A New Jersey jury has delivered a verdict in the bribery trial against Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) after roughly 13 hours of deliberation over three days.
On Tuesday afternoon, Menendez was found guilty on all counts.
AP News reported:
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday of all the counts he faced at his corruption trial, including accepting bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
The jury’s verdict followed a nine-week trial in which prosecutors said the Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.
Menendez, 70, did not testify. He insisted publicly he was only doing his job as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said the gold bars found in his New Jersey home by the FBI belonged to his wife, Nadine Menendez. She too was charged but her trial was postponed so she could recover from breast cancer surgery. She has pleaded not guilty.
In March, Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged with obstruction of justice in an 18-count indictment.
These charges are linked to a bribery scheme involving Egypt and Qatar.
An indictment filed against Menendez and his wife Nadine outlines how the couple received hundreds of thousands of dollars from three businessmen in exchange for influencing the State Department to support their business interests in Egypt. The bribes included cash, gold, home mortgage payments, “compensation for a low-or-no-show job,” a luxury vehicle, and “other things of value.”
From the Menendez indictment:
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) September 22, 2023
"Menendez provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt." pic.twitter.com/iOAciR0pHl
In January, Menendez faced a second superseding indictment for praising Qatar in exchange for luxury watches.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, stated that Nadine Menendez received a “no-show” or “low-show” job, a Mercedes Benz, and other valuable items.
Special agents discovered $500,000 of cash stuffed into envelopes in closets. “Some of the cash was stuffed in the Senator’s jacket pockets. Some of the envelopes of cash contained Daibes’ fingerprints and Daibes’ DNA,” Williams said at a press conference last month.
BREAKING: Senator Bob Menendez convicted.
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 16, 2024
The Senator allegedly was bribed hundred of thousands of dollars to help the government of Egypt.
It included included gold bars, cash and a luxury convertible. pic.twitter.com/zxqZKKBHjT
The beneficiaries of his favors included three New Jersey businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Despite his not guilty pleas to the 16 federal charges, the jury’s verdict was unanimous.
Watch:
BREAKING – BATTLE FOR THE SENATE: Prosecutors Say They Uncovered "Shocking Levels of Corruption" As Senator Menendez Convicted of Bribery and National Security Offenses. He's Running As An Independent and May Take Votes From Democrats. You May Not Be Paying Attention. pic.twitter.com/gGzi7SMStS
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 16, 2024
