Senator Robert Menéndez of Cuban origin is going through a trial for bribery, fraud, extortion, and performing as a international agent in change for cash from the federal government of Egypt and Qatar. The prosecution alleges that Menéndez used his energy and affect to complement himself and defend businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, in addition to profit Egypt between 2018 and 2020.
According to prosecutor Lara Pomerantz, Menéndez put his energy “on the market” and supplied delicate data from the US authorities to Egypt, in addition to helped Daibes spend money on a fund linked to Qatar. Menéndez can also be accused of serving to Hana retain a monopoly for importing ‘halal’ meat, regardless of protests from the US Department of Agriculture.
The trial additionally revealed that police discovered $480,000 hidden in a secure deposit field at Menéndez’s residence, in addition to 13 gold bars and different valuables. Menéndez’s spouse, Nadine Menéndez, who can also be accused within the case, had her trial postponed till July as a consequence of well being issues.
Menéndez, who was a heavyweight within the Democratic Party, is going through as much as 20 years in jail for probably the most critical expenses. This will not be the primary time Menéndez has confronted corruption expenses, as he was beforehand accused in 2015 however the trial was dropped after the jury could not attain a unanimous verdict.
Menéndez’s protection claims that his spouse had monetary considerations and turned to household and associates, together with the businessmen concerned within the case, to beat them with out Menéndez’s information. Despite the allegations, Menéndez has been a staunch Democrat in Congress for 3 many years and a fierce opponent of the normalization of relations with Cuba, Venezuela, and China, in addition to a defender of Israel.
The trial, which might last as long as 7 weeks, will decide the destiny of Menéndez and the businessmen concerned within the case as they face critical expenses of corruption and abuse of energy.