Senator Robert Menendez? Spell that Men-END-ez. As in the END of any credible claim that he is innocent of taking bribes in return for favorable political activity (say, doesn’t that sound like something the Bidens are accused of)?
From Rebecca Shabad, Jonathan Dienst, Tom Winter and Dareh Gregorian’s article for NBC News:
Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife have been charged with bribery over the alleged receipt of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in return for the use of his influence to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government, according to an indictment in Manhattan federal court that was made public Friday.
The charges include conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. The bribes the couple received included “cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and other items of value,” the indictment alleges.
Federal agents said they discovered many of the items when they executed search warrants on the couple’s home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, in June 2022. They found more than $480,000 in cash “much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe,” including jackets bearing the senator’s name that were hanging in his closet, as well as more than $70,000 in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box, the indictment alleges.
Agents also allegedly discovered a Mercedes-Benz convertible worth more than $60,000 that New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana and Jose Uribe gave to Menendez’s wife in exchange for the senator’s interference in a state prosecution of Uribe’s associate and investigation into an employee whom Uribe referred to as a relative. Federal agents also found gold bars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in the senator’s home that were provided by Hana and another businessman, Fred Daibes. All three businessmen were also charged in the indictment.
And if that isn’t enough for you, how about this from Kara Scannell and Katelyn Polantz’s article for CNN (the bold print is mine):
In or about June 2022, federal agents executed search warrants on the New Jersey home and the safe deposit box of ROBERT MENENDEZ and NADINE MENENDEZ, a/k/a “Nadine Arslanian,” the defendants. In conducting these court-authorized searches, agents found certain of the fruits of MENENDEZ’s and NADINE MENENDEZ’s corrupt bribery agreement with WAEL HANA, a/k/a “Will Hana,” JOSE URIBE, and FRED DAIBES, the defendants, including cash, gold, the luxury vehicle, and home furnishings. Over $480,000 in cash—much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe—was discovered in the home, along with over $70,000 in NADINE MENENDEZ’s safe deposit box. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of DAIBES or his driver. Other of the envelopes were found inside jackets bearing MENENDEZ’s name and hanging in his closet, as depicted below.
Wow.
Robert Menendez has been accused of wrongdoing in the past, and has managed to skate past it.
But I don’t know how that happens here. I don’t know how he gets out from under this mountain of in-your-face evidence. I can’t see any escape route.
My only two questions are 1) why was there a one year wait to indict this apparent bribe-taker when the incriminating evidence was in the DOJ’s possession, and 2) will this crook be forced to resign as a U.S. Senator/when will it happen?
The answer to question #1 is extremely important (and, maybe, extremely telling). That is because if Menendez had resigned before the 2022 elections, until (Democrat) Governor Murphy replaced him with another Democrat Republicans would have been in control of the then 50-50 senate. Our currently Democrat-compromised DOJ couldn’t have that, could they?
The answer to question #2? Your guess is as good as mine. Menendez doesn’t seem to have much of a conscience about this. What he should do is resign immediately – and maybe he will. But I’d say a better guess is that a resignation only happens if/when some kind of a plea deal is agreed to….which this DOJ probably will be happy to oblige him with.
Any way you slice it though, this “man” has absolutely no business continuing as a United States Senator.
