Federal prosecutors in New York announced last week that charged New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for their influence.
The New Jersey Democrat spoke at a news conference on Monday morning and delivered remarks as calls mount for him to resign from office.
“A cornerstone of the foundation of American democracy and our justice system is the principle that all people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system,” the Democrat senator said.
“We cannot set aside the resumption of innocence for political expediency when the harm is irrevocable… Instead of waiting for all the facts to be presented, others have rushed to judgment because they see a political opportunity for themselves or those around them,” Menendez added.
Menendez made it clear he does not plan to resign: “Not only will I be exonerated, I will still be NJ’s senior senator.”
WATCH:
Sen. Menendez: “A cornerstone of the foundation of American democracy and our justice system is the principle that all people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system. We cannot set aside the resumption… pic.twitter.com/wXZz60rXj1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 25, 2023
Federal prosecutors in New York have said they intend to charge Democrat Senator Bob Menendez and his wife on Friday.
A press conference will be held today at 11:00 a.m. to announce the unsealing of an indictment charging Robert Menendez, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with bribery offenses in connection with their corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“This would be the second time Menendez has been indicted. He stood trial several years ago but that ended in a mistrial. The New Jersey Democrat is up for reelection next year,” Politico reported.
“The first time Menendez was indicted, he had been accused of using his political influence to help a Florida eye doctor who had lavished him with gifts and campaign contributions. Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations, according to a list maintained by the Senate Historical Office,” the New York Post reported. “The new charges follow a yearslong investigation that examined, among other things, the dealings of a New Jersey businessman — a friend of Menendez’s wife — who secured sole authorization from the Egyptian government to certify that meat imported into that country meets Islamic dietary requirements. Investigators also asked questions about the Menendez family’s interactions with a New Jersey developer.”
“Menendez faces re-election next year in a bid to extend his three-decade career in Washington, and as Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate. Menendez’s political career had looked as though it might be over in 2015, when a federal grand jury in New Jersey indicted him on multiple charges over favors he did for a friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen,” the outlet added.
The head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the US Congress, Robert Menendez, has been charged with corruption pic.twitter.com/gMDzhHA6tJ
— Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) September 22, 2023
Menendez was accused of putting pressure on government officials to settle a Medicare billing dispute in Melgen’s favor, obtaining visas for the doctor’s girlfriends, and assisting in the protection of a contract the doctor had with the Dominican Republic to provide port-screening equipment.
Menendez has always claimed innocence. His lawyers claimed that Melgen’s campaign contributions and gifts, which included trips on his private jet to a Dominican Republic resort and a vacation in Paris, were not bribes but rather tokens of their longtime friendship.
“Prosecutors are expected to meet with his lawyers in the coming weeks ahead of a final decision. New Jersey’s senior U.S. senator, a Democrat who serves as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez has been under scrutiny by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. The probe in part has examined whether he or his wife, Nadine Arslanian, received gifts in exchange for political favors, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“Prosecutors also have investigated the circumstances surrounding a lucrative contract that a New Jersey businessman secured with Egyptian officials for certifying halal meat exports, the Journal has reported. The businessman, whom Menendez hosted in his office along with Egyptian officials in 2018, became the sole certifier of halal meat exported from the U.S. to Egypt the following year,” the outlet added.
In October, two sources familiar with the investigation told the news site Semafor that “prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have contacted people connected to Menendez in recent weeks,” and that “they have sent at least one subpoena in the case.”
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