and the criminal trial could complicate Democrats' efforts to expand their slim 51-49 Senate majority.
Mr. Menendez has denied any wrongdoing and has accused him. prosecutors for misrepresenting the “normal operation of the office of Congress.”
“For years, behind-the-scenes forces have repeatedly tried to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” Mr. Menendez said.
He had known he was under investigation for about a year and had previously set up a legal defense fund .
In April, his wife sold about $400,000 worth of gold bars, according to the senator's latest financial disclosure form. .
The couple will go on trial next Wednesday on three federal felonies, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said.
They are conspiring to commit bribery. , conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official authority.
If convicted, the most serious charge could result in up to 20 years in prison.
Acted as middleman.
Manhattan prosecutors said Mr. Hana, originally from Egypt, acted as an intermediary between Mr. Menendez and the Egyptian. officials in 2018.
At the time, Cairo was one of the largest recipients of US military aid, but Washington withheld $195 million in 2017 and withheld an additional $65.7 million until the country could demonstrate improvements in human rights and democracy.
After the meeting with Mr. Menendez, Mr. Hana wrote to the Egyptian official: “The ban on the import of small arms and ammunition into Egypt has been lifted.”
In exchange, the businessman put Ms. Menendez on his company's payroll.
However, she complained that Mr. Hana had made unfulfilled promises in text messages to her husband, saying: “[Hana] supposedly left for Egypt, and now he thinks he's the king of the world, and both countries have his little finger wrapped around him.»< /p>
The Egyptian government granted Mr. Hana's company an exclusive license to export halal food from the United States in 2019, despite the lack of no experience in halal certification.
He reportedly used proceeds from these exports to finance bribes. to the indictment.
'More powerful than the president'
Discussing her demands for help with her mortgage payments, Ms Menendez sent a message saying: «When I feel comfortable planning a trip to Egypt , he [Mr. Hana] will be more powerful than the President of Egypt.”
This is the second time in nearly 10 years that Menendez has been accused of corruption. His 2018 trial on unrelated bribery charges ended in a hung jury.
He appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to be indicted on two unrelated criminal charges.
Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of Mr. Menendez's assets, including his New Jersey home, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz and about $566,000 in cash, gold bullion and bank account funds.
They say Mr. Uribe gave Ms. Menendez $15,000 in cash to Mercedes-Benz after her husband asked an official in the New Jersey Attorney General's Office to authorize a fraud investigation into his co-conspirators.
Mr. , a New Jersey real estate developer, allegedly gave gold bars and cash to Mr. Menendez after the senator tried to influence the filing of a federal criminal case against him.
A spokesman for Mr. Hana said the allegations “ have absolutely no basis.»
Mr. Menendez's lawyers, Mr. Uribe and Mr. Daibes, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Свежие комментарии