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The indictment provides to an earlier indictment alleging that Menendez accepted bribes to advance Egyptian pursuits.
A brand new indictment in opposition to U.S. Senator Bob Menendez has accused the Democrat of serving as an unregistered agent of Egypt, including to the authorized jeopardy he already faces.
Menendez, 69, and his spouse Nadine had been beforehand indicted on federal costs associated to allegations that they accepted bribes in trade for utilizing the senator’s official place in favor of the Egyptian authorities.
However a superseding indictment filed Thursday in a Manhattan federal court docket raises the stakes even additional: It provides an allegation that Menendez conspired to behave as “an agent of a international principal.”
Menendez has been a New Jersey state senator since 2006. Till he was indicted final month, he additionally chaired the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, giving him vital affect over US international coverage.
He has since stepped down as chairman, though he continues to withstand calls to resign from his elected place.
However allegations of corruption have adopted the senator for years and are coming to the fore once more with the bribery cost unsealed on September 22.
U.S. federal prosecutors stated that between 2018 and 2022, Menendez and his spouse accepted “a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} in bribes” from three New Jersey businessmen additionally charged within the indictment.
Among the many alleged bribes had been gold bars, a luxurious Mercedes-Benz convertible, mortgage funds and envelopes crammed with money, hidden among the many garments within the Menendezes’ closets and in a secure.
Each Menendez and his spouse have pleaded not responsible to the unique costs. The senator has additionally tried to border his actions as the conventional enterprise of American international affairs, quite than a nefarious act.
“I’m assured that when all of the information are offered, not solely will I be acquitted, however I’ll nonetheless be New Jersey’s senior senator,” Menendez stated at a information convention in September.
He additionally argued that his international coverage report towards Egypt contradicted the allegations in opposition to him.
“Throughout my three a long time within the Home of Representatives and the Senate, I’ve all the time labored to carry these nations, together with Egypt, accountable for human rights abuses, the oppression of residents, civil society and extra,” he stated.
However prosecutors painted a distinct portrait of Menendez as somebody who made a “corrupt deal” to serve Egyptian pursuits.
They are saying he agreed to “authorize or carry the blocks on international army financing and gross sales of army gear to Egypt” in trade for bribes.
Menendez can also be accused of showing delicate, private details about U.S. Embassy workers in Cairo to his co-defendants, who then relayed the message to an Egyptian authorities official.
These co-defendants embody Egyptian-born businessman Wael Hana; Jose Uribe, an actual property developer from New Jersey; and Fred Daibes, who works in insurance coverage and trucking.
As well as, the indictment alleges that Menendez used his official place to intervene with legal prosecutions that might in any other case have deprived his co-defendants.
He was initially charged in September with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit sincere providers fraud and conspiracy to commit racketeering. The final two costs carry a most sentence of 20 years every.
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez beforehand served as chairman of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
However the September indictment isn’t the primary time Menendez has confronted corruption allegations.
In 2015, he confronted an 11-week trial on separate allegations that he used his authorities workplace to supply favors to a Florida donor in trade for bribes. Nevertheless, Menendez was by no means convicted: the trial led to an deadlock.
Nonetheless, the most recent allegations have renewed requires Menendez to depart his Senate put up. His fellow New Jersey senator, Cory Booker, joined these calls in September.
“Resigning isn’t an request for forgiveness, however an acknowledgment that holding public workplace usually requires monumental sacrifice and comes at nice private value,” Booker wrote in an article. rack. “I imagine resigning is the perfect factor for these Senator Menendez served all through his life.”
US Senator Bob Menendez accused of performing as an unregistered agent for Egypt | Courts Information
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