The New Jersey senator Bob Menendez was judged responsible of 16 counts related to a system through which it was accepted bribestogether with gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz and that he was performing as an agent for overseas pursuits, particularly Egypt.
In keeping with the indictment, he met with officers and tried to assist the Egyptians acquire entry to tens of millions of {dollars} in US army help.
Menendez – previously head of the highly effective Senate International Relations Committee – now faces the prospect many years of imprisonment and doable deletion from the Democratic Social gathering.
He had pleaded not responsible all through the eight-week trial, along with his attorneys arguing that the items he acquired couldn’t be thought-about bribes as a result of prosecutors had not confirmed he took any particular motion on account of receiving them.
Menendez’s spouse, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, additionally faces expenses within the bribery case, however her trial has been postponed so she will bear remedy for breast most cancers. He has pleaded not responsible.
His attorneys had tried to shift the blame to Ms Menendez, portraying her as a financially troubled one that hoped to “purchase money and belongings by any means”.
Two businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, are additionally on trial, accused of soliciting the senator for to illegally help the Egyptian authorities to safe tens of millions of {dollars} from a Qatari funding fund.
Through the trial, prosecutors relied on knowledgeable testimony, emails and textual content messages from Menendez to show that the senator accepted lavish charges from overseas governments.
They stated the items included gold bars price greater than $150,000 (£79,000) which the senator claimed belonged to his spouse.
It’s recalled that in a police raid in 2022 gold bars price $150,000 and a further $480,000 in money had been present in the home the place he lived along with his spouse, a few of which had been fastidiously hidden in footwear and jackets.
The governor of New Jersey requires a vote
A vote within the Senate on the impeachment of Bob Menendez has been requested by the governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphyin case the 70-year-old senator doesn’t submit his resignation.
Chatting with reporters after his sentencing in federal courtroom in Manhattan, Sen. Menendez stated he plans to enchantment the choice, however declined to touch upon whether or not he plans to resign.
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