NNew York – US Senator Bob Menendez was convicted of accepting bribes in cash, gold and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen.
The jury’s verdict was still being read Tuesday in federal court in New York City.
Over the course of a nine-week trial, prosecutors said the New Jersey Democrat abused the power of his office to shield allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meetings with Egyptian intelligence officials and help that country have access to millions of dollars. in US military aid.
Menendez did not testify, but publicly insisted that he was just doing his job as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said the gold bars found by the FBI in his New Jersey home belonged to his wife.
The conviction comes four months before Election Day and potentially dooms any hopes Menendez had of campaigning for re-election as an independent candidate.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. The previous AP story follows below.
NEW YORK (AP) – The jury in Senator Bob Menéndez The JC bribery trial is said to have reached a verdict, which will be announced in court soon, a court spokesman said on Tuesday.
The New Jersey Democrat is accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold and a luxury car from three businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt.
Over the course of a nine-week trial, prosecutors said Menendez abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meetings with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country. to have access to millions of dollars in US military. help.
Menéndez, 70, did not testify. He publicly insisted that he was just doing his job as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said the gold bars found by the FBI in his New Jersey home belonged to his wife.
The senator is on trial along with two New Jersey businessmen. All three pleaded not guilty. Another businessman pleaded guilty before trial and testified against Menéndez and the other defendants.
Menéndez’s wife, Nadine, was also charged, although her trial was postponed while she recovers from breast cancer surgery.
In a 2022 raid on the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home where Menendez lived with his wife, FBI agents confiscated gold bars worth nearly $150,000 and more than $480,000 in cash, some of it stuffed into boots. and jackets printed with the senator’s name.
Menendez expressed some hope as he left court on Monday that the jury was carefully reviewing the evidence in its deliberations. In two separate notes, the jury raised questions about the charges, including asking, in one case, whether unanimity was needed to acquit “on a single charge.”
“It’s obvious that the government’s case is not as simple as they made it seem,” Menéndez said before repeating himself. “It’s not as simple as they made it out to be. The jury is out on that.
During closing arguments Last week, lawyers spent more than 15 hours asking jurors to carefully study the evidence.
Prosecutors cited several cases in which they said Menéndez helped businesspeople. And they argued that his efforts to send $99 million worth of munitions by helicopter to Egypt, along with cozy communications with senior Egyptian officials, showed that he was serving Egypt’s interests as an agent.
Menendez Lawyers insisted that the senator never accepted bribes and that the actions he took to benefit businesspeople were the type of tasks expected of a public official. They said he was simply carrying out foreign responsibilities expected in his role as Senate Foreign Relations Chairman, a position he was forced to resign after the charges were brought.
Menéndez announced he has been planning to run for re-election this year as an independent for a few weeks now.
This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
