{"id":2243647,"date":"2024-05-13T16:44:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T20:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bob-menendez-corruption-trial-everything-you-need-to-know\/"},"modified":"2024-05-13T16:51:33","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T20:51:33","slug":"bob-menendez-corruption-trial-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bob-menendez-corruption-trial-everything-you-need-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Bob Menendez Corruption Trial: Key Highlights"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbob-menendez-corruption-trial-everything-you-need-to-know%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2243647&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Bob \u2062Menendez&#8217;s second corruption trial has commenced with\u200d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/holed-up-in-a-safe-location-libs-of-tiktok-creator-provides-update-on-her-safety-after-being-doxxed-by-washington-post\/\" title=\"\u2018Holed Up In A Safe Location\u2019: Libs Of TikTok Creator Provides Update On Her Safety After Being Doxxed By Washington Post\">revealing personal details<\/a>, including\u2064 hoarding gold bars. The trial explores alleged bribery \u200cfrom 2018 to \u200c2022, implicating political favors for Qatar and Egypt. \u2062Key players like\u2062 Wael \u2063Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes are central to the case. Menendez&#8217;s defense strategy involves blaming personal history and his wife. The trial is expected to last several weeks, with intense \u200dscrutiny on the unfolding events.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bob-menendez\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"second corruption trial\">Bob Menendez<\/a> (D-NJ), once one of the most powerful Democrats in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Congress\">Congress<\/a>, is expected to get\u00a0personal in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3000561\/sen-bob-menendez-corruption-trial-begins-in-new-york\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"second corruption trial\">second corruption trial<\/a>, which began Monday with jury selection.<\/p>\n<p>The longtime Democratic senator from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-jersey\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"New Jersey\">New Jersey<\/a> is expected to dig deep and reveal his penchant for hoarding\u00a0big gold bars and his wife\u2019s alleged lies and blame his father\u2019s gambling problem and death for decisions that led him down a path that ended in a sprawling 18-count federal indictment, according to court documents. <\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Wael Hana, left, Sen. Bob Menendez, center, and Fred Daibes sit in Manhattan federal court with Judge Sidney H. Stein presiding during jury selection on Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Candace E. Eaton via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Menendez is accused of receiving bribes from 2018 to 2022. <\/p>\n<p>In exchange, he handed out political favors for the governments of Qatar and Egypt, as well as for co-defendants Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, and Jose Uribe, prosecutors claim.<\/p>\n<p>Hana,\u00a0an American citizen who emigrated from Egypt,\u00a0had a string of failed business deals in New Jersey less than a decade ago, including a truck stop, an Italian restaurant, and a limo service, and had a friend who started dating Menendez. Soon thereafter, Hana\u2019s\u00a0fortunes started to turn around. He was introduced to a growing circle of top Egyptian officials by Menendez, who was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Hana won sole control over certifying all halal food being imported into Egypt. He had gone from being in debt and unable to pay medical bills to an international power broker who bragged about his luxury watch collection.  <\/p>\n<p>He earned so much money that he was able to use some of it to buy gold bars and bribe Menendez for other things, prosecutors allege. <\/p>\n<p>The real rub was whether Hana was an agent of the Egyptian government all along or just a very unlucky guy who suddenly hit the jackpot after meeting Menendez.   <\/p>\n<p>In 2017, the 70-year-old dodged conviction on a laundry list of other corruption charges, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/davis-dont-know-how-trump-civil-suit-is-constitutional\/\" title=\"Davis unsure of constitutionality of Trump civil suit.\">legal experts claim<\/a> this case, which was brought by the Justice Department, presents a bigger threat to Menendez and the country. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny time an individual is indicted two times in a row for, let\u2019s call it, public corruption, the odds are not in his favor,\u201d Chris Adams, a defense attorney at the New Jersey law firm Greenbaum Rowe, which was part of Menendez\u2019s 2017 legal team, told the <em>Washington Post<\/em>. \u201cMy view as a defense attorney is that this is a much stronger case for the government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>will break down some of the most pressing questions about the trial, what\u2019s at stake, key players, and what his colleagues in Congress are saying about it. <\/p>\n<h2>What are the charges?