US Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife have been indicted on charges they took bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car for a range of corrupt acts, including having the Democrat use his influence over foreign affairs to benefit the authoritarian government of Egypt.
Key points:
- Prosecutors said the bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage and a luxury vehicle
- Mr Menendez had previously been charged with accepting private flights, campaign contributions and other bribes in exchange for official favours
- Businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes were also charged
A search of the couple’s home turned up $US100,000 ($154,000) in gold bars and $US480,000 in hidden cash at their home, said prosecutors, who announced the charges against the 69-year-old Democrat nearly six years after an earlier criminal case against him ended with a deadlocked jury.
The US Attorney’s office in Manhattan accused the defendants of accepting thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Mr Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich the businessmen, and benefit the government of Egypt.
Prosecutors said the bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a job with minimal requirements, a luxury vehicle and other things of value.
Mr Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez face three criminal counts each:conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under colour of official right.
The senator’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Menendez, the chair of the influential US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, had previously been charged in New Jersey with accepting private flights, campaign contributions and other bribes from a wealthy patron in exchange for official favours, but a 2017 trial ended in a jury deadlock.
He has been in the Senate since 2006.
Prosecutors are seeking to have Mr Menendez forfeit assets including his New Jersey home, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, and about $US566,000 in cash, gold bars, and funds from a bank account.
The businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes — were also charged in the scheme.
Prosecutors said Mr Hana, who is originally from Egypt, arranged dinners and meetings between Mr Menendez and Egyptian officials in 2018 at which the officials pressed Mr Menendez on the status of US military aid. In exchange, Hana put Nadine Menendez on his company’s payroll, prosecutors said.
Egypt at the time was one of the largest recipients of US military aid, but the State Department had withheld $US195 million in 2017 and cancelled an additional $US65.7 million until the country could demonstrate improvements on human rights and democracy.
Mr Menendez at a meeting in 2018 told Mr Hana non-public information about the status of the aid, prosecutors said. Mr Hana then texted an Egyptian official, “The ban on small arms and ammunition to Egypt has been lifted,” according to an indictment made public on Friday.
Reuters/AP