On Thursday, Robert Menendez sat in Congress with Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president on a state visit to Washington; it was about further military aid for Ukraine. “Support must be maintained,” wrote the senator from New Jersey as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, one of the most important bodies in US foreign policy. Since Friday, however, Menendez, 69, has been officially charged by the United States with alleged serious corruption for completely different reasons. That’s why he has already lost a position for the time being, and even party friends are turning away from him.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader in the chamber, announced that Menendez would step down as chairman until the matter was resolved. The matter is the latest accusation against the scandal-plagued politician. Prosecutors and jurors in the U.S. District Court in southern New York accused him and his wife, Ms. Nadine, of “accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” from three businessmen.
He is also said to have served the Egyptian leadership
In return, Menendez used his influence and power to protect and enrich these men and to help the government of Egypt. The document from the US justice system is 39 pages long, with photos. The images show evidence that investigators collected during a house search in June last year. The federal police found a lot of cash, gold, a fancy car and expensive furniture, which the Menendez couple apparently used to bribe money for years.
According to investigators, for example, there was $480,000 in bills hidden in envelopes, clothing, closets and in the senator’s safe. Stuffed jackets were confiscated and the fingerprints of a suspected donor were discovered on the envelopes. There was $70,000 in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box, and investigators found several gold bars and a Mercedes convertible – all of which is believed to be part of an extensive bribery scheme.
Robert Menendez was most recently chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the US Senate. Now he has been suspended.
(Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP)
Prosecutors say the top politician used his positions to serve three New Jersey business owners and the Egyptian leadership between 2018 and 2022. Among other things, as the ghostwriter of a letter from the Egyptians to US senators – and also to himself – he is said to have contributed significantly to the release of $300 million in American military aid for Cairo. He also paved the political way for one of his secret partners in US-Egyptian exports of halal meat and successfully intervened in criminal investigations against business associates.
“You are a miracle worker who makes dreams come true”
For the latter’s assistance, his wife Nadine apparently quickly accepted $15,000 in a restaurant parking lot for the first installment of the vehicle with the star. She praised the messenger in a text message: “You are a miracle worker who makes dreams come true. I will always remember you.”
The Menendez couple are now accused of fraud, bribery and extortion. If convicted, that could mean 20 years in prison. The main defendants deny all allegations; Robert Menendez sees himself as a “victim of an active smear campaign with anonymous sources and innuendos.” In 2015, the son of immigrants from Cuba was once federally charged with bribery; Among other things, he is said to have cashed in on deals with a major donor from Florida. However, he was only given a strict warning by the Senate Ethics Committee. The court jury reached no conclusion in 2017 and the Justice Department dropped the charges.
Menendez was re-elected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2021. He now has to hand it over, at least temporarily, probably to Senator Ben Cardin from Maryland. This time, however, leading Democrats are also calling on him to resign from the Senate entirely. “The alleged facts are so serious,” said New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, “that they threaten Senator Menendez’s ability to effectively represent the people of our state.”
Attorney General Matthew Platkin called the allegations against Menendez “deeply disturbing.” Those who use their public office to “enrich themselves rather than selflessly serve the public do so at a high cost to the public and to all public servants.”