<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption>Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) arrives for the first day of his trial at Manhattan federal court on Monday, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo\/Stefan Jeremiah)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Menendez faces 16 criminal counts, including bribery, fraud, and foreign-agent offenses. Prosecutors allege he took bribes of cash, gold, and a luxury\u00a0car in exchange for using his considerable political influence to help secure military\u00a0sales for Egypt and to promote\u00a0Qatari interests.<\/p>\n<p>He is also charged with accepting gold, cash, and gifts, including a Mercedes-Benz convertible for his wife, from a New Jersey real estate developer\u00a0in exchange for the senator to have unrelated federal bank charges against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/young-people-should-get-involved-in-politics-cant-wait-in-line-rep-cawthorn\/\" title=\"Young People Should Get Involved in Politics, Can\u2019t \u2018Wait in Line:\u2019 Rep. Cawthorn\">real estate agent<\/a> go away. <\/p>\n<p>Menendez has since stepped down as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. <\/p>\n<p>Menendez, who may take the stand, has accused prosecutors of misrepresenting the normal work of a congressional office and predicted he would be exonerated. <\/p>\n<p>He has pleaded not guilty. <\/p>\n<p>If he wins, he\u00a0has left open the possibility of running for reelection in November. <\/p>\n<h2>Who are the key players?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Wael Hana<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Wael Hana leaves the federal courthouse in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Prosecutors claim Hana was a central figure in the scheme to ensnare one of the country\u2019s top politicians.\u00a0They claimed he capitalized on his relationship with Menendez not only to benefit himself but also to steer aid and weapons to Egypt. <\/p>\n<p>He has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nadine Menendez<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Nadine Menendez, wife of Sen. Bob Menendez, who is charged with bribery, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prosecutors-end-criminal-case-against-jeffrey-epsteins-guards\/\" title=\"Prosecutors End Criminal Case Against Jeffrey Epstein's Guards\">leaves federal court<\/a> on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo\/Bebeto Matthews)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Menendez\u2019s wife of less than five years is accused of being a go-between between her husband, Egyptian intelligence officials, and the men who were looking for political favors from the senator, according to prosecutors.\u00a0Her trial was supposed to start on Monday but was postponed after she had surgery and needed time to recover. <\/p>\n<p>It is now slated to get underway in July. <\/p>\n<p>She has pleaded not guilty.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Jose Uribe<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Jose Uribe leaves federal court on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The former New Jersey insurance broker\u00a0pleaded guilty to seven criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest-services fraud, and obstruction of justice. <\/p>\n<p>He admitted to\u00a0seeking the senator\u2019s help to make state insurance fraud investigations that involved his friends disappear. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI knew that giving a car in return for influencing a United States senator to stop a criminal investigation was wrong, and I deeply regret my actions,\u201d Uribe said. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Fred Daibes<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Fred Daibes, one of three businessmen named as co-defendants with Sen. Bob Menendez, arrives at federal court on Sept. 27, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Prosecutors claim the New Jersey real estate developer gave Menendez gold, cash, and furniture in exchange for the senator to have unrelated federal bank charges against Daibes go away. <\/p>\n<p>Some of the money was allegedly used to get the senator to help line up financing for a stalled real estate project. <\/p>\n<p>Investigators found 11 gold bars linked to Daibes during a\u00a0June 2022 search of Menendez\u2019s home. They also found Daibes\u2019s fingerprints and DNA on 10 envelopes containing more than $80,000, according to court records. <\/p>\n<p>Three months before the search, Nadine Menendez sold two 1-kilogram bars of gold that were also traced back to Daibes and worth about $120,000. <\/p>\n<p>Daibes has pleaded not guilty. <\/p>\n<h2>How long is the trial supposed to last? <\/h2>\n<p>Several weeks, until at least July. <\/p>\n<h2>What is Menendez\u2019s defense?