Crime Senator Menendez D-NJ indicted for taking bribes

[Arkain2K]

Sen. Bob Menendez and wife indicted on bribery charges; DOJ seizes gold bars and $500,000



New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was charged on Friday with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years.

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.

This is the second set of corruption charges levied against Menendez by the Justice Department in a decade. He previously fought off conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud related to alleged personal favors.

Menendez is up for reelection next year. He has been in the Senate since 2006.

Senate Democratic Caucus rules will force Menendez to step aside as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, but he can still serve on the panel.

Menendez slammed the indictment in a statement.

“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave. Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists,” he said.

“The excesses of these prosecutors is apparent,” he added. “They have misrepresented the normal work of a Congressional office. On top of that, not content with making false claims against me, they have attacked my wife for the longstanding friendships she had before she and I even met.”

Menendez also previously set up a legal defense fund. Beginning in April, his wife sold gold bars worth as much as $400,000, according to the senator’s most recent financial disclosure form.

Searches turned up $500,000 in cash and more

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.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/09/22/politics/bob-menendez-charges/index.html

Sen. Bob Menendez found guilty on all counts, including acting as foreign agent, in federal corruption trial​

Menendez is the first senator to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent.
By Aaron Katersky and Meredith Deliso | July 16, 2024

Sen. Bob Menendez was found guilty on all counts Tuesday in his federal corruption trial.

Federal prosecutors in New York alleged the New Jersey Democrat accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and more in exchange for the senator's political clout. Three New Jersey businessmen who were also charged, along with the governments of Egypt and Qatar, were the alleged recipients. Two of those co-defendants, Wael Hanna and Fred Daibes, were also convicted of all counts they faced.

The jury deliberated for about 13 hours over three days.

Menendez pleaded not guilty to 16 federal charges including bribery, fraud, acting as a foreign agent and obstruction.

Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer called for his resignation immediately after the verdict.

"In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign," he said.

Menendez will be sentenced on Oct. 29 and faces decades in prison.

Prosecutors claimed Menendez, 70, "put his power up for sale" in exchange for the gold, envelopes stuffed with money, checks to his wife for a no-show job and a Mercedes-Benz convertible. The FBI found gold bars and more than $400,000 in cash stashed in places including jackets and shoes throughout his home, prosecutors said.

"It wasn't enough for him to be one of the most powerful people in Washington," federal prosecutor Paul Monteleoni said during his closing argument on July 8. "Robert Menendez wanted all that power and he also wanted to use it to pile up riches for himself and his wife."

Sen. Bob Menendez found guilty on all counts, including acting as foreign agent, in federal corruption trial

Federal prosecutors alleged that Sen. Bob Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the New Jersey Democrat's political clout.

abcnews.go.com

 

[CantCucktheTuck]

gold bar bob

 

[Rational Poster]

Took long enough. This guy has been a piece of shit for far too long.

 

[Source]

Many of these sobs have acted with impunity for far too long. Hopefully they don’t stop with this guy. Give him the maximum sentence.

 

[rearnakedchoke]

Lock him up.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

Wow, imagine the coincidence, foreign agent imbedded in the CIA and friends with Nancy Pelosi now indicted. What is it with top democrats interacting for foreign agents

 

[Limbo Pete]

Good fucking riddance