What’s Happening:
A high-profile Democrat U.S. senator may need to find a different golden parachute after federal charges were handed down today. The senator and his wife, along with a trio of businessmen, were named in a federal indictment out of the Southern District of New York.
The crimes allegedly involve up to $400,000 worth of gold bars being swapped with the senator who was to reach out to the Justice Department to aid an “admitted felon” accused of banking crimes. The alleged bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and “other things of value.”
Sen. Robert “Bob” Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes are the focus of the indictment for alleged bribery offenses. There could be more charges as the case progresses.
From Fox News:
“My office remains firmly committed to rooting out public corruption without fear or favor and without any regard to partisan politics,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “This investigation is very much ongoing. We are not done.”
Menendez has denied the allegations, and he was previously investigated for alleged federal bribery charges in 2016. Those charges were dropped in 2018.
In this recent case, Menendez and his wife are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt.”
The alleged bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and “other things of value.” The indictment described “approximately $500,000 of cash stuffed into envelopes in closets,” including cash stuffed in the senator’s jacket pockets. Menendez disclosed that his family had accepted gold bars in 2020.
The charges won’t affect the current term for Menendez who can continue to serve in the Senate. He is up for re-election in 2024. With the way “movers and shakers” work on Capitol Hill, any corruption must be rooted out to sure the interests of the American people are protected and not the shady characters that hang around Washington politicians.
Key Takeaways:
- Ranking U.S. senator faces federal indictment for alleged bribery.
- Gold bars, cash, and “other things of value” are under investigation.
- Bob Mendez (D-NJ) and his wife are included in the charges.
Source: Fox News
