The state of New Jersey’s Senator, Bob Menendez, is being charged with additional offenses of bribery and obstruction of justice.
Washington — Federal prosecutors in New York have accused Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine Menendez, of obstructing the investigation into a years-long bribery scheme
According to a newly released court document, the senator is accused of exchanging his political power for financial gain.
Reworded: Two individuals and three business owners from New Jersey were charged last year
The senator and his wife were accused of working together to leverage Menendez’s position as head of the Foreign Relations Committee in order to aid officials from Egypt and Qatar, and to aid businessmen in overcoming obstacles related to their business and legal matters. In return, they allegedly received large sums of money, gold, and a high-end vehicle.
Menendez was charged by a grand jury on Tuesday with approximately twelve additional counts, alleging that he acted as an unregistered agent for Egypt and took bribes to help his co-defendant’s Halal company. He also allegedly attempted to obstruct several criminal investigations. These new charges do not introduce new actions, but rather include the defendants in the overall conspiracies related to their underlying crimes.
Despite calls for his resignation, he has refused to step down and maintains his innocence. However, he did decide to step down from his position as the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In response to the previous accusations, Menendez argued that the money seized by government agents was taken from his personal savings and reserved for “unexpected circumstances.”
The judge denied his assertion that the FBI’s searches of his residence and electronic devices were illegitimate and erroneous, stating that there was sufficient evidence to meet the legal standard of probable cause.
Robert Legare
Source: cbsnews.com