NJ - Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine, indicted on bribery charges, Sept 2023

[Elley Mae]

June 2022 their home was raided. 15 months later for an indictment? Why the wait?

…

Among the charges in the indictment is an alleged arrangement in which Menendez promised to facilitate continued aid and arms sales to Cairo in exchange for his wife being put on the payroll of an Egyptian-American businessman, Wael Hana.

In another incident, Menendez allegedly used his clout with the State Department to acquire unclassified but sensitive information about staffing in the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, which was then relayed by his wife to Hana, and then to the Egyptian government. In another instance, Menendez allegedly helped an Egyptian official “ghostwrite” a letter that was intended to be sent to other U.S. senators requesting the release of aid funds.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/22/menendez-egypt-military-bribery-charge/

Gold Bullion and Halal Meat: Inside the Menendez Investigation

Federal prosecutors have accused Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine, of accepting bribes in exchange for official actions by Mr. Menendez.

www.nytimes.com

 

[ifindedout]

Sen. Menendez of NJ says cash found in home was from his personal savings, not bribe proceeds

Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey defiantly pushed back against federal corruption charges on Monday, saying cash authorities found in his home was from his savings account and was on hand for emergencies, it wasn’t bribe proceeds.

www.audacy.com

UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey defiantly pushed back against federal corruption charges on Monday, saying cash authorities found in his home was from his savings account and was on hand for emergencies, it wasn't bribe proceeds.

He said that he believed he'd be exonerated and that prosecutors sometimes get the facts wrong.

“I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator," Menendez said at Hudson County Community College's campus in Union City, where he grew up.

Addressing allegations in the indictment unsealed Friday that authorities found cash stuffed in envelopes and clothing at his home, Menendez said the funds were drawn from his personal savings account and stemmed his parents' fear of confiscation of funds from their time in Cuba.

“This may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years. I look forward to addressing other issues at trial,” he said.

 

[sds71]

Sen Cory Booker (D-NJ) calls for his fellow NJ Senator Bob Menendez to step down.

Booker Statement on Senator Robert Menendez | U.S. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey

<p><strong>WASHINGTON, D.C.</strong> – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement:</p> <p>“For nearly a decade, I’ve worked in the Senate alongside Senator Menendez. As New Jersey’s junior Senator, I imagine that I’ve had more professional experiences with him than most...

www.booker.senate.gov

 

[ilovewings]

Perks are good, but pay is low in the US Senate.

And.... one is surrounded by millionaires, or even billionaires <modsnip>. The Senate has always been a "rich guy / girls club.

Not every Senator is wealthy from their previous career, olde money, or marriage into money of any sort, but many are.

Thus, illegally obtaining the ability to at least somewhat "keep up with the Jones" regarding life styles may get tempting.

https://www.comparably.com/salaries/salaries-for-u-s-senator

Pay is low? 189,000 is not low!!!! they make great money- nobody I know makes that kind of money- plus the perks of the job--- they are wined and dined and given all kinds of free stuff--- thing about having lots of money, they always want more plus the power of the position

 

[Cryptic]

https://www.comparably.com/salaries/salaries-for-u-s-senator

Pay is low? 189,000 is not low!!!! they make great money- nobody I know makes that kind of money.

I mispoke when I said the pay was "low".

There may, however, be a degree of relativity.

$189,000 is a huge amount in many parts of the country. That same 189,000 in LA, SF, NYC, Boston, DC etc can have a very different level of buying power. Then factor in the need to maintain two homes.

Thus, the level of tempation regarding a 189K income can be different as well.

 

[ilovewings]

I mispoke when I said the pay was "low".

There may, however, be a degree of relativity.

$189,000 is a huge amount in many parts of the country. That same 189,000 in LA, SF, NYC, Boston, DC etc can have a very different level of buying power. Then factor in the need to maintain two homes.

Thus, the level of tempation regarding a 189K income can be different as well.

Objectively that is a great salary: I will give you in LA, New York and DC and probably Boston, that great salary won't get you what it will in other cities and states. Nevertheless it remains a lot of money- in other words, these senators are not hurting for money and there is not an iota of an excuse to take bribes to get more money- keeping up with the Joneses is no excuse
to try and get more money.

 

[sds71]

Businessman pleads not guilty to charges of bribing US Senator Menendez

A New Jersey businessman pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of bribing U.S. Senator Bob Menendez.

www.reuters.com

 

[sds71]

Egyptian intelligence may have been trying to recruit Sen. Bob Menendez as a spy, four former CIA officers tell @DRBoguslaw & I Menendez Indictment Looks Like Egypt Recruiting Intelligence Source, Say Former CIA Officials

 

[JerseyGirl]

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez trial date set as prosecution signals one of the defendants might be making a deal

Sen. Menendez pleaded not guilty to bribery charges last Wednesday and was released on $100,000 bond.

www.cbsnews.com

The judge set a May 6 trial date.

 

[sds71]

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, wife of Sen. Bob Menendez, hit and killed a pedestrian in a 2018 car crash, according to a police report. That car crash, which took place prior to her marriage to the New Jersey Democrat, is alleged to be the inception of a bribe in the federal indictment against the couple.

According to a report from the Bogota, New Jersey, police department, Nadine Menendez struck 49-year-old Richard Koop with her Mercedes-Benz sedan in Bogota in December 2018, killing him. She was driving alone.

Police questioned Nadine Menendez and concluded she was not at fault for the crash, the report says, and she was released without a summons and allowed to leave the scene of the crash. The pedestrian, Koop, had been jaywalking, according to the police report.

