(ReliableNews.org) – Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has been accused of corruption multiple times. During former President Donald Trump’s administration, he was tried on federal charges, but after a mistrial, the DOJ dropped the case. Then, last year, he was once again indicted, now, a second superseding indictment has been handed down.
On January 2, the new indictment was unsealed in the US District Court in the Southern District of New York. According to the filing, Menendez used his authority to help the government of Qatar in return for a bribe. It states that the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, engaged in corrupt activity with three businessmen: Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, and Jose Uribe.
The senator is accused of using his office to help Daibes, a wealthy New Jersey developer, get a multimillion-dollar investment from a company tied to Qatar. He did so by making favorable statements about Qatar to help the developer. In return, he was allegedly rewarded with gold, money, and other high-value items.
The indictment claims that between 2021 and 2022, Menendez made multiple favorable statements about Qatar. It goes on to say that he provided the statements to Diabes so the developer could share them with the Qatari investor and a government official from the Middle Eastern nation. Diabes and the senator allegedly shared texts about the scheme with one another.
NBC News reported that Adam Fee, Menendez’s lawyer, said the new allegations “stink of desperation” and accused the government of turning the case “into a persecution, not a prosecution.”
Menendez is also accused of working for the Egyptian government in order to receive money, gold, and other gifts. When the FBI raided his home, agents said they found hundreds of thousands of dollars shoved into envelopes and hidden in clothes in his closet. They also reportedly found more than $100,000 in gold bars.
The senator and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the crimes.
Copyright 2024, ReliableNews.org
