US Senator Bob Menendez found GUILTY on all counts in massive corruption plot
US Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery in a massive corruption plot
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US Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery in a massive corruption plot.
The New Jersey Senator was accused of participating in a years-long foreign corruption scheme where he accepted bribes in exchange for helping foreign governments.
He received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car, and bars of solid gold for his role in the plot with several New Jersey businessmen.
Over the last eight weeks of the trial at a New York federal courtroom, Menendez maintained that he was not guilty, with his lawyers arguing that the gifts he accepted did not count as bribes. They said that prosecutors had failed to prove that he took any specific action after receiving them.
US Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery in a massive corruption plotGettyHowever today, a jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted him on 16 counts - including honest services wire fraud, bribery and extortion. He faces up to 222 years in prison for his crimes.
The Democrat is now the seventh sitting US senator to be convicted of a federal crime.
Menendez, who used to be the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, allegedly used his former role to help one man negotiate a contract with Egyptian officials.
Prosecutors said his actions helped Egypt access millions of dollars in US military aid.
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Bob Menendez faces up to 222 years in prison for his crimes
Reuters
Prosecutors said his actions helped Egypt access millions of dollars in US military aid
Reuters
Menendez's wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, also faces charges in the case, however, her trial was postponed due to breast cancer treatment. She has pleaded not guilty.
Two of the New Jersey businessmen indicted alongside the Menendezes, Wael 'Will' Hana and Fred Daibes, also pleaded not guilty.
A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against Menendez in the trial.
"I agreed with Nadine Menendez and other people to provide a car for Nadine in order to get the power and influence of Menendez," Uribe told the court.
Menendez is now the seventh sitting US senator to be convicted of a federal crime
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During the trial, prosecutors used expert testimony, emails, and Menendez's text messages to show that the senator accepted luxurious gifts from foreign governments.
The gifts included gold bars worth over $100,000 (£79,000) - which were found in June 2022 when the FBI raided the senator's home.
Menendez's lawyers have attempted to shift the blame onto his wife who they claim served as a go-between the involved parties and did not tell her husband of many of the bribes. They argued that she would "get cash and assets any way she could".
They claimed that he was just carrying out foreign responsibilities expected in his role as Senate foreign relations chairman.
Judge Sidney Stein set a sentencing date for October 29.