According to The New York Times, Nadine Menendez was never tested for drugs or alcohol. Authorities must demonstrate probable cause a driver was impaired before testing for alcohol immediately after a crash, Joseph Rotella, a former president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, told the newspaper.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office declined to charge her, the Times reported, and the office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN.

CNN has reached out to a lawyer representing Nadine Menendez for comment. In an interview with the Times, Nadine Menendez’s lawyer said the car crash was a “tragic accident” but was unrelated to her current charges.

“My understanding was this individual ran in front of her car, and she was not at fault,” David Schertler told the Times.

Surveillance video obtained by CNN appears to show Nadine Menendez hitting a pedestrian with her vehicle, staying in her car, and not checking on him during the seven minutes following the collision.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/04/politics/nadine-menendez-car-crash/index.html

 

[Marysmith]

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, wife of Sen. Bob Menendez, hit and killed a pedestrian in a 2018 car crash, according to a police report. That car crash, which took place prior to her marriage to the New Jersey Democrat, is alleged to be the inception of a bribe in the federal indictment against the couple.

According to a report from the Bogota, New Jersey, police department, Nadine Menendez struck 49-year-old Richard Koop with her Mercedes-Benz sedan in Bogota in December 2018, killing him. She was driving alone.

Police questioned Nadine Menendez and concluded she was not at fault for the crash, the report says, and she was released without a summons and allowed to leave the scene of the crash. The pedestrian, Koop, had been jaywalking, according to the police report.

According to The New York Times, Nadine Menendez was never tested for drugs or alcohol. Authorities must demonstrate probable cause a driver was impaired before testing for alcohol immediately after a crash, Joseph Rotella, a former president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, told the newspaper.

The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office declined to charge her, the Times reported, and the office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN.

CNN has reached out to a lawyer representing Nadine Menendez for comment. In an interview with the Times, Nadine Menendez’s lawyer said the car crash was a “tragic accident” but was unrelated to her current charges.

“My understanding was this individual ran in front of her car, and she was not at fault,” David Schertler told the Times.

Surveillance video obtained by CNN appears to show Nadine Menendez hitting a pedestrian with her vehicle, staying in her car, and not checking on him during the seven minutes following the collision.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/04/politics/nadine-menendez-car-crash/index.html

Appalling.

 

[bestill]

She didn't check on him during the 7 mins after hitting him? How heartless.

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE

Stop the politicizing. Just because the accused is a US senator does not give members licence to discuss the Dems, the Reps, the general US political atmosphere, etc. That is called politicizing.

Would be akin to the accused being a chef and members start discussing how chefs cook, how they associate with other chefs, what programs the restaurateur's association is offering this fall, etc. That has nothing to do with the case at hand. That is called, oh I dunno ... foodicizing? Whatever it is, don't do that either

Thanks !!

 

[sds71]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1710046269324820569

 

[sds71]

NJ Sen. Bob Menendez accused of conspiring to act as a foreign agent in superseding indictment

Sen. Robert Menendez (D) is accused of accepting bribes on behalf of a foreign government and acting as a foreign agent, according to a superseding indictment filed by a federal grand jury in Manhattan.

www.nbcnewyork.com

DocumentCloud

www.documentcloud.org

 

[sds71]

Gold bars featured in Bob Menendez bribery case linked to 2013 robbery, records show

At least four gold bars found in the FBI search of Sen. Robert Menendez’s home had been directly linked to a New Jersey businessman now accused of bribing the state’s senior senator, records show

www.nbcnewyork.com

 

[sds71]

SDNY has filed a second superseding indictment against Sen. Robert Menendez, this time adding charges that he accepted bribes in exchange for taking action to benefit the government of Qatar.

https://x.com/eorden/status/1742298243717795976?s=20

 

[Smelly Squirrel]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1763628820559548627

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Bob Menendez’s wife Nadine Arslanian is no international criminal “mastermind” but “a submissive housewife,” her longtime friends told The Post — after the Democratic senator’s corruption trial began with him throwing her under the bus.

Federal agents who conducted a raid of their home in June 2022 found $480,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes and coat pockets as well as 13 gold bars, worth more than $100,000, according to court papers. The couple have vigorously denied the charges.

On Wednesday, Menendez’s lawyers blamed Arslanian, saying she “kept him in the dark” on financial matters and stashed gold bars in a locked closet where she kept her clothes at the couple’s Englewood Cliffs, NJ, home.

She is “clingy” with men, and would regularly bring her boyfriends to a “girls’ night out,” said one of her longtime friends. “She is no mastermind,” another said.

They also described her as increasingly “isolated” after she cut off communication with even her closest friends, changing her phone number and refusing to see them months before she was indicted on corruption and bribery charges along with Menendez and three others in September

Gold bar Bob Menendez’s wife isn’t ‘mastermind’ of graft scheme — she’s ill, isolated ‘submissive housewife’: friends

Friends are disgusted after his corruption trial defense threw her under the bus. One said they fear for her survival as she battles breast cancer.

nypost.com

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

ABC News / AP (Associated Press) July 8, 2024 online article by Larry Neumeister, entitled ‘Prosecutor tells New York City jury at bribery trial that Sen. Bob Menendez put power 'up for sale':

Prosecutor tells New York City jury at bribery trial that Sen. Bob Menendez put power 'up for sale'

Closing arguments have started at the bribery trial of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, with a federal prosecutor telling jurors that Menendez put his power up for sale in return for bribes

abcnews.go.com