There are growing voices in the Democratic Party calling on Senator Bob Menendez to resign. The reason: Over the weekend, Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was charged with bribery.
Prosecutors say Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, received hundreds of thousands of dollars, gold bullion and luxury cars in exchange for obstructing the investigation of Egyptian businessmen. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said the alleged offenses against Menendez were "deeply troubling" and that Menendez should resign immediately. "He certainly has the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, but the alleged offenses are so serious that they call into question the senator's ability to effectively represent New Jersey." New Jersey Democratic Speaker LeRoy Jones also joined the call, followed by Democratic Rep. Dan Phillips (Minnesota) and Jeff Jackson (North Carolina).
Manhattan prosecutor presents charges against Senator Bob Menendez | Reuters
According to prosecutors, the senator's home was searched in the summer of last year and evidence of bribery agreements, including $480,100 in cash, "mostly in envelopes hidden in clothing, closets and a safe," prosecutors said. Also found was a luxury Mercedes and gold bullion worth $<>,<>.
The lawsuit alleges payments made to Menendez through his wife, Nadine Arslanian, three businessmen living in New Jersey. Goal? Secret assistance to the Egyptian government. One of the businessmen is a man named Val Hana, originally Egyptian. According to the prosecution, Hana had a lengthy correspondence with Arslanian, which led to a "corrupt agreement": money in exchange for promoting military aid to Egypt. In one case, Menendez secretly wrote a letter to the Egyptian government to persuade senators to release $300 million in aid to Egypt, prosecutors said. Hana called him "our man" in one message.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, presents evidence in the case, Photo: AP
It is also alleged that Menendez used his position to influence a criminal investigation against the other two businessmen, one of whom was one of his largest donors. In one branch of the affair, Menendez maintained Hana's monopoly on providing Islamic kosher food (halal) imported to Egypt. When the U.S. Department of Agriculture warned that Hana's monopoly in the field harmed U.S. interests, Menendez called a senior official in the department and demanded to "stop objecting to the company's status as the sole legitimate provider."
Menendez, 69, who was elected to his third term in the Senate in 2018, has vehemently rejected the accusations. "I am convinced that the affair will end as soon as all the facts are presented," he said. However, Menendez notified Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of his resignation as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee — in accordance with rules adopted by Senate Democrats. He and his wife are scheduled to appear in court in Manhattan on Wednesday.
By the way, this is not the first time Menendez has been accused of bribery. In 2015, he was accused of receiving favors in the form of vacations from a wealthy ophthalmologist in Florida, but the jury was unable to decide the case.
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