Menendez makes first court appearance to face federal bribery charges

Washington — Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is showing in court docket Wednesday to be arraigned after he was indicted final week for allegedly participating in a bribery scheme that concerned utilizing his political energy to assist the Egyptian authorities and three New Jersey businessmen.

The New Jersey senator and his spouse, Nadine Menendez, had been every charged with three counts associated to what federal prosecutors stated was a yearslong plot by way of which Menendez accepted tons of of 1000’s of {dollars}, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible, amongst different gadgets.

Menendez has defiantly denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly stated he believes that he shall be exonerated. The senator on Monday pledged to stay in his function because the senior senator representing New Jersey, although he did step down because the chairman of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee.

Justice Division legal professionals stated it was by way of his place as the highest Democrat on the Overseas Relations panel that Menendez was capable of wield affect to profit the three New Jersey businessmen, who’re additionally charged, and the Egyptian authorities in change for the bribes.

On at the very least two events, Menendez shared delicate, nonpublic info from the U.S. authorities, together with about U.S. navy support to Egypt, and pressured a high-ranking official with the Division of Agriculture to take actions that might profit a halal meat firm owned by one in all his co-defendants, in line with the indictment. He is also accused of making an attempt to intervene with state and federal investigations to profit two co-defendants in change for money, furnishings, gold bars and the posh automobile.

Federal brokers performed a court-authorized search of Menendez’s New Jersey house in June 2022 and located greater than $480,000 in money, some stuffed in envelopes and hidden in clothes, gold bars price greater than $100,000 and different gadgets allegedly paid for by the three businessmen, together with the Mercedes-Benz, in line with the charging doc.

Menendez stated Monday the money discovered by brokers was withdrawn from his private financial savings account and saved for “emergencies,” as has been his apply for many years. He additionally cited “the historical past of my household dealing with confiscation in Cuba.”  

The bribery expenses filed in opposition to him come years after Menendez confronted roughly a dozen federal expenses following accusations he accepted presents from a rich Democratic donor in change for political favors. That case led to a mistrial after jurors had been unable to achieve a verdict.

Throughout these proceedings roughly 5 years in the past, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, Menendez’s fellow senator from New Jersey, testified as a personality witness, and in 2019, Booker informed HuffPost that he had seen Menendez “in probably the most intimate moments and did not see a touch of corruption.”

However on Tuesday, Booker joined a rising variety of Senate Democrats in calling for Menendez to step down.

“Senator Menendez fiercely asserts his innocence and it’s subsequently comprehensible that he believes stepping down is patently unfair. However I consider it is a mistake,” Booker stated in a press release. “Stepping down shouldn’t be an request for forgiveness however an acknowledgment that holding public workplace usually calls for super sacrifices at nice private value. Senator Menendez has made these sacrifices up to now to serve. And on this case he should accomplish that once more. I consider stepping down is finest for these Senator Menendez has spent his life serving.”

Whereas Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Senate Democrats dealing with aggressive reelection bids had been the primary to induce Menendez to resign, Booker’s assertion was adopted by a flood of calls from many extra of Menendez’s Democratic Senate colleagues for the senior senator to step apart.

As of Wednesday morning, almost half of the Senate Democratic caucus stated Menendez ought to resign his seat, whereas Democratic Chief Chuck Schumer has urged warning. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, referred to as for Menendez’s “speedy resignation” final Friday, and several other Home Democrats prompt the senator ought to relinquish his submit.

Menendez has served within the Senate since 2006 and his seat is up in 2024. He has not but introduced if he’s working for reelection, however Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey, a Democrat, introduced over the weekend that he would mount a bid for the seat.

Extra from CBS Information