Federal prosecutors added two more charges against Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine. They now face 18 counts.
The Conspiracy to Commit Obstruction of Justice charge (Count 17) alleges:
a. In or about December 2022, ROBERT MENENDEZ, the defendant, wrote NADINE MENENDEZ,a/k/a “Nadine Arslanian, the defendant, a check for $23,569, bearing the handwritte nmemo line To Liquidate loan, which was subsequently produced to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.b. In or about December 2022, NADINE MENENDEZ wrote counsel for WAEL HANA, the defendant, a check for $23,568.54 with the handwritten memo line Full payment of Wael Hana loan, and a handwritten letter, which were subsequently produced to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.c. In or about December 2022, MENENDEZ wrote NADINE MENENDEZ a check for $23,000 with the memo line for car payment, which was subsequently produced to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.d. In or about December 2022, NADINE MENENDEZ wrote Jose Uribea check for $21,000 with the memo line personal loan, which was subsequently produced to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.e. In or about June 2023, MENENDEZ caused his then-counsel to make false and misleading statements to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District ofNew York.f. In or about August 2023, NADINE MENENDEZ caused her counsel to make false and misleading statements to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.g. In or about September 2023, MENENDEZ caused his then-counsel to make false and misleading statements to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
The Obstruction of Justice (Count 18) alleges:
From at least in or about June 2022 through at least in or about 2023, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, ROBERT MENENDEZ and NADINE MENENDEZ, a/k/a Nadine Arslanian the defendants, corruptly influenced, obstructed, and impeded, and endeavored to influence, obstruct, and impede, the due administration of justice, to wit, MENENDEZ and NADINE MENENDEZ wrote checks and letters falsely characterizing the return of bribe money to WAEL HANA, a/k/a Will Hana, the defendant, and Jose Uribe as repayment for loans,and caused their counsel to make statements regarding the bribe moneyfrom HANA and Uribe, and regarding MENENDEZ’s awareness of this bribe money, which statements MENENDEZ and NADINE MENENDEZ knew were false, in an effort to interfere with an investigation of MENENDEZ, NADINE MENENDEZ, and others in the Southern District of New York.
The indictment comes after one of the businessmen pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate:
Jose Uribe, of Clifton, New Jersey, entered the plea in Manhattan federal court to seven charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery from 2018 to 2023, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion.As he described his crimes in court, Uribe told Judge Sidney H. Stein that he conspired with several people, including Nadine Menendez, to provide her with a Mercedes-Benz in return for her husband “using his power and influence as a United States senator to get a favorable outcome and to stop all investigations related to one of my associates.”He said he also hoped the gift would, if necessary, stop a “possible investigation into another person who I considered to be a member of my family,” according to a transcript of the proceeding, which the media was not told about before it happened.
The Southern District of New York brought charges against Menendez and Nadine in September for allegedly accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes” to protect three New Jersey businessmen and work on behalf of Egypt.
The feds allege the Menendezes “accepted cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value.”
Menendez has repeatedly stated that he won’t resign over the charges.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is one of Menendez’s fiercest critics. On more than one occasion, he has pointed out that the House expelled George Santos on less serious charges.
Fetterman even bought a Cameo appearance from Santos.
Here’s Fetterman’s response to Uribe pleading guilty.
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