The Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were formally indicted on federal bribery charges. The decision, according to prosecutors, followed a year-long investigation by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams into alleged corruption.
"A press event will be held today at 11:00 a.m. to announce the unsealing of an indictment charging Robert Menendez, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with bribery offenses in connection with their corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen," explained the DOJ office for the Southern District of New York.
A press event will be held today at 11:00 a.m. to announce the unsealing of an indictment charging Robert Menendez, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with bribery offenses in connection with their corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen. pic.twitter.com/CLTXnU0mAm
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) September 22, 2023
'He intended to influence the criminal investigations of two New Jersey businessmen'
The three-count indictment, which also involves his wife, is for allegedly using his official position in a series of corruption cases, not only in the U.S., but also abroad. According to The New York Times, in one of the cases, the senator tried to benefit the government of Egypt:
In one [count of the indictment], he sought to benefit the government of Egypt, including secretly providing it with sensitive U.S. government information, while in two others, he aimed to influence criminal investigations of two New Jersey businessmen, one of whom was a longtime fund-raiser for Mr. Menendez.
"The businessmen named in the indictment, which was unsealed in Manhattan federal court, are Fred Daibes, a prominent New Jersey real estate developer and fund-raiser for Mr. Menendez; Wael Hana, a longtime friend of Ms. Menendez’s who founded a halal meat certification business and Jose Uribe, who works in the trucking and insurance business," reported The New York Times, which had access to the court document.
According to the indictment, in exchange for these favors, Menendez and his wife accepted bribes that included cash, gold, mortgage payments and a luxury vehicle.
The indictment of the 69-year-old senator, the NYT recalls, comes six years after he faced a trial on unrelated corruption accusations that ended with a hung jury. After this, the judge declared the trial against Menendez null and void.
