After a stormy 2023, 2024 did not start in the best way for Bob Menendez (D-NJ). The senator was accused last September of using his influence to obtain gifts in exchange for political favors, specifically to favor Egypt in a tender. Because of this, he resigned as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate and was practically left with no chance of competing for another term in the Senate. When it seemed that nothing could get worse for the Democrat, he was accused on January 2 of having used his influence to help the government of Qatar.
It turns out that two federal prosecutors claim that Menendez accepted bribes from Fred Daibes, a prominent New Jersey developer, in exchange for helping him obtain financial backing from an investment fund linked to Qatar.
"When he accepted at least certain of those things of value," prosecutors wrote, Mr. Daibes "also expected Menendez in exchange to take action to benefit the government of Qatar, and thereby benefit Daibes, who was seeking millions of dollars in investment from a fund with ties to the government of Qatar."
According to the accusations presented, Daibes and Menendez met with the Qataris in March 2022, just two months before the deals between the parties were confirmed. In turn, the Democrat received at least one gold bar for his participation.
Although Menendez has not ruled out the Senate elections in 2024, early polls place him far behind his Democratic challengers, for example, Congressman Andy Kim (D-NJ).
🚨 BREAKING: New Jersey Democrat Senator Bob Menendez is facing new federal criminal charges that allege he made positive comments about Qatar in exchange for things of value, including luxury watches valued at over $10,000 pic.twitter.com/IXU9B71Xlb
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 2, 2024
The first accusation against Menendez
In relation to the aforementioned case in Egypt, for which both he and his wife were accused in October 2023, the senator faces three different charges: conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official law, another for public officials accepting bribes in exchange for official acts and a third that links the bribes to the work of the committee.
As previously reported by Voz Media, the problem is the following: the authorities allege that both he and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted gifts from the company IS EG Halal in exchange for it facilitating a tender with the Egyptian government to certify Halal meat—a traditional quid pro quo.
Doubts began to be sown after the company won the bid. Department of Agriculture officials complained that they did not have previous experience in the field to have obtained the contract merely based on their resume.
It all started in 2019, when IS EG Halal won an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to certify Halal meat exports worldwide. The government dismissed seven companies with experience in the industry, handing over millions of dollars to a company run by a Christian with very little experience in Islamic certification of international meat imports and exports.
For Peter Paradis, former USDA deputy inspector general, this contract change "defies logic." USDA reports that prior to the contract change, IS EG Halal had "no pre-existing relationship with the U.S. beef industry or Islamic organizations."
"This corporation does not have a history of making this type of certification and, however, the country in question designates them as the only entity to carry out that task," Paradis stated at the time.
