US Senator Bob Menendez found guilty of corruption

(Patria) - Democratic Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty of corruption charges in a trial held before the Manhattan court, completing the fall of the once-powerful New Jersey politician.

The jury deliberated for more than 12 hours after a nine-week trial, Voice of America reports.

Menendez, 70, pleaded not guilty to 16 counts, including bribery, acting as a foreign agent, and obstruction of justice.

District Judge Sidney Stein announced that Menendez's sentencing will take place on October 29, before the November 5 elections in which he is running as an independent candidate for a Senate seat.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Menendez to resign.

The senator's trial focused on what prosecutors described as bribery schemes in which the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and home loan payoffs from businessmen who, in return, sought his help.

In return, Menendez helped channel billions of dollars in US aid to Egypt, where businessman Wael Hana was connected to the Egyptian government.

Menendez was also accused of attempting to influence investigations into two other businessmen - Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.

Hana and Daibes were co-defendants in Menendez's trial, while Uribe pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the senator.

Menendez had previously been accused of corruption, but that case was closed when he was returned for a retrial in New Jersey in 2017.

The senator resigned as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee when he was indicted in September 2023, but has so far resisted calls to resign his Senate seat.

During the trial, jurors were shown gold bars seized by police from Bob Menendez's New Jersey home, where he lived with his wife.

Agents also found more than $480,000 in cash, some of which was in the pockets of the senator's jackets and suits.

The defense claimed that representing businessmen was one of the senator's regular activities and that his wife was to blame for everything.

Menendez's lawyers said the gold bars were found in her closet, and that the couple lived separately and Nadine kept her finances hidden from her husband.

According to the defense, the senator often withdrew cash from the bank and kept it at home, and his older sister testified that he picked up this habit from his parents, who fled Cuba and kept money in a wall clock.

Nadine Menendez's trial is proceeding separately and is scheduled for a later date. She did not appear at her husband's trial after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Menendez has been part of Washington politics for over 30 years. He has represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2006, and previously served 13 years in the House of Representatives. Before that, he was in the New Jersey state assembly and mayor.

Before being indicted, Menendez chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee and was an important ally of President Joe Biden in efforts to restore US influence in the international community, secure support for Ukraine, and advocate for policy towards China.

The prosecution claims that businessman Hana gave Nadine Menendez a "sham job" and paid her $10,000 a month, and that Bob Menendez, in return, pressured the Department of Agriculture to stop investigating a monopoly granted by Egypt to Hana's company to certify halal meat for export.

The senator was also accused of attempting to pressure police and judicial authorities not to investigate the business dealings of Daibes, a real estate investor, and Uribe, an insurance broker - who testified that he bought Menendez's wife a $60,000 Mercedes in exchange for the senator's help.

The defense insists that the prosecution has not proven that the gold bars and cash found in the senator's home were the result of bribery.