Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez faces second federal corruption trial with jury selection starting Monday

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is going through his second federal corruption demo in a 10 years, as jury range is scheduled to start in Manhattan federal court docket on Monday, this time relevant to costs alleging that he acted to reward the governments of Egypt and Qatar. 

The 70-yr-previous New Jersey Democrat and his wife, Nadine Menendez, are accused of accepting bribes from three wealthy businessmen – actual estate developer Fred Daibes, Wael Hana and Jose Uribe – in his property point out and carrying out a range of favors in return, like meddling in prison investigations and getting steps benefiting the governments of Egypt and Qatar.

Menendez, 70, will stand demo together with two of the businessmen, Daibes and Wael Hana. All three have pleaded not responsible. Uribe has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify versus the other defendants. A trial for the senator’s wife, who is also billed, is delayed until eventually at least July for health and fitness causes. 

The a few-expression senator has announced he will not be searching for reelection on the Democratic ticket this drop, whilst he has not dominated out jogging as an unbiased. That could complicate matters for Democrats who have a narrow edge in the U.S. Senate and can barely pay for the prospect of a a few-way election in the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey.

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Following charges ended up announced in September, Menendez was compelled out of his impressive submit as chairman of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee. 

The senator’s political occupation experienced its 1st main disaster in 2015 when he was indicted on fees involving a wealthy Florida eye physician accused of purchasing Menendez’s influence by way of luxury holidays and marketing campaign contributions. At the time, Menendez resolutely denied the charges and vowed not to give up the Senate. A demo finished in 2017 with a deadlocked jury, and federal prosecutors in New Jersey abandoned the scenario.

Menendez not only stayed in Congress, he was reelected and kept his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee. He married Nadine Menendez in 2020 after the couple dated for two years.

In the new circumstance, federal prosecutors stressed that FBI agents who searched the senator’s New Jersey dwelling allegedly observed a stash of gold bars, truly worth extra than $100,000, and far more than $486,000 in cash, some of it stuffed into the pockets of clothing hanging in his closets in a raid two yrs in the past. 

Menendez has remained in the Senate amid this hottest indictment, ignoring phone calls for him to action down ahead of his 6-year term ends Jan. 3. Unlike in 2015, though, his party has largely deserted him. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and some others termed on him to resign. Democratic Rep. Andy Kim introduced a campaign for Menendez’s seat the working day soon after the indictment.

Sen. Bob Menendez, left, and his spouse Nadine Menendez get there at the federal courthouse in New York, Sept. 27, 2023.  (AP Image/Jeenah Moon, File)

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His fellow Democrats in Washington, D.C., show up to have previously composed him off, encouraging him repeatedly to resign, but Menendez has maintained a defiant stance. 

“I am innocent and will establish it no make any difference how many fees they carry on to pile on,” he explained following the indictment towards him was updated once again in early March to insert fees that he tried out to obstruct the investigation. 

Apart from rates such as bribery, extortion, fraud and obstruction of justice, Menendez also is charged with performing as a foreign agent of Egypt. 

Menendez has vigorously denied carrying out anything at all uncommon in his dealings with overseas officers. The senator’s attorneys in court docket papers have mentioned they prepare to explain that Menendez had no expertise of some of what occurred since his wife, who allegedly frequently served as a conduit involving the males having to pay the bribes, saved him in the dim.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., talks at the Senate Finance hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, March 21, 2024. in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

In accordance to an indictment, Daibes shipped gold bars and hard cash to Menendez and his wife to get the senator’s support with a multimillion-dollar offer with a Qatari expenditure fund, prompting Menendez to act in ways favorable to Qatar’s authorities. The indictment also reported Menendez did points benefiting Egyptian officials in exchange for bribes from Hana, as the businessman secured a beneficial deal with the Egyptian federal government to certify that imported meat satisfied Islamic dietary requirements.

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In pleading guilty quite a few weeks back, Uribe admitted buying Menendez’s wife a Mercedes-Benz to get the senator’s assist to impact criminal investigations involving his company associates.

Judge Sidney H. Stein has turned down Menendez’s endeavor to claim legislative immunity protects him from the fees. The decide has nevertheless to rule on irrespective of whether the protection can get in touch with a psychiatrist to present Menendez habitually saved funds in his home as a “worry of shortage” reaction to family stories about how their cost savings had been confiscated in the Communist revolution in Cuba, right before he was born, and since of financial problems stemming from the gambling difficulty of his father, a battling carpenter.

The Related Push contributed to this report.