<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption>Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York on Sept. 27, 2023. (AP Photo\/Jeenah Moon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Recent court filings indicate that Menendez\u2019s defense strategy includes blaming his wife and claiming that the large amounts of cash and gold he had in his New Jersey home were a \u201ccoping mechanism\u201d that can be traced back to his father. <\/p>\n<p>When federal investigators searched his home in June 2022, they found more than $480,000 in cash that had been stashed in envelopes and coats.\u00a0They also found 13 gold bars worth more than $100,000. <\/p>\n<p>They also seized another $80,000 from Nadine Menendez\u2019s safety deposit box at a nearby bank.<\/p>\n<p>According to the senator, he had a \u201chabit\u201d of withdrawing thousands in cash each month from his savings account in case of emergencies. <\/p>\n<p>He claimed it was due to his family\u2019s experience as Cuban refugees who had their money and possessions confiscated by the Cuban government and were only left with a small amount of cash they had managed to stash in their house. <\/p>\n<p>Psychiatrist Karen Rosenbaum, who is expected to testify, claimed in a letter sent to prosecutors that Menendez \u201cexperienced trauma when his father, a compulsive gambler, died by suicide after Senator Menendez eventually decided to discontinue paying off his father\u2019s gambling debts.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>She claimed Menendez developed a mental condition that was left untreated and \u201cresulted in a fear of scarcity for the senator and the development of a longstanding coping mechanism of routinely withdrawing and storing cash in his home.\u201d\u00a0The name of the mental condition was redacted. <\/p>\n<p>Menendez may also throw his wife under the bus, arguing she was the mastermind behind the allegations of bribery. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenator Menendez intends to present a defense arguing [in part] that he lacked the requisite knowledge of much of the conduct and statements of his wife, Nadine, and thus lacks scienter and did not agree to join any of the charged conspiracies,\u201d his attorneys wrote in a court filing. <\/p>\n<h2>Who is representing him?<\/h2>\n<p>Menendez dropped his previous criminal defense team at Winston and Strawn and hired its rivals at Paul Hastings, <em>Reuters<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/legal\/government\/us-senator-menendez-swap-legal-teams-hiring-law-firm-paul-hastings-2023-11-17\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"reported\">reported<\/a>. Menendez\u2019s new lawyers include Adam Fee, who spent five years as a prosecutor\u00a0in the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, and Avi Weitzman, who spent nearly seven. Weitzman is a partner at Paul Hastings. <\/p>\n<h2>What are Menendez\u2019s colleagues saying? <\/h2>\n<p>Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/phil-murphy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy\">Phil Murphy<\/a> (D-NJ), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and other high-ranking Democrats have called on Menendez to resign. <\/p>\n<p>He has refused.<\/p>\n<p>Sen.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/john-fetterman\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Sen. John Fetterman\"> John Fetterman<\/a> (D-PA) hasn\u2019t held his tongue, referring to Menendez\u00a0multiple times as a \u201csleazeball.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked by CNN what it says about the upper chamber of Congress that Menendez is still in office, Fetterman quipped, \u201cI don\u2019t know what it says other than they guess they\u2019re just OK with having a sleazeball in the Senate.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Menendez is the only senator to be indicted in two unrelated criminal investigations. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER \">CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Only 12 U.S. senators have been indicted while in office. <\/p>\n<p>Six were convicted. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a prominent Democrat, delves into personal details in his ongoing corruption trial. The trial commenced with jury selection, shedding light on his alleged hoarding of large gold bars and his wife&#8217;s purported deceit. The former influential senator reveals intriguing personal facets amid legal proceedings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2646,"featured_media":2243648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24134466332491.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2243647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AP24134466332491.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2646"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2243647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2243647\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2243648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2243647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2243647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2243647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}