Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is weathering the political storm that is threatening to destroy his political career. It may seem like one million years ago, but the New Jersey liberal is facing serious corruption charges. It’s not the first time Menendez has faced such allegations, but this one has solid evidence of potential criminal activity. We have gold bars and at least $500,000 in cash found at his residence, some of which were stuffed into articles of clothing. On top of the bribery charges, Menendez was later slapped with acting as a foreign agent. The gold bars were the item that some congressional Democrats couldn't get past, which has led to a low-key shunning on the Hill. We know where some of the gold came from, too. To recap, here's Spencer's post on the Setepmber has more:
Robert "Bob" Menendez, the Democrat senior U.S. Senator for New Jersey, was indicted on Friday in the Southern District of New York for engaging — along with his wife Nadine Menendez (Arslanian) — in a "corrupt relationship with three New Jersey associates and businessmen" between 2018 and 2022, according to an unsealed court filing.
According to the indictment, Senator Menendez and his wife "agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes" in return for Menendez's "power and influence as a senator to protect and enrich" the three individuals identified as Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes and "to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt."
Notably, Menendez serves as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value," the indictment says, in addition to allegations that Menendez "provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt."
George Santos gets expelled from Congress ... but Sen Bob Menendez is still there?
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) December 5, 2023
Seriously? https://t.co/MYaPE76r4D
Menendez has vowed to fight to the death, seeking another term as a US Senator. As both legal teams prepare for a potential showdown, we’ve learned the origins of Bob’s gold bars. They were part of a 2013 robbery, and they belonged to an individual accused of bribing the senator. You can't make this up (via NY Post):
Four of the gold bars Sen. Bob Menendez stashed at his home were previously stolen from the businessman accused of bribing the New Jersey Democrat, according to a report.
The serial numbers on some of the gold found by the FBI during a June 2022 raid of Menendez’s Englewood Cliffs, NJ, home match identifiers that Fred Daibes reported to police after a 2013 armed robbery, according to NBC News.
Robbers made off with $500,000 in cash and 22 gold bars from Daibes’ Edgewater, NJ, home during the 2013 heist, the outlet reports.
Police later nabbed four suspects and recovered the stolen gold.
The matching serial numbers indicate that authorities have now directly linked at least some of the gold found in Menendez’s home to Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer and Menendez fundraiser.
Menendez was indicted in September. He faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
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