Bob Menendez Receives Conviction in Bribery Case

(USNewsBreak.com) – The FBI raided Senator Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) home in June 2022. They seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets, including gold bars and cash, hidden all over the residence. Federal prosecutors subsequently indicted him and his wife, Nadine Menendez, on charges of conspiracy and bribery. While the courts delayed Mrs. Menendez’s trial due to health problems she experienced, the senator’s moved forward as scheduled. A federal jury has now found him guilty.

On Tuesday, July 16, a jury returned a guilty verdict on 16 counts of bribery, obstruction of justice, extortion, acting as a foreign agent, and conspiracy. It took the panel just over 12 hours over three days of deliberations to reach a decision.

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey has been convicted in connection with a sweeping scheme to sell his office to foreign powers and crooked businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car and bars of solid gold. https://t.co/4Q0MxT76eA pic.twitter.com/z2a6vpzQxT

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 16, 2024

After the jury handed down the verdict, Menendez spoke to reporters and said he was “deeply, deeply disappointed.” He maintained he had “never violated [his] public oath.” The Democratic senator vowed to appeal the verdict and was confident he would win.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has said the New Jersey senator “must do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign.” Schumer had previously lodged his disappointment regarding the accusations against Menendez but stopped short of calling for his resignation. Menendez has continued to reject the idea of resigning.

The jury also convicted Menendez’s two co-defendants, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, on all counts. The third defendant, Jose Uribe, took a plea deal earlier this year. Prosecutors considered his testimony a smoking gun because it helped secure Menendez’s conviction.

The senator’s sister testified on his behalf, trying to justify why her brother had such large sums of money and valuables in his house. She said their father warned his children not to trust banks based on his experience as a refugee and immigrant to the US in the 1950s. The senator’s legal team characterized the influence as “intergenerational trauma.”

The court scheduled Menendez’s sentencing for October 29.